The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, known in the Chinese Canadian community as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of Canada, banning most forms of Chinese immigration to Canada. Immigration from most countries was controlled or restricted in some way, but only the Chinese were so completely prohibited from immigrating.
When the Canadian Pacific Railway was finished, cheap labor in large numbers was not needed, there was a backlash from union workers and some politicians against the Chinese. The Canadian federal government passed the "Chinese Immigration Act" in 1885, putting a head tax of $50 on Chinese immigrants in the hopes of discouraging them from entering Canada. It soon went up to $500. Seeing that a tax was not enough to stop Chinese from immigrating, in 1923, Canada passed the "Chinese Exclusion Act, which in effect stopped Chinese immigration to Canada for nearly a quarter of a century. July 1, 1923, the day the act came into effect, is known as "humiliation day." The Chinese wouldn't participate in any of the Canada Day events. The "Chinese Exclusion Act" was in effect until 1947. In that same year Chinese Canadians regained the right to vote in Canadian federal elections. It wasn't until 1967 that the final elements of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" were completely eliminated. Yet it still leaves a mark in our minds.
When the Canadian Pacific Railway was finished, cheap labor in large numbers was not needed, there was a backlash from union workers and some politicians against the Chinese. The Canadian federal government passed the "Chinese Immigration Act" in 1885, putting a head tax of $50 on Chinese immigrants in the hopes of discouraging them from entering Canada. It soon went up to $500. Seeing that a tax was not enough to stop Chinese from immigrating, in 1923, Canada passed the "Chinese Exclusion Act, which in effect stopped Chinese immigration to Canada for nearly a quarter of a century. July 1, 1923, the day the act came into effect, is known as "humiliation day." The Chinese wouldn't participate in any of the Canada Day events. The "Chinese Exclusion Act" was in effect until 1947. In that same year Chinese Canadians regained the right to vote in Canadian federal elections. It wasn't until 1967 that the final elements of the "Chinese Exclusion Act" were completely eliminated. Yet it still leaves a mark in our minds.