Unit 4 - Immigration

Key Ideas: Progress vs. Decline

After the Holocaust, Canada kept strict immigration controls, even though many people were asking for a more open and caring policy to help those who had lost their homes in World War II. Between 1945 and 1951, Canada accepted 186,154 displaced persons (DPs) from Europe. These included Ukrainians, Poles, Holocaust survivors, and other Eastern Europeans who had been forced to work under the Nazis or were escaping Soviet rule. This was a sign of progress, as it helped Canadians understand the struggles of people without a country and made Canada more culturally diverse. However, there were also signs of decline. Prime Minister Mackenzie King said that Canadians did not want immigration to change the country’s population too much, especially from Asian countries. Immigration rules were often based on economic interest, racial prejudice, and political opinions, rather than fairness. One government official, John Holmes, even said that Canada chose refugees “like good beef cattle,” showing how cold and unfair the system could be.

1919 Immigration Act

The 1919 Immigration Act limited the number of immigrants landing in Canada of any nationality, class, occupation, economic or industrial reason, deemed unsuitable with regard to social, educational, labour or other conditions.

The following groups were banned:

• enemy aliens

  • Austrians, Bulgarians, Hungarians Turks and others who fought against Canada in WWI

• People over the age of 15 who couldn’t read English or French

• Based on Eugenics

  • prohibited people who had any attacks of insanity, epilepsy, had a physical disability, unintelligent unless belonging to a supportive family

• Political learnings

  • didn’t allow entry to anyone who had committed any crimes or anyone who believed in the forceful overthrow of the Canadian government (communists)

Pier 21

• Immigrants arrived through Pier 21 in Halifax

• Immigrants from Britain were given highest priority

  • there was no special effort to attract Francophone (French) immigrants

• Eastern and central Europe typically came for economic opportunity and headed to the Parries to farm

• Jewish, black and Asian immigration was discouraged

Immigrant hierarchy

Top

• Great Britain

• USA

• Scandinavians

• Germans

Middle

• Italians

• Levantine Races (Arab)

• Chinese People

Bottom

• Black people

• Indigenous People

Social gospel

Social Gospel adherents (J.S. Woodsworth, Nellie MccLung and Famous Five) held eugenic interpretations of human abilities and worth based on race

Eugenic

Aims at improving the genetic quality of a human population through selective mating

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923

On July 1, 1923, the act banned Chinese immigrants from entering Canada except those under the following titles

• Diplomat

• Foreign Student

• Under Article 9 of act, “special circumstance” granted by the minister of immigration

Causes of the Exclusion Act

1. Special Gospel adherents believing Canada’s Chinatowns are places of opium, prostitution and gambling

2. Social darwinism: belief that Chinese are inferior to British

3. Opposition to cheap Chinese labour

4. Historical precedent United States Chinese Exclusion act of 1902

End of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1947

• Chinese people were once allowed to immigrate to Canada but only the dependants of Chinese Canadian citizens

• The Chinese called this “half a loaf”

• After 25 years of exclusion, it was only a symbolic victory

  • The double victory

Sexual Sterilization Act of 1928

In 1928, the Alberta government allowed the sterilization of those deemed to be suffering from criminal attacks, alcoholism, metal illness and epilepsy. The argument was that these people reproduced at a higher rate and were weakening the gene pool.

As a result, 5000 people were sterilized and disproportionately, there were high numbers of women and Indigenous and Metis people sterilized.

Racial Discrimination Act of 1944

In 1944, Ontario enacted the Racial Discrimination Act which prohibits any publication promoting racial discrimination (progress)

Immigration after WWII

Italian immigrants to Canada (before and after WWII)

Following WWII, almost 500,000 Italians entered Canada to work and make a life for themselves and their children. About 95% of Italian Canadian’s lived in towns and cities, with the most significant concentrations in Toronto. They worked our railways, road construction, mines and factories, but also went directly to cities and moved into retail.

Viola Desmond

In 1946, Viola Desmond refused to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre (this was a policy implemented by the theatre, there were no official laws of segregation in Nova Scoita)

She was convicted of a tax violation for the one-cent tax different between the seat she had paid for and the seat she used. Desmond took the theatre to court, but her case was dismissed because she was convicted for sitting in a more expensive seating area.

Viola Desmond’s action inspired others in Halifax to fight against racial segregation.

Africville

Africville was a black community on the outskirts of Halifax. Despite the fact that the community paid property taxes, the city of Halifax refused basic services to the community such as garbage disposal, clean water and sewage. Surround Africville, the city of Halifax placed an infectious disease hospital, a prism and dump.

In 1964, the City of Halifax, without consultation of the residents, decided to relocate the residents. The community was removed through bribery and intimidation, and they were often not provided a place to go to.

By 1970, the community was destroyed.

Immigration Act of 1952

The Immigration Act of 1952 kept as “preferred classes” British subjects and French citizens and provided for family reunification of Asian Canadian citizens and their immediate overseas relatives.

Quotas for immigrants from India, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) were established at 150, 100, and 50 people per year respectively.

The 1952 act did not explicitly discriminate against specific groups of immigrants. Rather, cabinet was allowed to deny people entry on the basis of their nationality, customs or unsuitability to the Canadian climate or culture.

Immigration Act of 1967 and points system

• The points system made efforts to relieve the pressures from sponsored immigration by setting up nine factors or criteria to assess independent applicants, helping both skilled and unskilled immigrants.

