20th Century Discrimination In Canada

In the early immigration, the Fraser River gold rush is perhaps the largest event. It was an overall positive event, and the Chinese were a large part of the business of the time. They were entrepreneurial and established themselves selling things that were important to the miners, importing goods, growing food, and building infrastructure. Stores similar to the Wong Toy & Co. one would’ve existed then. The head tax period was obviously dominated by the creation of the Chinese Head Tax, similar to other anti-Chinese taxes throughout the world. This was a major step backwards in Chinese Canadian history, and the backwards thinking of it all was best illustrated as they continued to immigrate along the very railroad they helped build. Canada

As a result the federal government did not take action at first. By 1885, the CPR was completed and the demands for action increased, so in order to satisfy the public, the government enacted the Immigration Act which included the head-tax. During this period, the Chinese entered the city looking for other sources of employment; as they would accept low-wages, businesses were willing to hire them. Although the $50 head-tax slowed immigration, the public kept pushing the government to be stricter as there were too many Chinese in the city. Again the government conformed to the wishes of the public and raised the tax to $100 in 1900. Most Chinese worked in the salmon canning industry (Wing), while others worked as chefs in restaurants making only a few dollars a week (Bright ,13). By sticking together and preserving their language and culture, Chinese gave Canadians more reason to discriminate against them. Chinese were completely a different race from the British, and as John A. Macdonald said, the Chinese migrant "is a stranger, a sojourner in a strange land ... he has no common interest with us ... he has no British instincts or British feelings or aspirations"; Canadians didn't believe that they could assimilate well into the Canadian

Secondly, he after effects from the Japanese internment camps changed the views of the Japanese Canadians in regards to minority rights in Canada. This is because they realized that they couldn't just let the discrimination of the Japanese Canadians go and they demanded justice. After the Japanese Canadians were released from internment camps they were lost. Their house and possessions were sold off by the Canadian government without their permission, they had virtually nothing. On top of that the Japanese Canadians were given the choice to either relocate East of the Rockies or deport back to Japan. Soon after the Japanese Canadians had no choice and were forced exiles to Japan began. However things started to turn up in 1947 when the federal cabinets canceled the deportation policy, but the Japanese Canadians still wanted justice. The Japanese Canadians believed that it wasn't fair that they were treated so badly because they were from Japan origin. Even though they were a minority group they were still Canadian citizens and should be treated like Canadians. The Japanese Canadians were determine for

Today, Canada promotes multiculturalism and is accepting of people of all ethnic backgrounds. However, this was not always the case as the Canadian government often mistreated minority groups such as the Jews and the Japanese, especially during World War Two. Anti-Semitism was always prevalent in Canada during the early twentieth century, but as Germany developed these sentiments, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King implemented immigration restrictions targeted at Jews as an attempt to keep them out of Canada. Additionally, the mistreatment of Japanese Canadians heightened after Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in 1941. Consequently, the Canadian government saw Japanese Canadians as enemy aliens and responded by forcibly removing them from

- World War One, this was the first use of this act and Canada was part of the British Empire. Britain and its allies were at war against Germany, Austria-Hungary, parts of Ukraine and The Ottoman Empire. Under this act during 1914 people whom immigrated from those countries were considered “enemy aliens” (a citizen from one country who is residing in another which is at war). These so called aliens were required to register with the Canadian government and carry government issued ID at all time. They were not allowed to read or publish anything in any other language than English or French. They were also not allowed to leave the country without permits, possess firearms, or to join a group that was deemed dangerous, inappropriate or seditious. Many thousand aliens were sent to internment camps or deported; property was taken away and went missing. The camps didn’t end until 1920 the people whom were released were left with nothing and the Canadian government did not offer an apology/compensation.

One of the first major acts towards immigration was the Canadian Citizenships Act of 1947, which was passed by WL Mackenzie King on January 1, 1947 (Towards the Citizenship Act. Government of Canada). This act enabled non- Canadian immigrants to live in Canada regardless of their origin and were also able to apply for citizenship after 5 years of living in Canada (Ibid). Other changes included that women would not lose their citizenship if they married a non- Canadian (Erica, Gagnon. Canadian Citizenship Act, 1947). However, Canadians could lose citizenship if they adopted other citizenships (Ibid). This act was significant as Canada was the first Commonwealth country create separate citizenship, which aided in defining their independent nationhood (Towards the Citizenship Act. Government of Canada). Another pivotal movement was the introduction of the Point System in 1967, which instituted three classes of immigrants: independent class, family class and humanitarian class (A.E, Challoner. Canada's Immigration Policy). These classes categorized immigrants’ potential to be active and beneficial to productivity in Canadian society. This act also empowered for provinces to manage their own immigration laws (Ibid). Furthermore, Canadian independence was critical in

