Before the law, the tax
MCCORD MUSEUM PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN TAM, OF MME YUK PING LEE AND THE FAMILY OF MAUDE TOYE LEE AND ROBERT GH LEE
Examples of Identity Certificates Chinese Immigrants to Canada Had to Have in the Early 20th Centurye century
There Chinese immigration law was preceded by the imposition of a head tax on Chinese immigrants. This was imposed from 1885 to 1923, the amount demanded increasing from $50 to $100 and then to $500. It should be remembered that between 1881 and 1885, Canada welcomed some 15,000 Chinese for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. But in 1885, they were no longer wanted. In June 2006, the Harper government issued a full apology for this tax.
China furious
PHOTO LA PRESSE, PROVIDED BY BANQ
Article of The Press September 6, 1923
China did not like the Canadian government’s decision at all, reveals an article published in The Press September 6, 1923. The consul general at the time, the Dr Chilean Tsur, had been recalled by his country. Crossing Canada from east to west and stopping in Vancouver, the Dr Tsur called the federal law “odious” and predicted that it would cause “an impression of hatred” in his country.
A great imbalance
PHOTO MAJOR JAMES SKITT MATTHEWS, CITY OF VANCOUVER ARCHIVES
Men gathered for a break in 1936 at the intersection of Pender and Carrall streets in Vancouver. Their generation has been referred to as a bachelor society.
The Exclusion Act has resulted in a huge demographic imbalance in the Chinese population. For decades, Canada’s Chinatowns had many more men than women. This was the case in Montreal. According to an article published on the City of Montreal website, there were only 181 women compared to 2,549 men in the metropolis in 1931 for a total of 2,730 people of Chinese origin. In 1951, only 1819 remained.
Still active women
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, ARCHIVES THE PRESS
Karen Tam is a Quebec multidisciplinary artist of Chinese origin.
However, the Chinese women of Montreal have always been very active, recalls the multidisciplinary artist Karen Tam who, until August 13, presents the exhibition swallow the mountains at the McCord Museum. “I think of Pauline Wong [Les Aliments Wong Wing], who has been very involved in the neighborhood for decades. There was also filmmaker Karen Cho’s grandmother, who sold war bonds, nurses from the Chinese Hospital, and sisters Edith and Winnifred Eaton, pioneers of Asian literature in North America. »
No apologies, but recognition
PHOTO BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORICAL FEDERATION, PUBLISHED ON THE PARKS CANADA WEBSITE
The 1923 law also required that “all Chinese persons, even those born in Canada, register with the government and carry a photo identification certificate, on pain of fine, imprisonment or eviction, ”we read on the Parks Canada website, when the law was classified as a national historic event. Here, the young Mary Quan, in June 1924.
A few weeks ago, the Trudeau government, in turn, recognized the fact that the exclusion of the Chinese had perpetuated racism by registering the exclusion of the Chinese from 1923 to 1947 as a “national historic event”. “Although there is no official apology, the Government of Canada recognizes the injustice of this law, says the Dr Winston Chan, organizer of the Asian Heritage Month celebrations. For me, the most important thing is to be able to educate the public about this law and its consequences. »
1.7 million
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Montreal’s Chinatown, in March 2020
According to the most recent census of the Canadian population, in 2021, there were 1.7 million people of Chinese origin in the country. This then represented 4.7% of the Canadian population, estimated Statistics Canada. Of this number, 28.4% were born in Canada. In Quebec, there were 121,445 people of Chinese origin in 2016.
Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia, Statistics Canada, Quebec Ministry of Immigration, City of Montreal, McCord Museum, BAnQ