The Plight of Immigrants

From 1867-1891, Canada was open for business, from an immigrant's point of view. There weren't many restrictions on who could enter the country, except for a head tax on Chinese immigrants, which was introduced in 1885. Eastern and Central Canada was the destination of choice, with British Columbia attracting many people from Asia.

By 1900, Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton's immigration policy is more restrictive.

Immigration is funnelled to the West in order to settle and farm the wide tracts of Prairie land. The profile of the preferred immigrant is white and British; as stated by Minister Clifford Sifton, "stalwart peasants in sheepskin coats". If British immigrants are not available, other white immigrants will do. White immigrants from Eastern Europe are reluctantly accepted in large numbers, but black and Asian immigration is discouraged. Chinese immigrants are subject to a head tax, which requires every Chinese immigrant to pay a special $50 tax upon entering the country. Although relatively few in number - there are only 23,000 Chinese people in Canada in 1900 - arrivals from Asian countries are resented by the white majority. Originally, male Chinese labourers were allowed into Canada to work for low wages in British Columbia's gold mines and on the trans-Canada railroad. They sent most of their earnings back to China to help support their families. Chinese workers will accept lower wages than white workers, and this causes resentment in the white population, especially when jobs are scarce. The populace generally perceives Chinese people to be immoral opium addicts. There is no official policy restricting Blacks from entering Canada, but the unofficial policy is to discourage it whenever possible. As a result, there are far fewer black immigrants than there may have been otherwise.

In 1899, Canada admitted 44,543 immigrants. Between 1894 and 1899, 154,613 immigrants came to call Canada home. In the five year period between 1991 and 1996, well over 1,000,000 immigrants will arrive. Between 1896 and 1907, Canada admitted 1.3 million European and American immigrants. Less than 900 Blacks were included in that number. In fact, the black population of Canada decreased from 50,000 in 1860 to 17,000 in 1911. In the lumber industry, Chinese workers are paid only between 25% and 50% of the wages paid to white labourers for the same work.

Organized Hate

The San Francisco-based Asiatic Exclusion League, dedicated to preventing Asian immigration to America, opens up a number of new chapters in Canadian cities such as Vancouver. Victoria has its own Anti-Chinese Association.

Frenchmen in Western Canada!

From 1988 until his death in 1925, Jean Gaire, a priest born in Lorraine, France and landed in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba, worked to attract Frenchmen to Western Canada. He founded Grande-Clairière in 1888. In July 1889, the settlement had 150 inhabitants; it grew to 400 by 1891, and to 600 in 1892. Gaire went on to found Cantal, Bellegarde and Wauchope, contributing to the development of what later became Saskatchewan. "Sir, I am to say to you in answer to your letter... that it is not desired that any negro immigrants should arrive in western Canada."

From an 1899 letter written by a Canadian immigration official, and quoted in "How they kept Canada almost lily white: The previously untold story of the Canadian immigration officials who stopped American blacks from coming to Canada" by Trevor W. Sissin

Rating the Immigrants

Eager to develop the West, Canadian immigration authorities rate immigrants according to their race, perceived hardiness and farming ability: