History of Immigration in Canada

Immigration To Canada 

Canada has helped over 7.5 million immigrants to have a better life for themselves and for their children. Most immigrants that come to Canada are from either Europe or Asia. “We have created a society where individual rights and freedoms, compassion and diversity are core to our citizenship. But underlying that idea of Canada is the promise that we all have a chance to build a better life for ourselves and our children” announced Justin Trudeau. Immigration has its highs and lows, however there’s always a reason. Immigration has had a positive impact on Canada throughout the years because of the Chinese immigrants, Jewish refugees and Syrian refugees.

In 1921, Chinese immigrants were banned from all entry into Canada for 24 years. Chinese immigrants were the only ones that were singled out of race. 29,033 men had immigrated to Canada in 1941, 80 percent of those men were married and had children. Many men took trips back to China to either marry or visit their wives and children. It did not matter if they were born in Canada, there were not allowed to sponsor a family member to join them in Canada. There were Chinese communities found support from traditional association, socialization, relaxation, financial aid, banking service, social service, employment and housing assistance. Based on their shared surnames was the membership to the organization that they were involved in. Chinese immigrant went into small business, for example Laundries, Restaurants and Grocery stores. Chinese people were reduced to second class status, lower in rank race. Chinese did not have the right to vote, to hold public office or own their own property, limiting employment and housing, forcing a lot more restrictions. White workers and labour unions protested and hampered their ability to earn a living. Many Chinese immigrants have to pay off debts, and were sustained by the head tax, as well as earning low wages.. Employments as cooks, servants, domestic work were unacceptable to the white workers due to low pay and social status, was also willingly to go through rather than going back to China and sacrificing the earning and supported their families there. An illegal immigration scheme had occurred that mostly men came into Canada with illegal papers that people would fake their identities. The “paper son” changed their surnames to people that was supposed to come back to Canada but did not. The Chinese had a high price, not only for the fake identities but for also living in fear if they ever got caught and deported back to China and keeping secret their real names. Between 1885 and 1923 the government had placed a tax on Chinese immigration, there was an exception. Chinese immigrant would have to pay $50 (as the years went by the cost increased to $100 then to $500) to come to Canada. In 1923, when the tax was removed the Chinese were banned until 1947. Over 20 years the federal government finally apologized to the injustice of its past anti Chinese immigration policies. June 22, 2006 PM Stephen Harper apologized for Head Tax and exclusionary legislation. Payments were made out to surviving head tax payer and spouses to passed away payers. A community fund was made for project to educate Canadians about the past injustice that occurred by the Chinese Canadian community. After the second world war the with draw of this discriminatory legislation, the gaining of the right to vote and the establishment of the Canadian Citizenship Act in 1947 were one of the first steps to increase the inclusion into Canadian life. Chinese immigrants in Canada are now valued as Canadian citizens. Chinese immigrants were banned from Canada for a certain amount of time for some reasons. During the late 1920s the Great Depression had occured in Canada, Canada could not afford more people in the country. It was for the best that Chinese immigrants were banned from coming to Canada, after the government realizing that they were doing terrible things towards the Chinese, the federal government finally apologized to the injustice of its past anti Chinese immigration policies. On June 22, 2006 PM Stephen Harper apologized for Head Tax and exclusionary legislation. Payments were made out to surviving head tax payer and spouses to passed away payers. A community fund was made for project to educate Canadians about the past injustice that occurred by the Chinese Canadian community. This would mean that the Canadian government can reflect on its past and learn from it, therefore being a positive impact on Canada.There are also other immigrants that immigrant to Canada, which also have huge positive impact on Canada.

