A. Heritage and Identity · Communities in Canada, Past and Present

Newcomer Communities: Hard Times, Courage and Change

A3.6 A2.5About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe significant events in the history of newcomer communities in Canada.
I can explain how unfair laws and events affected these communities' development and identities.
I can describe how communities worked for justice and how Canada has apologised.
I can evaluate evidence and compare perspectives on an event.

Words to know

discrimination
Treating people unfairly because of who they are, such as their race, religion or where they come from.

racism
Treating people unfairly, or believing they are less important, because of their race.

head tax
A fee that every Chinese immigrant had to pay to enter Canada, from 1885 to 1923.

internment
Forcing people to live in guarded camps, usually during a war, without a trial.

redress
Making up for a wrong, for example with an apology and payment.

apology
Saying publicly that something was wrong and taking responsibility for it.

Let's start with a question

Imagine your family saves for years to move to Canada. When you arrive, you are told you must pay a huge fee because of where you come from, or you are not allowed to get off the ship at all.

This really happened. Many newcomer communities built their lives in Canada despite unfair laws. Their stories are part of Canada's history.

The Chinese head tax and exclusion

After Chinese workers helped finish the railway in 1885, the government started a head tax on Chinese immigrants: $50 in 1885, raised to $100 in 1900 and $500 in 1903. That was about two years' pay for a worker. No other group had to pay it.
In 1923, the Chinese Immigration Act stopped almost all Chinese immigration. Because the law took effect on July 1, many Chinese Canadians called that day Humiliation Day.
Families were kept apart for decades: many men in Canada could not bring their wives and children.
Chinese Canadians, including many who served in the Second World War, worked to change this. The law was repealed (ended) in 1947, and Chinese Canadians won the right to vote that year.
On June 22, 2006, the Prime Minister apologised in the House of Commons for the head tax and the exclusion.

The head tax rose from $50 to $500 in less than 20 years. The bars are drawn to scale: $500 is ten times $50.

The Komagata Maru (1914)

In 1914, the ship Komagata Maru arrived in Vancouver with 376 passengers from India, which was then part of the British Empire, like Canada. Most were Sikh; there were also Muslim and Hindu passengers.
A rule said immigrants had to come by a "continuous journey" from their home country. This was almost impossible from India, and the rule was meant to keep South Asians out.
The passengers were kept on the ship for about two months. Only a small number were allowed to land. In July 1914, the ship was forced to leave. When it reached India, 19 passengers were killed in a confrontation with British police and soldiers.
On May 18, 2016, the Prime Minister apologised in the House of Commons.

Wartime internment

Ukrainian Canadians and others (1914 to 1920): during the First World War, people who had come from enemy countries were called "enemy aliens". 8 579 people were held in internment camps, most of them of Ukrainian origin, and about 80 000 more had to register and report to police regularly.
Japanese Canadians (1942): during the Second World War, about 22 000 Japanese Canadians were forced to leave the coast of British Columbia, even though most were Canadian citizens and none had been charged with a crime. Their homes, boats and businesses were sold without their consent. Many were sent to camps in the B.C. interior or to work on farms.
Japanese Canadians organised a long redress movement. On September 22, 1988, the government signed a redress agreement, with an apology and payments to survivors.

Africville

Africville was a Black community on the edge of Halifax, Nova Scotia, founded in the mid-1800s. The city put services such as a dump nearby but did not provide running water or sewers. Between 1964 and 1970, the city moved the residents out and bulldozed the community. In 2010, the mayor of Halifax apologised. Former residents and their families keep Africville's story alive, and a replica of the Africville church now stands at the site as a museum.

Community	Event	Apology or redress
Chinese Canadians	head tax (1885 to 1923) and exclusion (1923 to 1947)	federal apology, 2006
South Asian Canadians	Komagata Maru turned away, 1914	federal apology, 2016
Ukrainian Canadians and others	First World War internment, 1914 to 1920	recognition and a federal fund for education, 2008
Japanese Canadians	forced removal from the B.C. coast, 1942	redress agreement, 1988
Black Nova Scotians	Africville destroyed, 1964 to 1970	apology by the City of Halifax, 2010

Some significant events and how governments later responded.

Communities worked for many years to win these apologies and redress. The dates show how long justice can take.

How did these events affect communities?

