In the 1850's the early immigrants to Canada suffered also of ethnic prejudice and were considered "unfit for full citizenship." Even though residents of BC considered the Chinese unassailable under any circumstances, they tolerated them because the Chinese were a useful form of cheap labor. But in 1885 the Canadian government imposed a "head" tax to decrease the Chinese immigration to Canada, since the construction of the CPR was over. To be admitted into Canada, Chinese immigrants had to pay an $100 fee, but after complaints from BC politicians the fee was raised to $500. On July 1st 1923, the Chinese Immigration Act was passed which excluded anyone that was Chinese from immigrating to Canada. This was known as "Humiliation Day," where Chinese Canadians would boycott Dominion Day celebrations. This legislation was not removed until 1967 when the point system of immigration was introduced.
Many of the Chinese workers that came to Canada were men who had families back in China. The
Recently there have been illegal immigrants coming from the province of Fuijan who are seeking refugee status. They arrive by paying international smugglers outrageous fees and then overcrowding into tiny boats destined for Canada. But since they are not fleeing persecution or facing any threat to their lives, most of them are denied refugee status and get deported back to China. They chose to immigrate illegally because harsh restriction on immigrating by legal means. But Chinese boatpeople are only a fraction of those trying to illegally immigrate into Canada. Some nationalities have a much easier time getting into Canada, like Koreans because they do not need a visa and have relatively cheap flights.
y came to Canada to raise money for their wives and children back home. They could not bring their families with them because of the head tax. Eventually they would go back to China if they had enough money but many did not and they spent the rest of their lives in Chinese bache
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