Chinese Immigration Act
This act effectively barred the entry of all Chinese immigrants to Canada. All Asiatic persons with no legal ties to Canada (family members with citizenship) were prohibited from entering the country. Approximately 22,000 families were split apart as a result of the prohibition. The act was repealed in 1947 due to opposition by the Chinese-Canadian Veterans’ Organizations and international pressures. Though, PM King stated that “massive immigration of Orientals would alter the fundamental composition of the Canadian population” and “give rise to social and economic problems”(1). Despite the revocation of the act, there was still a prominent prejudice of Chinese culture.
(1) Canadian Council for Refugees: History. “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada 1900-1999” . The Canadian Council for Refugees. http://www.ccrweb.ca/history.html (accessed January 28, 2010)