Development: families were separated, property and savings were lost, and communities had to rebuild, sometimes far from home. Chinese communities had very few women and children for decades because of exclusion.
Identity: many people felt they were treated as outsiders in their own country. At the same time, the struggle made many communities stronger and more united. They formed associations, kept their languages and traditions, and fought for justice.
Canada: these struggles helped change Canada's laws and values, including the move toward multiculturalism and equal rights for everyone.

Worked example

Let's evaluate evidence about the head tax

A student says, "The head tax was fair because everyone had to pay it." Use evidence to evaluate this claim.

Check the claim: did everyone pay? No. The head tax applied only to Chinese immigrants.
Look at the amount: $500 in 1903 was about two years' pay for a worker. It was meant to stop people from coming.
Look at what came next: in 1923 the government stopped almost all Chinese immigration. This shows the goal was to keep Chinese people out.
Look at a later perspective: in 2006 the Government of Canada apologised, saying it was wrong.

The claim is not supported by evidence. The head tax applied only to Chinese immigrants, was very high on purpose, and Canada later apologised for it.

Worked example

Let's compare perspectives on 1942

Compare the perspectives of the government in 1942 and a Japanese Canadian family.

Government in 1942: said it was protecting the coast during the war against Japan.
Japanese Canadian family: they were Canadian citizens who had done nothing wrong. They lost their home, business and community, and were treated as enemies.
Evidence: no Japanese Canadian was ever charged with an act of disloyalty during the war. Military and police leaders at the time had said Japanese Canadians were not a threat.
Later government perspective: in 1988 Canada apologised and paid redress.

Evidence supports the family's perspective: the removal was based on racism, not real danger, and Canada later admitted it was wrong.

Notice the courage too

These events can make us feel angry or sad. It also helps to notice the courage of people who kept going, fought for change and won apologies. History includes both injustice and people working for justice.

Hands-on activity

Make a then-and-now card

You need: an index card or paper folded in half, and a pencil.

Choose one event from this lesson.
On the left side, write Then: what happened, when, and to whom.
On the right side, write Now: the apology or redress, and how the community is remembered today (for example, a museum, monument or plaque).
On the back, write one question you would like to ask someone from that community. With a grown-up, look for an answer in a museum website or library book (for example, the Nikkei National Museum for Japanese Canadian history, or the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver).

Your turn

What was the Chinese head tax?

How much was the head tax raised to in 1903?

What did the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 do?

How many passengers were on the Komagata Maru, and what happened to the ship?

What happened to Japanese Canadians in 1942?

What was Africville, and what happened to it?

Name one apology from this lesson and its year.

More practice: warm-up

What is discrimination?

What is internment?

Most passengers on the Komagata Maru belonged to which religion?

In what year was the Chinese exclusion law repealed?

What does redress mean?

More practice: on your own

Why did many Chinese Canadians call July 1, 1923 Humiliation Day?

Why was the continuous journey rule unfair?

How did Chinese exclusion affect the development of Chinese communities?

Give one way a community worked for justice.

Why were Ukrainian Canadians interned in the First World War?

Challenge

Is an apology enough to make up for a wrong? Give two sides.

How did these hard experiences help change Canada's values?

Using evidence, explain why the 1942 removal of Japanese Canadians is now seen as based on racism.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Who had to pay the head tax?

What happened to most passengers on the Komagata Maru in 1914?

What happened to Japanese Canadians in 1942?

Which Black community in Halifax was bulldozed in the 1960s?

In what year did Canada sign the Japanese Canadian redress agreement?

Which is the best evidence that the head tax was meant to keep Chinese people out?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Many newcomer communities faced discriminatory laws and events, which affected their development and identities; communities worked for justice, and governments later apologised (A3.6). Your child evaluates evidence and compares perspectives (A2.5).

How to help at home:

Explore museum websites together: the Nikkei National Museum (Japanese Canadian history), the Chinese Canadian Museum, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, or the Africville Museum.
Discuss: "What would make an apology meaningful?"
If your own family has experienced discrimination, you may choose to share what feels right.

Common difficulties:

Thinking unfair laws are only in other countries: these were Canadian laws.
Blaming people today for the past: the goal is understanding and doing better, not guilt.
Mixing up internment events: First World War (1914 to 1920, mostly Ukrainian Canadians); Second World War (1942, Japanese Canadians).