1. Immigration
Ch. 1 A Different Canada

2. Lesson Outline and Objective
Today we will look at some of the issues that Canada was dealing with in the early 1900’s. you will learn:
How immigration was shaping Canada
How Canada struggled with its role as a Dominion in the British Empire.

3. Immigration Under Laurier
The world experienced an economic boom.
There was a large market for wheat, but few farmers.
Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton wanted to populate the prairies with immigrants.

4. The best sources for low tension immigration were the US, and Great Britain, and specific countries in Northern Europe.
French Canadians feared any immigration would drown out “the Canadien.”

5. Marketing Canada
Most Canadians didn’t mind immigration, as long as the newcomers weren’t too different & could “Canadianize”
Immigrants were expected to conform, there was little to no tolerance for differences.

6. From 1901 to 1911, Canada’s population rose sharply from 5
From 1901 to 1911, Canada’s population rose sharply from 5.1 million to 7.2 million.
83% were immigrants

7. Minister of the Interior in the Laurier Government
ClifforD Sifton
Minister of the Interior in the Laurier Government
Canada would prosper with the hard work of immigrants.

8. Clifford Sifton
“I do not care what language a man speaks, or what religion he professes, if he is honest and law-abiding, if he will go on that land and make a living for himself and his family, he is a desirable settler for the Dominion of Canada; and the people of Canada will never succeed in populating Manitoba and the North-west until we act practically on that idea. If we can find people...willing to obey the laws and pay taxes for the support of our institutions, we must open our doors to these people and give them such encouragement as will overcome the initial difficulties of their change of situation.”

9. Immigration Posters
Marketing Canada

10. Google Images- https://www. google. ca/search

12. Canada openly advertised for immigrants trying to “fill up the West”
2 million of these posters were sent around the world.
Immigration Posters
Source: Google Images:

13. The Canadian government was looking for immigrants willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard.
Source: Google Images-

14. In Great Britain and the United States, Canada was often marketed as “The Nearest British Colony”.
Source: Google Images-

15. This is a poster utilized in Sweden.
Source: Google Images-

16. By 1903, Immigration Branch advertisements were carried in 1,700 American newspapers and periodicals, with a combined circulation of over 7,000,000.

17. French Newspaper Ad.
A French Newspaper Ad

18. Lectures were another common methodology used to market the nation.

19. The “Wonderful Canadian Arch” in Whitehall, England
Arch in Whitehall", as the London Sphere described it,
was erected on the ceremonial route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, for the coronation of King Edward VII in July 1902.
The “Wonderful Canadian Arch” in Whitehall, England
“The wonderful Canadian Arch in Whitehall” as described by the London Sphere was erected on the ceremonial route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Edward VII in July 1902 and served as additional advertising for immigration.

20. Immigration Problems
In BC, Asians were a source of serious conflict and crisis.
Many BC workers feared Asians were taking their jobs.
In Vancouver, Asiatic Exclusion League created. This was a group dedicated to the exclusion of Asians from society.

21. But limiting immigration from Asia was tricky
India- a British Colony, Indians were British subjects!
Japan- Britain’s strongest ally in the Pacific
China- Big Business (railways) sponsored the Chinese workers. Railways contributed to political campaigns.

22. Vancouver Race Riot-1907
Asian immigration had risen sharply in recent months (esp. Japanese)
Sept. 7- Tensions erupted at a meeting of the Asiatic Exclusion League.
2,000 people attended, over 10,000 congregated outside.

23. The mob rioted & attacked Chinatown and Little Tokyo.
The rioters smashed and looted shops.
Japanese were warned, armed themselves & barely held off the rioters

24. Result of the Riot
Laurier had to respond to BC. The Federal Govt’ had to ease tension & maintain diplomatic connections.
Japan- Laurier apologized to Emperor (Japanese Gov’t submitted letter of protest) & made deal to limit Japanese emigration. Also, immigrants had to arrive on tickets purchased in their own country. (many left via Hawaii).

25. China- Head taxes already in place, immigration already very low despite public perception.
India- Awkward to prohibit entry, because they were British citizens., so a rule for all nations would have to be adopted. More on that later.
More on these items later.

