The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, known today as the Chinese Exclusion Act (the duration of which has been dubbed the Exclusion Era), was an act passed by the government of

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Prime Minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

, banning most forms of Chinese immigration to Canada. Immigration from most countries was controlled or restricted in some way, but only the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

were completely prohibited from immigrating to Canada.

History

Before 1923, Chinese immigration was heavily controlled by the

Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 The ''Chinese Immigration Act, 1885'' was a Canadian Act of Parliament that placed a head tax of $50 () on all Chinese immigrants entering Canada. It was based on the recommendations published in the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration in 1 ...

, which imposed an onerous head tax on all immigrants from China. After various members of the federal and some provincial governments (especially

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

) put pressure on the federal government to discourage Chinese immigration, the Chinese Immigration Act was passed. It went into effect on 1 July 1923. The Act banned Chinese immigrants from entering Canada except those under the following titles: * Diplomat * Foreign student * "Special circumstance" granted by the Minister of Immigration under Article 9 of the Act (This is the class that former

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Adrienne Clarkson's family fell under.) * Merchant The Act did not only apply to Chinese from China but ethnic Chinese with British nationality as well. Since

Dominion Day Dominion Day was a day commemorating the granting of certain countries Dominion status — that is, "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external ...

coincided with the enforcement of the Chinese Immigration Act, Chinese-Canadians at the time referred to the anniversary of

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

as "Humiliation Day" and refused to take any part in the celebration. Because Canada became a signatory following World War II of the United Nations' Charter of Human Rights, with which the Chinese Immigration Act was inconsistent, the Canadian Parliament repealed the act on 14 May 1947 (following the proclamation of the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 on 1 January 1947). However, independent Chinese immigration to Canada came only after the liberalization of Canadian immigration policy under the governments of

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

and

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

, first by the elimination of restrictions based on national origins in 1962, followed by the establishment of the world's first points-based immigration system in 1967.

Redress and legacy

On 22 June 2006, then-

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

apologized in the House of Commons. The first phrase of the apology was spoken in Cantonese Chinese, the most frequently spoken Chinese language among Chinese immigrants. He announced that the survivors or their spouses will be paid approximately () in compensation for the head tax. On 15 May 2014, then-

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a former Canadian politician who was the 35th premier of British Columbia (BC), from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female ...

apologized in the Legislative Assembly. The apology motion was unanimously passed and aims to make amends for historic wrongs. Unlike the federal apology, no individual compensation was provided. However, was promised to be put into a legacy fund which would help legacy initiatives. The formal apology went through a three-month consultation period with various parties to help ensure that the apology was done properly. On 22 April 2018, then-Mayor of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Gregor Robertson issued a formal public apology. The Act and its legacy have been the subject of at least three documentary films: * '' Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice'' (2011) by Kenda Gee and

Tom Radford Tom Radford (born March 12, 1946) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker from Edmonton, Alberta.Tom Murray"Tom Radford" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', March 22, 2010. A cofounder with Anne Wheeler and P. J. Reese of the Filmwest Associates studio, Ra ...

* ''In the Shadow of Gold Mountain'' (2004) by

Karen Cho Karen Cho is a Chinese-Canadian documentary filmmaker in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her credits include the 2004 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) documentary ''In The Shadow Of Gold Mountain'', documenting the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Ac ...

; Cho, Karen, writer/director. 2004.
In the Shadow of Gold Mountain
' (documentary film). CA:

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

. It has also been the subject of works of historical fiction: * ''The Red Tiger'' (2019) by Chuck Lim

References

External links

{{Chinese Canadian 1923 in Canadian law 1923 in international relations Anti-Chinese activities in Canada Anti-Chinese legislation Canadian federal legislation Canadian immigration law History of Chinese Canadians History of immigration to Canada History of Vancouver Immigration legislation Legal history of Canada Repealed Canadian legislation Chinese-Canadian culture in Vancouver

History

Redress and legacy

See also

References

External links