• It included five long-term criteria:

  • The applicant’s personal qualities

  • Education and training

  • Occupational demand for their skills in Canada

  • The applicant’s skills

  • Age

• Suitability to Canada was judged based on:

  • Arranged employment

  • Knowledge of English or French

  • Having a relative in Canada

  • The overall employment opportunities in Canada

Immigration Act of 1976 and classes

The Immigration Act of 1976 maintained the points system and the labour needs as the basis for selecting immigrants. The act (which came into force in 1978) advocated for a broad basis of selection and eliminated preferred immigrant barrier and established an elaborate appeals procedure.

This act considered the federal and bilingual character of Canada, and promoted immigration that would result in family reunification, and the development of a strong and viable economy in all regions of Canada.

Key components of the Policy included

• Family class

  • allowed canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor close relatives, such as spouses, children and parents

• independents

  • provided a clear structure for economic immigration, emphasizing skilled individuals who could contribute to Canada’s economy

• Refugees

  • It aligned Canadian refugee policies with international agreements, such as the 1952 UN Refugee convention

  • Established Canada as a leader in offering protection to individuals fleering persecution

  • Created formal refugee classes, including government assisted, and privately sponsored refugees

Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951

In 1950, the UN drafted a refugee convention to define who is a refugee, their rights and the responsibilities of the Nation were they seek help. A Canadian, Leslie Chance, chaired the writing of the document.

According to this convention, a refugee is a person: who is outside his or her home country and who has a well-founded fear o being persecuted for reasons race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

This was a DECLINE in Canada, as Canada did not sign the document since they were concerned that the Convention would not allow Canada to deport people they considered a security risk, especially Communists.

Hungarian refugees

The crushing of the Hungarian uprising by the Soviets let to over 200,000 Hungarians fleeing to Austria. The Hungarians were protesting Communist rule. In response to public pressure, the Canadian government implemented a special program, offering the Hungarian refugees free transport.

Thousands of Hungarians arrived in the early months of 1957 on over 200 chartered flights. More than 37,000 Hungarians were admitted in less than a year.

Draft Dodgers

Canada changed its rules to allow deserters from foreign armies to receive landed immigrant status. This opened the door to status for US citizens opposed to participating in the Vietnam War.

Over the following years, tens of thousands of war resisters are estimated to have fled to Canada.

Czech refugees

The Communist government in Czechoslovakia had attempted to liberalize, for example, by eliminating censorship of the press. The Soviet military then entered Czechoslovakia, leading to many well educated Czechs fleeing, using the 1956 special program for Hungarians as a precedent.

Canadian officials relaxed admissions criteria and chartered flights to help bring more than 11,200 Pregue Spring refugees to Canada.

1969 Canadian signing of Geneva Convention

Canada signed the 1951 Convention relating to the Status Refugees, agreeing not to deport refugees to their home country.

1972 Ugandan refugee crisis

Ugandan refugees were the first non-European group to gain permanent resettlement after Canada signed the United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees

Sikhs, Goans, Ismailis, Pakistanis and more came to Canada from Uganda as refugees in the months following the expulsion order fleeing violence at the hands of Amin’s military.

1973 Chile refugee crisis

General Pinochet displaced a left wing government in Chile, leading to the death of the elected President, Salvador Allende. Over 200,000 leftist Chileans fled to live somewhere else as the right-wing totalitarian in Chile was aligned with the United States.

Takeaway: Canada was hesitant to admit the Chilean refugees due to their leftist political learnings. Ideologies considerations replaced racial criteria as a discriminatory factor in refugee admissibility.

1970s Cambodian, Laos, Vietnamese refugees

60,000 refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were resettled into Canada, most of them being of Chinese ethnic descent. Canadians came forward, giving a dramatic launch to the new refugee private sponsorship program.

Popular pressure forced the government to adjust its initial commitment to resettling the refugees. For the years of 1978-81, refugees made up 25% of all immigrants in Canada.

Boat people

The 1979 Boat People in Canada were a significant group of Vietnamese refugees who fled their country by boat after the Vietnam War. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, many faced persecution, poverty, and re-education camps. Canada responded with compassion, taking in 60,000 Vietnamese refugees between 1979 and 1980 through a government and private sponsorship program. This was a turning point in Canadian immigration and refugee policy, demonstrating a commitment to human rights and multiculturalism. Many of the Boat People and their families became successful members of Canadian society.

1980s changes to Immigration Act

In 1980, changes were made to the immigration act to include a fifth immigration category: the business class. Under this classification, individuals could immigrate if they were willing to bring significant financial capital to Canada to start a business or invest in the domestic economy.

This new means of immigration has been used expensively by immigrants of Chinese origin, particularly during the period leading up to the 1977 handover of Hong Kong to China. Between 1983 and 1996, approximately 700,000 Chinese business people, mainly from Hong Kong immigrated to Canada bringing billions in investment funds.

2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

• Made after the 9/11 terrorist attacks

• extended the family class to include same-sex and common-law relationships

• gave the government wider powers to detain and deport landed immigrants suspected of being a security threat

2015 Syrian refugee Crisis

Justin Trudeau’s liberals resettled approx. 60,000 Syrian refugees.

Canadian public opinion shifted and demanded in favour of helping Syrian refugees after photographs of a 3 year old ‘s dead body was washed up on the beach.