26. Push-Pull Factors
Many motivations brought immigrants to Canada: greater economic opportunity and improved quality of life, an escape from oppression and persecution, and opportunities and adventures presented to desirable immigrant groups by Canadian immigration agencies.
Source: Pier 21-

27. By examining these motivations, an understanding of Prairie immigration experiences and settlement patterns evolves in interesting ways.

28. From 1867 to 1914, the Canadian West opened for mass settlement, and became home to millions of immigrant settlers seeking a new life.
This immigration boom created key industries still important to Canada’s international role – like agriculture, mining, and oil.
Source: Pier 21-

29. It did not bar any specific group.
By 1909, Immigration Minister Frank Oliver was already at work on a new Immigration Act.
Passed in 1910, the Act gave the government discretionary powers to regulate the volume, ethnic origin and occupation of immigrants.
It did not bar any specific group.
But make no mistake…some were “more welcomed” than others.

30. Quebec City.
Scottish immigrants waiting to disembark in Quebec

31. Finnish Immigrants
Finnish immigrants

32. Immigration “Hierarchy”
As the insatiable world demand for Canadian resources grew, and business and railway interests pressed the government to increase immigration, Sifton and his immigration authorities were forced to balance their ethnic anxieties against a frantic search for settlers.
Spurce The Canadian Encyclopedia-
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia-

33. They listed ideal settlers in a descending preference
They listed ideal settlers in a descending preference. British and American agriculturalists were followed by Northern Europeans. (French, Belgians, Scandinavians., Dutch, Germans, etc).
The Canadian government actively advertised for immigrants in these countries.

34. Next were the Austro Hungarians, Germans, Ukrainians, and Poles.
Then came those who were, in both the public and the government's minds, less inclined to assimilate and therefore were less desirable.(Italians, South Slavs, Greeks, and Syrians.)
At the very bottom came Jews, Asians, Roma and Black persons.
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia- Immigration
Source The Canadian Encyclopedia- Immigration-

35. Ukrainian immigrant family.

36. Chinese Immigration
By the 1880s, many Chinese had been allowed entry into Canada to help build the railroad. As soon as it was finished, it was expected that they return to their homeland.
The Chinese are the only ethnic group in Canada ever to be explicitly subjected to a race-based head tax.
The Chinese in Canada at this time were unwelcome in white communities, so Chinatowns developed.

37. The Chinese Head Tax
In 1885 the Canadian government passed a law requiring Chinese immigrants to pay a “head tax” of $50 upon entry into Canada.
By 1901 it was raised to $100.
In 1903 it was increased again, this time to $500.

38. In December 2000, three Chinese-Canadians (backed by the CCNC) launched a class-action suit against the government. The lawsuit was unsuccessful, primarily on the grounds that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms —introduced in — can't be applied retroactively.

39. Head Tax Redress
In April 2004, a United Nations representative submitted a UN draft report recommending that Canada strongly consider paying reparations for the Chinese head tax. The government reviewed the recommendations, but stood by a 1994 decision to refuse compensation.

40. On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered an apology and compensation only for the head tax once paid by Chinese immigrants.
Survivors and their spouses were paid approximately $20,000 in compensation.
At the time there were an estimated 20 individuals still alive who had paid the tax.

41. Continuous Passage Act 1908
Also known as the Continuous Journey Regulation.
A law which required all immigrants to come to Canada by a non stop route.
It effectively made immigration from countries such as India impossible
Was an effort by the Canadian government to restrict the influx of Asian workers into Canada.

42. Komagata Maru 1914
British Sikhs chartered a ship, the Komagata Maru, to sail from Calcutta to Vancouver, and tested “Continuous Passage” laws.
Upon arrival, racial tensions spiked in Vancouver.
They weren’t allowed to disembark.
They were left anchored in the harbour for over a month.
Finally, Ottawa turned them back, despite having followed rules.
Canada remained a “White Man’s Country”

43. Komagata Maru Komogata Maru
Image Source: Google images-
Youtube clips

44. Apology
Prime Minister Trudeau apologizes in the House of Commons for the Komagata Maru incident.
Komagata Maru