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 Canada denied Jewish refugees entry into the country, between 1933-1945 Canada accepted 4000 Jewish refugees, compared with 200,000 in the United States and 85,000 in Britain. Since the Depression was during that era the government thought that the Depression supported the idea that immigrants were taking Canadians jobs away from them. In 1930 the government banned immigrants from Europe, the only Europeans that could stay where the one who could farm or who had families here in Canada. The following year the government banned all Europeans from Canada. Discrimination against Jews was another factor for the government to deny Jew entry into Canada, Cities for example, Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg had bursting Jewish communities, even though jews has faced discrimination, Lifestyle and value are different from those who are french or english Canadians. Jews faced barriers in entering schools and from some professions, although there were private clubs and associations just restricted the membership of jewish citizens. However Jews in Western Europe joined in the opening up of America to European settlement, but were legally barred from residence in New France, where immigration was restricted to catholics only. Jews mostly settled in the british colonies to the south andand after the incorporation of New France into the British Empire began also to settle in lower Canada In 1871 first after Confederation counted 1115 Jews in Canada, 409 in Montreal, 157 in Toronto, 131 in Hamilton. There were smaller numbers in Quebec city, saint john, london, kingston and brantford. Community of over a hundred was also settled in british Columbia when it join Confederation. Jews had developed an identity based on being a national minority with a distinctive religion and communal structure. When the jews settled in Canada they founded organizations which expressed each of these dimensions of their identity. Work for a safe haven in Canada for some increasing desperate Jews in Europe. Canada took in a smaller amount of Jews than any western country, about 17,000 Jewish Canadians responded and served in the armed forces which helped a lot. Other than that about 40,000 survivors of the Holocaust came in late 1940, seeking a peaceful country, a place where they could rebuild their lives. In 1940s the Human Rights Legislation was introduced, however in the 1950s Jews that were in independent countries like North Africa had immigrated to Canada, Most Jews settled in Montreal. Jewish Canadians had brought a positive impact on Canada because after world war one Canada had took in many Jewish people because of the Holocaust that had terrified many of the Jews. Although this has a positive impact on Canada because now immigrants like the Jewish Canadians can bring their families or friends to Canada because its a safe country where individual rights and freedoms, compassion and diversity are core to our citizenship. But underlying that idea of Canada is the promise that we all have a chance to build a better life for ourselves and our children which once said by Justin Trudeau. There are also other immigrants that immigrant to Canada, which also have huge positive impact on Canada.

 There are many Syrian refugees that had to immigrant to Canada, there was a estimate amount of total refugees in Syria is about 4.86 million and with at least 6.3 million still inside displaced in Syria. 300,000 and 400,000 were the amount of syrian deaths. Between November 2015- February 29 2016 Canada had took in 25,000 Syrian refugees.This also included with support from government and privately sponsored refugee. Syrian civilians have been targeted by Bashar al Assad regime and by terrorist groups like ISIS. Countries like Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon hold a huge amount of Syrians, estimate of 95% of these countries hold the total number of refugees. As this conflict continues to grow it creates a precarious situation for both refugees and host country. When a large amount of refugees arrive in countries there are obligated to provide international protection and a relocation, only if they had signed the 1951 Refugee Convention. There were three ways the Syrian refugees can be resettled to Canada are Government sponsorship, Private sponsorship, Blended visa office referred cases. Syrians that were affected by the crisis are in needs of food, shelter, health, protection and education. Between september 2015-February 2016 Canadians had donated 31.8 million to the syrian emergency relief. Canada had been supporting developing projects to help countries that are nearby that are also being targeted. Other than that In 2015 there was an unbelievable amount of Syrian refugees that were successfully resettled in Canada, there were 2,302 Syrian refugees that committed to resettling around 10,000 in the next three years. In September of 2015 there was confirmation of 2,406 syrian refugees were in Canada. There were nearly 7,500 applications from Syrian refugees in October of 2015. Canada has took in so many Syrian refugees, this created a positive impact on Canada because it shows that Canada is loving and safe country to other people that might want to leave because of situations, for instance like the Syrian Crisis.

 There are many different cultural groups that immigrant to Canada, but the many ones that had an impact on Canada were Chinese immigrants, Jewish refugees and Syrian refugees. No other country is compared to Canada, civilization come to Canada because they know if they come here they’ll be treated with respect, love, kindness and fair.

Work Cited

• Chan, Arlene. “Chinese Immigration Act”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 20 June 2017, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-immigration-act. Accessed 14 January 2019.
• Chan, Arlene. “Chinese Head Tax in Canada”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 23 April 2018, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-head-tax-in-canada. Accessed 16 January 2019
• Molnar, Petra. “Canadian Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 18 December 2017, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-response-to-the-syrian-refugee-crisis. Accessed 16 January 2019
• Quinlan, Don, Rick Mahoney, Rick Chang, and Gregory Morris. The Canadian Challenge. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 2008
• Schoenfeld, Stuart. “Jewish Canadians”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 06 July 2017, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jewish-canadians. Accessed 15 January 2019.