Immigration in Canada
The Great Depression
The 1930’s brought misery to Canadians as low wages and high rates of unemployment became the norm at the same time as prices remained comparatively high. Unemployment reached about 30% in 1933, and the percentage was even higher for certain categories of workers, or in certain regions. For example, the rate of unemployment among the young males between the ages of 16 and 24 of Quebec City reached 46% in 1936-1937 if we are to trust the result of a survey conducted by the local chapter of the Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne. It should be borne in mind that unemployment insurance did not yet exist in the 1930’s. As well, Canadians had always been conditioned to think of immigration as essentially serving the economic interest of Canada. Immigration had been supported by ordinary Canadians to the extent that the immigrants “knew their place”, that they contributed to the Canadian economy, that is that they settled on farms in the great western prairies of Canada, that they were not seen as competing for the often scarce industrial jobs of Canada. When the job market contracted, few in Canada were prepared to support the entrance of any large number of immigrants. These could only be seen as potentially entering Canada to compete for jobs and depressing wages further. Governments were accutely aware of these feelings and adjusted the system accordingly. Thus, in 1907, in 1913, and again in 1919-1921 – all years witnessing economic strains in Canada – steps had been taken to reduce immigration.
As time passed, Canadian governments became increasingly effective at regulating immigration and matching it to the impulses of the economy. In this respect, the Great Depression was to decimate immigration in Canada. Its first impact can be measured by looking at the rapidly rising number of deportations of immigrants that occured during the Great Depression. If immigrants lost their job, which was frequently the case since they were the last to be hired, they were ruthlessly deported from Canada. Between 1930 and 1934, 16,765 immigrants were deported from Canada as having become “public charge”; by 1935, the number of deportations had reached more than 28,000. These numbers were several times the rate of deportation seen in the 1920’s. As time passed, the grounds for deportation became more and more varied: one could be deported for union activities, or for membership in the Communist Party, for medical reasons or for petty charges of criminality, such as vagrancy, a not uncommon charge during the Great Depression.
The ruthless application of deportation shows to what extent immigration was unpopular in the country during the depression years. In this context, immigrants found few friends in Canada. The first few years of the Great Depression saw several restrictive regulations adopted by the Canadian government (P. C. 1113 in 1929; P. C. 659 and 1957 in 1930 and P. C. 695 in 1931). The net effect of these regulations was that, by 1932, only Americans, British subjects and agriculturalists with enough capital to start farming in Canada could be admitted. In the process, the number of landed immigrants into Canada had gone from 166,783 in 1928 to 14,382 in 1933 (and was to continue to decrease until 1937). Thus, Jews attempted to enter Canada in the 1930’s at a time when the country had nearly entirely closed its doors to immigrants and when immigration was likely at its most unpopular level since Confederation. As historians Robert Bothwell, Ian Drummond and John English put it in their book entitled Canada, 1900-1945: “For Canadians, the Great Depression was the overwhelming fact of the decade (p. 295).” It should also be noted that the percentage of Jews in the overall number of immigrants to Canada in the 1930’s did not decrease when we compare it to the situation that prevailed in the period of 1896 to 1929.
Canadian immigration policy before 1945
Canada did not have a refugee policy. Essentially, the country did not distinguish between refugees – who clearly would require special considerations, if not the total suspension of the ordinary rules – and regular immigrants. Consequently, refugees were required to follow all the regulations that were imposed on ordinary immigrants. How could a Jewish refugee from Germany who had been dispossessed of all his worldly possessions show he could support himself in Canada? Canada had admitted some groups of refugees in the XIXth century (Hutterites and Mennonites for example) but only because these were farmers who came as a block settlement at a time of intensive western development, and who otherwise qualified under Canadian Immigration Law. Other groups, such as Armenians for example, had been largely denied asylum in Canada (see Isabel Kaprielian-Churchill, “Armenian Regugees and their Entry into Canada, 1919-1930”, Canadian Historical Review, Vol. LXXI, No. 1 (Spring 1990): 80-108). Only after the Second World War did Canada begin to develop a significant refugee policy. The absence of a generous and sensitive refugee policy in Canada during the Great Depression was hugely felt by Jews in the 1930’s.
