Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act

The history of Chinese immigration to Canada is scarred by racism and discrimination. While Chinese labourers were welcome when needed to complete the dangerous portions of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the minute the national railway was finished, the government tried to get rid of them by imposing a head tax. Things got worse after World War I when the Canadian Chinese Exclusion Act banned Chinese immigration to Canada for nearly a quarter century.

Photo: Chinese Camp in Kamloops, B.C. 1868
Library and Archives Canada / C-016715

More on Chinese Immigration to Canada
Canada Apologizes for Chinese Head Tax
Chinese Head Tax Redress Payments
Chinese Immigration to Canada - CBC Archives
History of Chinese in Canada - Speech by Senator Vivienne Poy