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Our new Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson,
is of Chinese descent and was born in Hong Kong. To many Chinese-Canadians
her appointment as representative of the Canadian Head of State,
the Queen, is a particularly significant achievement, given the
way in which Chinese immigrants to Canada have been treated in
the past. Many Canadians of Chinese descent, however, have mixed
feelings about the recent arrival of Chinese migrants on British
Columbia’s shores. On the one hand, they understand the
desire to flee a life of economic hardship and limited personal
freedom. On the other hand, some fear the arrival of these migrants
will result in a backlash against the Chinese-Canadian community
in general. The vast majority of Chinese-Canadians entered the
country legally and have been productive, hard-working members
of Canadian society, despite the fact that their ancestors faced
very serious discrimination in Canada over the years.
As you read the following information, make written notes of
discriminatory attitudes and laws that Chinese-Canadians faced
in this country. What relevance, if any, do you feel this historical
information has to the current story about illegal migrants?
A Cheap Pool of Labour
Chinese immigrants first became in demand after slavery was abolished
in the United States. Wealthy farmers and businessmen in the
United States found that poor, landless Chinese men from Guangdong
and Fujian provinces could be convinced to move to the U.S. to
do the hard, back-breaking work that used to be done by African
slaves. Some of these Chinese men immigrated to Canada when gold
was found in British Columbia’s Fraser River Valley in 1858.
These Chinese prospectors moved north to Canada in hopes of making
more money than they were earning in the U.S. Once here, the
Chinese found that they were only allowed to mine after the white
prospectors had extracted as much gold as they wanted from the
mines. Not surprisingly, there was very little gold left when
the Chinese finally were allowed access to the mines. However,
by 1860, other Chinese had begun arriving in British Columbia
directly from China.
Railway Workers
In addition to seeking gold, 17 000 Chinese men also found work
building the western section of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
This was extremely difficult and dangerous work. Tunnels had
to be blasted through the mountains, and railway track had to
be laid down high above many rivers and gorges. The arduous work
involved huge amounts of rock being moved by hand, and the Chinese
began to be known as “coolies” (bitter strength). In
all, over 700 Chinese men lost their lives building the railway.
And sadly, the Chinese workers were only paid half as much as
white workers doing the same job. The only other work that the
Chinese were allowed to do at this time was to work as cooks
and launderers. This work was seen as “women’s work,”
and therefore was poorly paid; and it did not threaten the white
male workers.
Although the Chinese were tolerated in Canada when their labour
was in demand, as soon as the railway was completed in 1885 the
Chinese were mistreated to an even greater extent. Thousands
of labourers were laid off from the railway, and the Canadian
government imposed a $500 head tax on any Chinese person wanting
to enter Canada. The Chinese were the only ethnic group that
had to pay such a tax.
Soldiers In Transit
In the first half of the 20th century the Chinese faced continued
discrimination. During the First World War, close to 80 000 Chinese
soldiers were transported from China to B.C. and then sent across
Canada and finally to the trenches of France. It turned out that
China had made a deal with its Western allies to provide men
for the allied war effort. When the men were returned to China
by the same route at the conclusion of the war, they were transported
in sealed railway cars to prevent them from sneaking into Canada
and avoiding the $500 head tax.
Years of Humiliation
Conditions did not improve for Chinese-Canadians following the
First World War. On July 1, 1923, the Canadian government passed
The Chinese Exclusion Act, which prevented any further Chinese
immigration to Canada. With the passing of this act, the Chinese
became the only people that Canada specifically excluded on the
basis of race. During the next 25 years more and more laws against
the Chinese were passed. Most jobs were closed to Chinese men
and women, so many Chinese opened their own restaurant and laundry
businesses. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, Chinese
employers were not allowed to hire white females, so most Chinese
businesses became Chinese-only.
During the Great Depression, life was even tougher for the Chinese
than it was for other Canadians. In Alberta, for example, Chinese-Canadians
received relief payments of less than half the amount paid to
other Canadians. And because The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited
any additional immigration from China, the Chinese men who had
arrived earlier had to face these hardships alone, without the
companionship of their wives and children. Census data from 1931
shows that there were 1240 men to every 100 women in Chinese-Canadian
communities. To protest The Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese-Canadians
closed their businesses and boycotted Dominion Day celebrations
every July 1st, which became known as “Humiliation Day”
by the Chinese-Canadians.
Canada was slow to lift the restrictions against the Chinese-Canadians
and grant them full rights as Canadian citizens. Because Canada
signed the United Nations Charter of Human Rights at the conclusion
of the Second World War, the Canadian government had to repeal
The Chinese Exclusion Act, which contravened the UN Charter.
In that same year, 1947, Chinese-Canadians were finally granted
the right to vote in federal elections. But it took another 20
years, until the points system was adopted for selecting immigrants,
that the Chinese began to be admitted under the same criteria
as any other applicants.
Introduction
Droit d’asile
In Search of
a New Life
An International
Concern
The “System”
A Response From
China
Chinese-Canadians
Discussion, Research,
and Essay Questions |
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