Chinese Exclusion Act

There were a great deal of protests within the Chinese community as a response to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923. There were protests, petitions, and the like in order to solve the issue. Eventually, this lead to the repeal of the Act, but it was not until 1967; a century after Confederation that Chinese-Canadians were given fair voting rights. Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized on behalf of the government to the Chinese community in 2006, finally marking the closure of more than a century of racism against the Chinese in Canada.

Between 1923 and 1947 when the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, less than 50 Chinese were allowed to come to Canada. Passed on July 1, 1923, Dominion Day, this law was perceived by the Chinese Canadian community as the ultimate form of humiliation. The Chinese Canadian community called this “Humiliation Day” and refused to celebrate Dominion Day for years to come.

The Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act

The Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act came into effect to restrict Chinese immigration.

As soon as the CPR was completed, the Federal Government moved to restrict the immigration of Chinese to Canada. The first federal anti-Chinese bill was passed in 1885: the Chinese Head tax.

The Impact of the Head Tax and Exclusion Act

In addition to the Head Tax and Exclusion Act, Chinese immigrants faced other forms of discrimination in their social, economic and political lives. The most devastating impact of the Head Tax and the Exclusion Act, however, was found in the development of Chinese Canadian family. During the exclusion era, early Chinese pioneers were not allowed to bring their family, including their wives, to Canada. As a result, the Chinese Canadian community became a “bachelor society”. The Head Tax and Exclusion Act resulted in long period of separation of families. Many Chinese families did not reunite until years after the initial marriage, and in some cases they were never reunited.

While their husbands were struggling abroad, many Chinese wives in China were left to raise their children by themselves. They experienced starvation and other extreme economic hardships.

Because of years of racist, anti-Chinese immigration legislation, today the Chinese Canadian community exhibits many characteristics of first-generation immigrants despite its history of close to 150 years in Canada.

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This entry was last updated: November 6, 2014