Overview of History of Canada Immigration Policy - Immigration Law - Lecture Slides, Slides of Immigration Law

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Overview of History of Canada

Immigration Policy

People have been coming to Canada

for many years ………….

Canada’s immigration policies (or

lack thereof) have always had

significant impacts on the people

who were allowed to come

Early ‘policy’ was very

simple…..

1896 - 1905

• “I think that a stalwart peasant in a sheepskin coat, born to the soil, with a stout wife and a half dozen children, is good quality”

Clifford Sifton, Ministry of Interior

1901 census

• Population 5,371,
• 96% of European origin
• 13% population were immigrants
• 55% foreign-born were citizens
• 4% Chinese were citizens
• 43% immigrants female
• 41% pop of British origin
• 31% French
• 22,050 Chinese
• 17, 347 Blacks
• 16,131 Jews
  • In 1901 the Chinese

Head tax doubled from

the 1885 level of $50 to

$.

1906

• Immigration Act passed to stop ‘undesirable

immigrants’

This Act

• Expanded the list of

‘prohibited

immigrants’

• Allowed deportation of

immigrants within 2

(then 3 then 5) years

of landing for ….

• Becoming a public charge
• Insanity
• Disease
  • Handicap
  • Becoming an inmate of a prison or hospital
  • Infirmity
  • Committing crimes of ‘moral turpitude’

Deportations

increased

dramatically!!

Arrival of Sikhs in BC in 1906-

resulted in an “anti-Asiatic” parade

which ended in a riot

• State the purpose of the discussion
• Identify yourself

1908 - 1910

• Chinese Immigration Act amended to increase

those under the head tax and expand list of

prohibited persons

• Border inspection service created at US-Canada

border

• Continuous journey rule imposed
• New Act allowed Canada to prohibit immigrants

belonging to any race deemed unsuitable and

expanded deportation grounds to include

immorality and political offences;

• New Act introduced concept of ‘domicile’
• First Caribbean Domestic Scheme

• CENSUS 1911:

Population 7,206,

• 97% population of European origin
• 22% population immigrants
• 47% of these naturalized (9% Chinese,

22% Japanese)

• 39% of immigrants were women
• Population: 54% British origin
• 29% French origin
• 75,681 Jews
• 27,774 Chinese, 9,021 Japanese
• 3,342 ‘Hindus”

War Initiatives - Terror

suspects???

Special Measures….

War Measures Act ..

• Increased govt’s power to arrest, detain and deport
• ‘Enemy aliens’ forced to register themselves and subjected to many restrictions
• 8,000 – 9,000 ‘enemy aliens’ interned..
• …..released in response to labour shortages…..

Wartime

Elections Act (1917)

• Disenfranchised all persons from ‘enemy alien’ countries who had been naturalized since 1902

And for women….

(No – not these women)

And for the women……

• Women's division created in 1919 within Immigration Dept to ‘care’ for single women immigrants
• 1919 .. Immigration Act amended to add new grounds for denying entry and deportation – alcoholism, illiteracy.
• Classes of immigrants could be denied entry because of unsuitability, peculiar habits, modes of life or holding property
• British-born subject to deportation on political grounds (Winnipeg general strike)

1921 Census

• Population 8,787,
• 97.5% European origin
• 22% immigrants
• 44% immigrants female
• 58% of foreign-born naturalized citizens
• 55% pop British origins
• 33% French origins
• 126,196 Hebrews
• 39,347 Chinese
• 23,342 Japanese
• 18, 291 ‘Negroes’

Chinese Immigrants Under

Attack

Several

restrictive

laws come

into effect

1920’s…Attacks on Chinese Immigrants….

• Opium and Narcotic Drug Act led to deportations: 35% of all the deportations in ’23-’24 in Pacific Division
• 1923 Order issued excluding ‘any immigrant of any Asiatic race’ – except agriculturalists, farm labourers, female domestic servants and wife and children of persons legally in Canada
• Chinese Immigration Act – more prohibitions.. Humiliation Day - Doors opened to British citizens, Americans and citizens of ‘preferred countries’. Limitations placed on immigrants from Austria, Hungary, Poland, etc….

Overt Targeting Of Identified

Populations Characterized this period.

…

• 1930… Order further prohibited the landing of ‘any immigrant of any Asiatic race’ except wives and minor children of Cdn citizens
• Order requiring Chinese and Japanese to renounce their former citizenship before becoming citizens; impact on Japanese.
• Deportations on grounds of becoming public charge increased – from 1930 to ’ 34 the deportations on this ground increased 6x.

A time of terror….

• Communist party made illegal – grounds for deportation (’31)
• Deportation of unemployed
• ’31 political deportations legalized
• ’32 Red Raid
• In ’34 94% of applications for naturalization refused
• Political deportations

Faith communities join with others

• To advocate for Jewish refugees (’38)
• Opposed by many anti- Semitic groups
• Cdn National Cttee on Refugees and Victims of Persecution formed
• Cttee focused on individual cases, as unsuccessful in affecting policy

Reluctant moves on refugee issues…..

• ’38 Canada reluctantly participated in Evian Conference on refugees with ‘NO’ mandate. Canada’s immigration department was anti-Semitic (“None is too many”)
• Canada takes some German refugees, but insists on higher payment from Britain
• In response to ’38 refugee crisis, Canada insisted it would accept only those who met categories for admissible immigrants
• 2,500 “potentially dangerous enemy aliens” brought to Canada from Britain) and interned (in fact many were Jews)

Census ‘41

• Population 11,506,6755
• 98% pop of European origin
• 18% immigrants
• 45% of these female
• 71% of immigrants

naturalized

• 50% population of British

origin

• 30% French origin
• 170,241 Jews
• 34,627 Chinese
• 22,174 Africans

The End of WW II – Some Change

• Gov’t resistance to pressure for a more open immigration policy began to give way in the mid ’40;s with:
• Sponsorships
• Identity documents
• Citizenship Act
• Emergency measures for refugees (economic considerations)

However… the ’52 Immigration Act still

…

• Gave the Minister and officials significant

powers over selection, admission and deportation.

• Allowed refusal on grounds of nationality,

ethnic group, area of origin, peculiar customs, unsuitability re: climate, rate of assimilation, sexual orientation, etc.

• Gov’t allowed 4 groups to select and process immigrants in ’53
• Oops! Conflict arose because the groups (churches) selected the people most in need!!
• ’54 Bar Assn criticized the arbitrary exercise of power by immigration officials and called for a quasi-judiciary Immigration Appeals Board