Some issues
1.Open doors (only as to overall number of immigrants); the more immigrants would come to Canada, the better it would be. We do not seek to restrict numbers and will only significantly do so during the Great Depression (1929-1939). See the following pages for number of immigrants by country of origin (1900-1920) (1921-1945) or by region (1900-1970). (More data with different periods defined)
2.Economically “self-serving” : “Only farmers need apply” (farmers, servants, labourers, miners). Ideally, immigrants should go West to farm the Prairies. Prairie farm settlement was part of the design to make the National Policy function appropriately. A “bad immigrant” was one that moved to the cities of the East to compete with Canadians for scarce industrial jobs. Ex. Memorandum from Clifford Sifton to Wilfrid Laurier (April 15, 1901): “Our desire is to promote the immigration of farmers and farm labourers. We have not been disposed to exclude foreigners of any nationality who seemed likely to become successful agriculturalists”. However, the needs of business were of paramount importance. It required low paid workers for jobs that Canadians simply would not do. Consequently, the federal Government was prepared to accommodate business so that the Canadian economy would prosper. Ex. it was not difficult for the Canadian Pacific Railway to “import” Chinese labour to finish its transcontinental railway. Such was also the case in the mines and lumber camps of Canada.
3.”Assimilation”. The model: white, anglo-saxons, protestant (WASP). The closer you are to the model, the more likely you are to be accepted by the government and the people of Canada. The more you divert from the model, the more “foreign” you are, the more difficult for you to enter Canada and the more likely you will face discrimination by ordinary Canadians once here. Section 38 of the Canadian Immigration Act of 1910 gave the Canadian Government the power to prohibit the entry “of immigrants belonging to any race deemed unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada”. People from “warm countries” were deemed unsuited for immigration to Canada.
a) “Preferred Category”: British and Americans, West Europeans. Example: the Empire Settlement Scheme, 1923.
b) “Acceptable Category” (although not “preferred”). These are Sifton’s immigrants in “sheep-skin coats”. East Europeans (Russians, Ukrainians, Poles); South Europeans (Italians, Greeks, Spaniards). If they go West and farm, they will be accepted although considered “foreign”, as long as they know “their place”. A regulation of 1923 classified the following countries as “non-preferred”: Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. By this regulation, immigration from these countries was limited to agricultural and domestic workers and sponsored immigrants. However, as few British and American immigrants sought to enter Canada in the 1920’s, the Railway Agreements of 1925 was made to favour the coming of East Europeans to Canada. The lowest in the category of “not preferred” were the Jews (they divert from the model by virtue of their language, culture, religion… as well as tend to go to the cities of Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg; in 1921, only 4% of Canadian Jews lived in rural Canada); they were the most subjected to discrimination of all the white settlers to Canada in the pre-1945 period.
c) The “Non Preferred” and “Not Acceptable” category: Members of visible minorities. Each of these groups faced prejudice and discrimination by Canadians and their government. Laws and/or regulations were issued to prevent their coming to Canada. Yet, businesses (such as railways) frequently wanted them admitted to Canada so that a pool of “cheap labour” be available for them. These immigrants did jobs that nobody else in Canada wanted to do.
The following were the means used to keep members of visible minorities out of Canada:
i. The Chinese: Head Taxes are imposed (1885, 1900, 1903) by 1903, the head-tax was set at $500; minimum financial requirement (1908); the financial requirement was a response to the 1907 anti-Asian riots in Vancouver. Chinese Exclusion law (1923);
ii. “Indians”: “Continuous Journey” regulation was implemented (1908); see the Komagata Maru Incident (1914);
iii) Blacks: Health Regulations were used to keep them away – they were deemed “unsuited to Canada” by virtue of the climate of Canada; further, the Canadian Government hired a preacher in the period of 1908-1910 to visit the Creek-Negroes of Oklahoma and to discourage them from emigrating to the Canadian West; the Winnipeg immigration office went as far as paying a bonus to any immigration officer who rejected a black applicant. In 1911, a regulation to prohibit the entrance of Blacks into Canada was prepared by the Laurier Government. It was not issued because Laurier’s government was defeated in the general elections of the same year.
iv. Japanese: “Gentlemen Agreement”.
