HISTORY OF SOUTH ASIAN IMMIGRANTS IN CANADA

By Jason Vaz

1900: THE FIRST RECORDED ENTRY OF SOUTH ASIANS

(SA) INTO CANADA .

1900: DESCRIPTION

Upper middleclass farming families sent a capable member to Canada

to alleviate heavy monetary debts owed to dishonest landowners in the

state of Punjab. At this time, British Columbian farmers were looking

for man-power to till acres of unused yet farmable soil, and they

advertised Canada as the land of opportunity. In response, 5000 SA

Sikh farmers arrived over a period of 7 years. Since the dominion

government imposed a $500 charge on any Chinese that wished to

enter Canada, most BC farmers looked for SA and Japanese help.

 

1907: THE BRITISH COLUMBIA RACE RIOTS

1907: DESCRIPTION

were a reaction to the tension of (1) escalating unemployment of indigenous

farmers, which would eventually lead to depression the following year, and (2)

increasing arrivals of the SA “menace” to BC in search of work. The British-

Canadian Government, in reaction to these riots imposed strictures

unreasonable restrictions on SA immigrants, which forced many of them to flee

back to India. The British Government tried to send the remaining 1,100 SA

immigrants to British-Honduras from where most of them returned due to

inhabitable conditions. In British Columbia, the returning SAs were allowed to

stay but were not permitted to bring their families from India to live with them.

 

1 9 1 9 : T H E G OV E R N M E N T A L L O W S S A I M M I G R A N T S T O B R I N G T H E I R

FA M I L I E S T O C A N A D A .

1919: DESCRIPTION

The Government allowed “legal SA residents” to

bring their wives and dependent children to Canada.

The illegal SA residents were those that entered the

country between 1908 and 1918 like the the SAs on

board Komagata Maru in 1914.

1947 : VOTIN G R IGHTS A R E AWA R D E D TO S A S BY THE B C GOV E R N M E N T .

 This was brought about by the combined

lobbying of local SAs and provincial officials.

The Government agreed because it could no

longer hold on to prejudicial restrictions and

justify it after the Second World War.

1 9 6 7 : R A C E , E T H N I C I T Y A N D N A T I O N A L I T Y D I S R E G A R D E D B Y C A N A D I A N G O V E R N M E N T I N

I M M I G R A N T S E L E C T I O N

1967: DESCRIPTION

- Recognizing the economic benefits of immigrants

and the growing need to strengthen the Canada’s

economy and man-power, immigrants were now

selected on economic criteria and skill type/ level.

IMAGE SOURCES

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