Immigration After World War I

After World War IAfter World War I was there high or low

unemployment?HIGH!

Some Canadians pressured employers to fire immigrant workers so that soldiers could have their jobs

Who else was pressured to leave their jobs? Hint: we talked about it two classes ago!

Who is to blame?Immigrants were blamed for high

unemployment

Immigrants were blamed for starting the Winnipeg General Strike(Not true!)

Equality?Not all immigrants were treated the same

Immigrants from Britain and other Northern European countries were welcome in Canada

As people began to move into the city, Canada needed more farmers and farm labourers

The government decidesThe government came up with several acts

and agreements that decided who could immigrate and who couldn’t and under what conditions

Empire Settlement Act, 1922Railway Agreement, 1924Immigration Act, 1919Chinese Immigration Act, 1923

Empire Settlement ActRecruited British Empire immigrants, but

only if they were whiteAllowed British subjects living in Canada to

nominate a relative, friend or acquaintance for farm or domestic work

Between 1923-1929 more than 22,000 women came to Canada under the agreement

Railway AgreementAuthorized the Canadian National Railway,

and Canadian Pacific Railway to recruit farmers from Europe

Relaxed some of the exclusion policies to include immigration of Eastern Europeans (Germans, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, etc.)

More than 185,000 Europeans came to Canada

Immigration ActProhibited immigration of

“Enemy Aliens” (Germans, Austrians, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Turks)

People from certain religions such as Mennonites

Chinese Immigration ActBanned Chinese immigration to CanadaNot ended until 1947Between 1923-1947 only 8 Chinese people

were allowed to immigrate to Canada!

Immigration CartoonsPeople from Asia and South Asia were

discouraged from immigrating to Canada

There was even a law that required people from India to travel directly to Canada on a ship that did not stop anywhere along the way. But no ships sailed directly from India to Canada!

Other immigrantsOther members of religious groups were

barred from coming, such as Mennonites, Doukhobors, and Hutterites.

By 1924, immigration officials barred Black immigrants from entering Canada on racial grounds; their race was deemed unsuited to Canada's climate.

Immigration and Colonization department was hostile toward Jews and few were allowed to immigrate in the 1920s (this practice continued up to and during WII)

100 years of immigration!Top countries of origin of immigrants to Canada1900 to 1910

Settlement of the WestFrom 1900 to 19101. British Isles2. United States3. Russia4. Austria5. Galicia

1911 to 1920World War I (1914 to 1918)From 1911 to 19201. British Isles2. United States3. Russia

1921 to 1930Pier 21 in Halifax opens in 1928From 1921 to 19301. British Isles2. United States3. Poland4. Russia5. Czechoslovakia6. Finland

1931 to 1940The Great Depression begins in 1929From 1931 to 19401. United States2. British Isles3. Poland4. Czechoslovakia

1941 to 1950World War II (1942 to 1945) and the arrival of displaced persons/refugees (1947 to 1950)From 1941 to 19501. British Isles2. Poland3. United States4. Netherlands5. Italy6. U.S.S.R.

1951 to 1960Hungarian refugees begin to arrive (1956)From 1951 to 19601. British Isles (25%)2. Italy (16%)3. Germany (12%)4. Netherlands (8%)5. United States (5%)6. Poland (4%)7. Hungary (3%)

1961 to 1970Americans of draft age; 11,000 Czecholslovakian refugees arrive from 1968 to 1969.From 1961 to 19701. British Isles (21%)2. Italy (13%)3. United States (10%)4. Portugal (5%)5. Greece (4%)6. Federal Republic of Germany (4%)7. Other West Indies (3%)8. Yugoslavia (3%)

1971 to 1980Refugees accepted from Uganda and Chile (1972 to 1973); Indochinese Boat People (1975 to 1981)From 1971 to 19801. British Isles (13%)2. United States (10%)3. India (6%)4. Portugal (5%)5. Philippines (4%)6. Jamaica (4%)7. People’s Republic of China (4%)8. Hong Kong (4%)

1981 to 1990From 1981 to 19901. Hong Kong (7%)2. India (7%)3. British Isles (6%)4. Poland (6%)5. People’s Republic of China (6%)6. Philippines (5%)7. United States (5%)8. Viet Nam (4%)

1991 to 20001997 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Citizenship and Immigration Act; 7,000 refugees from Kosovo arrive in 1999.From 1991 to 20001. People's Republic of China2. India3. Philippines4. Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong5. Sri Lanka6. Pakistan7. Taiwan8. United States