The post 1945 immigration policy
William Lyon Mackenzie King on Immigration (1947)
This statement of policy by Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada at the time, was made before the House of Commons:
“The policy of the government is to foster the growth of the population of Canada by the encouragement of immigration. The government will seek by legislation, regulation and vigorous administration, to ensure the careful selection and permanent settlement of such numbers of immigrants as can be advantageously absorbed in our national economy. It is a matter of domestic policy […] The people of Canada do not wish as a result of mass immigration to make a fundamental alteration in the character of our population. Large scale immigration from the Orient would change the fundamental composition of the Canadian population”.
In 1947, Mackenzie King consigned in his diary that he had trouble gaining acceptance of a post-war immigration policy restricting entry of Asians into Canada because some of his cabinet colleagues thought that the policy should be harsher while others opposed it as discriminatory. This opposition was a clear sign that things were changing in Canada.
More abut the post 1945 immigration policy
Another sign of change was a case raised in 1946 by the NSAACP (Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People). The Association raised money to help Viola Desmond fight segregation in Nova Scotia movie theatres. Desmond, a beautician from Halifax, had been arrested in New Glasgow when it was found she had sat downstairs in a movie theatre instead of the balcony were blacks were to sit. She was thrown in jail and fined for attempting to defraud the government of Nova Scotia of one cent of amusement tax (seats in the balcony were less expensive). For this offence, she was sentenced to 30 days in jail or a $20.00 fine. She paid the fine but appealed the decision. Eventually, the case was thrown out of Court on technicalities. However, there was such bad publicity across Canada around this case of discrimination that such laws were soon abandoned.
Characteristics of the Canadian immigration policy after 1945:
1.The progressive nature of the changes.
2.Immigration was increasingly regulated around economic cycles; immigration was increased in times of prosperity and decreased in poorer economic conditions. The economic incentive around immigration remained very strong. Mostly skilled and professional workers were sought. Here, again, changes were slow and progressive. Still in 1949, A. R. M. Lower, a prominent Canadian historian, could write in MacLean’s Magazine (May 15, 1949, p. 70): “Immigrant labour must be cheap or we would not seek it. The word ‘cheap’ includes a lot more than the money-rate — it touches such qualities as docility, timidity, ignorance. These add up to reliability. […] The primary incentive of those who want immigration is the […] realization that immigration is profitable”.
3.The progressive removal of discriminatory clauses (1947, 1952, 1962, 1967). By the late 1960’s, admission into Canada was done on a point system. These points are attributed on a non-discriminatory basis.
4.The strong anti-communist components of the policy. In the period of 1945 to 1963, anti-communism was a fundamental factor in Canadian immigration policy. At the height of the Cold War, security elements were an important feature of the policy. Anti-communist immigrants were advantaged in applying to come to Canada. Left-wing immigrants were deemed suspicious and were likely to be rejected by Canadian Immigration. It has been argued that it was easier for former fascists than their victims to enter Canada in this period. This explains why some Nazi War Criminals gained entry into Canada. We were more preoccupied with communism than Fascism.
5.The humanitarian components become important in Canadian immigration:
a. Family reunification; once in Canada, an immigrant can sponsor members of his/her family. Conditions may apply in the sponsoring program. Usually, the sponsor takes financial responsibility for an extended period of time for the immigrant.
b. Refugee policy; a policy was progressively developed. Among the blocks of admitted refugees were the following:
•Jews (1945-48)
•Hungarians (1956-1957) (38,000 refugees to Canada)
•Czechoslovakia (1968)
•Uganda (1973-1975)
•South-East Asia (1973 +)
•South Americans (1980’s, Chileans, Salvadorians)
•Various groups since the 1980’s.
