The 20th Century in Canada
Immigration
Closing the Door to Immigration
Many Canadians disliked Sifton’s “open-door
immigration policy”
Why?
1. Labour organizations feared that unskilled
workers might take jobs away from their union
members.
2. Some feared that the British character of Canada
would be lost
3. French-Canadians thought their culture and
people would be overrun
B.C. & Immigration
Immigration was a very thorny issue in
British Columbia.
Why?
1. Employers were hiring Asian immigrants in
the mines, forests, and the canneries
because they worked hard and for less
money.
Frank Oliver
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Frank Oliver became the
Minister of the Interior in
1905.
He supported the AntiAsian sentiment in B.C.
He introduced a more
selective immigration
policy aimed at Asian
immigrants.
Provincial governments
started to restrict Chinese,
Japanese, and East Indian
immigrants
B.C. – The “Golden Mountain”
Chinese immigrants were
the largest group of
Asians in B.C. at the turn
of the century.
Why?
1. Cariboo Gold Rush
2. Construction of the CPR
By 1891 close to 9400
Chinese living in B.C.
Most of these men lived
in Chinatowns in
Vancouver, Victoria,
Nanaimo, and New
Westminster.
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Chinatown in San Francisco (1900)
Opponents of Asian Immigration
Organizations formed such
as the Asiatic Exclusion
League (1907)
► In 1907 Lieutenant
Governor James Dunsmuir
refused to sign a AntiJapanese Immigration bill
a mob formed and
destroyed much of
Vancouver’s Chinatown.
► Brought worldwide
attention onto the city of
Vancouver, which was very
embarrassing to Federal
Government.
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Why was the Federal Govt Upset?
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Japan was an ally of Great
Britain.
Prime Minister Laurier
apologized to the Japanese
government and created a
Royal Commission to
investigate the issue.
The government did set a
limit of 400 Japanese
immigrants a year into
Canada after this event.
By “Continuous Passage” Only
► Since
1904 Sikhs had
been encouraged to
immigrate to Canada
by CPR agents.
► It was difficult to
restrict East-Indian
immigration because
they were British
subjects.
What did the Federal Government do
to restrict East-Indian Immigration?
► The
government
amended the 1906
Immigration Act
► Immigrants were now
required to come to
Canada via a non-stop,
direct route from their
country of origin.
► But this was impossible
from India.
The Komagata Maru Incident
1914
Gurdit Singh, an East
Indian businessman,
tried to challenge the
amended Immigration
Act.
He charted the
Komagata Maru and
transported 354 Sikh
immigrants to
Vancouver.
The Komagata Maru Incident
Continued
The Komagata Maru left
Hong Kong on April 4,
1914. The ship stopped in
China and Japan before
arriving in Vancouver on
May 23, 1914.
The Canadian Government
quarantined the ship in the
harbor.
The ship sat in the harbor
for two months before the
Government escorted out
of Vancouver harbour on
July 23, 1914.
What happened to the Komagata
Maru?
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The ship sailed back to Calcutta (Arriving on September 26,
1914)
A British gunboat detained the ship and they were taken to
Baj Baj, a suburb of Calcutta, where they were detained.
The British officials told the Sikhs that were to be sent to
Punjab via a special train
The men refused due to religious and political reasons.
Gurdit Singh tried to walk to Calcutta with the other
occupants of the ship. A skirmish took place, gunfire ensued,
and 20 East Indians were killed and nine were wounded.