British Columbia at the time had a large population of Japanese-Canadians and feared that those of them who worked in the fishing industry were charting the coastlines for the Japanese navy; since British Columbia is on the coastline of the Pacific they felt vulnerable because they were easily susceptible to enemy attacks from Japan. It was common for countries at the time to question the loyalty of the citizens of a different ethnic origin, however Canada under King’s rule took the safety precautions to a whole other level. February 1942, Prime Minister Mackenzie King issued an evacuation of all Japanese-persons, and ordered that they be taken to internment camps where they were kept like animals in stalls and forced to do manual labour at cheated wages. 20, 881 Japanese, 13, 309 of which were born in Canada (so majority would have no reason to be loyal to Japan over Canada) were taken to internment camps, forced out of their homes, had their property sold at auctions, and were stripped of their rights. King interned these innocent Japanese-Canadians over a speculation that they were spies, without having any evidence to support his claims. Following the war, once it

Families that had spent decades building a life in Canada suddenly had nothing. This was a very unfair thing that Europeans did and it infringed on the Japanese people's rights. This has caused many problems with the Europeans and Japanese. This is only one of many examples of Mobility Rights being infringed on. Today, in Jasper National Park, you are unable to live there unless you have a job there or are going to school.

The period of 1914 to 1939, Canada’s immigration policy got very unfair. Changes were made to the Immigration Act in 1914 that allowed the rejection of anyone from any race that was deemed

Canada is presently known for welcoming many racial groups into the country. However, the Canadian government is not always giving out warm welcomes to different ethnicities. During World War Two, the country rejects many Japanese and Italians who are already Canadian. The treatment of the Japanese and Italians in the Second World War is very unjust. The two groups face being put into internment camps against their own will, the government separates families and force men to work on farms with little pay. The government of Canada also mistreat the Japanese and Italian Canadians because they are full of fear and superstition.

With the internment of Japanese-Canadians, Canada

The internment camps were only in British Columbia, but Japanese who were fortunate enough to live outside of the internment camps still suffered from horrible conditions. Outside of British Columbia, labour was huge in demand, yet most Japanese were unemployed. Not only the Japanese had to suffer, but so did the industries. A lot of Canadians were racist at the time, and believed that the nationality, time living in Canada, and loyalty didn’t matter because they were Japanese. This lead to Albertan farmers forming sweatshop like shacks for sugar beat labour where they were payed very little for overworking. Many Japanese lost jobs, and therefore, money, which is why many people had to take these sweatshop like jobs to feed their family. This further emphasizes the fact that the treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII was unjustified, and

In this research paper, I will be explaining how western colonialism and racism destroyed the reputation of aboriginal peoples in Canada. The reason why I chose this topic because it shows the strong relationship to anthropology and after taking aboriginal studies 30, it also shows that I have a clear understanding about the history of aboriginal peoples in Canada, the struggles they have been through over the past decade and the challenges they still face today in modern day society. I’ll be addressing these issues in a couple of paragraphs on the discrimination and the inequalities of these “minorities” and how they had to assimilate into European culture, leaving their way of life behind them.

For one thing, the Chinese head tax was collected on Chinese immigration to Canada between 1885 and 1923, under the Chinese Immigration Act (1885). With a couple of special cases, Chinese individuals needed to pay $50 (later raised to $100, then $500) to come and live Canada. The most messed up, most devastating thing was that they left their families back in China. The head tax made it impossible for a Chinese worker to bring their families to Canada. The Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper (in 2006) apologized to Chinese immigrants, and their families, “symbolic payments to living head tax payers and living spouses of deceased payers.”.

As a nation, Canada is known to the rest of the world for being thoughtful, polite, and generally very accepting of all ethnicities and people. However, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population, Japanese Canadians, African American and Indigenous slaves seems to suggest otherwise. Canada's dark past may not be talked about often, but there are three main events that targeted specific ethnic groups which still affect those people today. Residential Schools led to major negative cultural consequences, as well as psychological and sociological effects. Japanese-Canadian Internment Camps were used to strip Japanese Canadians of their rights because of the World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor. And finally, for two centuries slavery was legal in New France, and in Lower Canada under British rule. Human beings were being held captive and were owned by many people, including governors, bishops, military officers, priests, and blacksmiths. All of these terrible consequences can be accredited to Canada’s imperialistic policies.