Why did Canadian Immigration Policy Change After 1945
Changes in the immigration policy were done progressively. There was no sudden change immediately after 1945. Yet, unmistakably, the policy shifted. Progressively, the discriminatory clauses in the Canadian Immigration Bill were altered, then removed. Important dates to chart these changes are 1947, 1952, 1962, 1967 and 1976.
Reasons given for this change are primarily the following:
1.The economic needs of Canada changed. The country now needed highly skilled, educated, immigrants who would make an important contribution to the technological revolution taking place. Immigrants came to the cities and were seen contributing to the well-being of the country in important ways. Post-war prosperity was linked to the coming of this skilled workforce. Many of these immigrants were investing immigrants.
2.The Post-War period is one of unprecedented economic growth and increases in the standard of living. Jobs were plentiful and immigrants were not percieved as competing for scarce jobs.
Increases in Canadian family revenue over decades (inflation eliminated)
1951-1961 : 32.8%
1961-1971 : 46%
1971-1981 : 26.1%
1981-1989 : 7.1%
3.Greater education among Canadians. Prejudice often feeds on ignorance. New technology (radio, television, cinema) and foreign travel brought Canadians into contact with people from the rest of the world and made them curious, and more open, about other cultures.
4.The effect of World War II, the horror of the death camps, etc. made Canadians see what intolerance leads to. The Post-War period, especially the 1960’s, was a period of growth in the recognition of Human Rights (Canada adopts its first Bill of Rights in 1960).
5.Increasing organization of minority groups to defend their rights. Individual immigrants are not fighting prejudice alone anymore.
6.An important element of the Canadian post-war immigration policy, extending to the early 1960’s, was a strong anti-communist component. This sentiment was widespread at the height of the Cold War period. Anti-communists, and people fleeing the communist dictatorships, were given asylum in Canada. Such immigrants were popular as they justified the belief of Canadians as to the dangers and evils of Communism. In the immediate postwar period, it was sometimes easier for former fascists to enter Canada than for their victims to do so. What these fascists had in common was their strong anti-communist views. (See the review by Devin O. Pendas, “Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, 1946-1956” in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Volume 17, Number 3 (Winter 2003): 505-508; the book reviewed by Pendas was Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, 1946-1956, by Howard Margolian, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2000, 327p.; another important study to consult is Reginald Whitaker, Double Standard: the Secret History of Canadian Immigration, Toronto, Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1987)
7.In the Post-War period, the increasing rise in the standard of living in Europe, especially in Western Europe, meant that European immigrants were less interested in immigrating to Canada. If one considers that the birth rate was rapidly declining in Canada, and that there were shortages of labour in several fields, then the country was forced to look for immigration in other parts of the world and, for that purpose, change its policies.
© 2006 Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College
Definition of Immigration
Immigration meaning or descrpition: the movement of non-native people into a country in order to settle there (Source of this concept of Immigration: emp.ca/books/479-3)
Definition of Immigration
The Canada social science dictionary [1] provides the following meaning of Immigration: The movement of peoples into a country or territory (movement of people within countries is referred to as migration.) Immigration has played the central role in the development of Canada from the first permanent European settlements in the mid 1600’s to the 1990’s where 16% of Canadians were born outside Canada. The birth rate of Canada’s population – the number of children born to a woman in her fertile years – is about 1.6, much lower than the 2.1 that would be needed to maintain a stable population. The prospect of a declining and aging population has led to some calls for increased immigration to Canada . Economic recession, the demands on public services resulting from the concentrated patterns of immigrant settlement and concern about inter-ethnic tensions, have more recently led to controversy about levels of immigration. A special mention should be made of Quebec, where the population increased, until the 1960’s, mostly through a high birth rate. In history, Quebec had one of the highest birthrates known in any world society. Although there has been immigration of Francophones to Quebec, chiefly from old French colonial territories, the great majority of the Francophone population has descended from the approximately 60,000 people who lived there when the French empire over Quebec ended in 1759.
Immigration: Resources
Notes and References
- Drislane, R., & Parkinson, G. (2016). (Concept of) Immigration. Online dictionary of the social sciences. Open University of Canada