The ''Chinese Immigration Act, 1923'' (), also known as the "Chinese Exclusion Act" (the duration of which has been dubbed the Exclusion Era), was a Canadian Act of Parliament passed by the government of

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Prime Minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

, banning most forms of Chinese immigration to Canada. Immigration from most countries was controlled or restricted in some way, but only the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

were completely prohibited from immigrating to Canada. The act was repealed in May 1947 after World War II, due to Canada having been a signatory to the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

History

Before 1923, Chinese immigration was heavily controlled by the ''Chinese Immigration Act'' of 1885, which imposed an onerous

head tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

on all immigrants from China. After various members of the federal and some provincial governments (especially

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

) put pressure on the federal government to discourage Chinese immigration, the ''Chinese Immigration Act'' was passed. It went into effect on 1 July 1923. The Act banned immigrants of Chinese heritage from entering Canada except those under the following titles: * Diplomat * Foreign student * "Special circumstance" granted by the Minister of Immigration under Article 9 of the Act (This is the class that former

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...

's family fell under.) * Merchant Because Canada became a signatory following World War II of the United Nations'

, with which the ''Chinese Immigration Act'' was inconsistent, the Canadian Parliament repealed the act on 14 May 1947 (following the proclamation of the ''

Canadian Citizenship Act, 1946 The ''Canadian Citizenship Act'' () was a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1946 which created the legal status of Canadian citizenship. The Act defined who were Canadian citizens, separate and independent from the status of the B ...

'' on 1 January 1947). However, independent Chinese immigration to Canada came only after the liberalization of Canadian immigration policy under the governments of

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

and

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as Leader of the Liberal Party of C ...

, first by the elimination of restrictions based on national origins in 1962, followed by the establishment of the world's first

points-based immigration system A points-based immigration system or merit-based immigration system is an immigration system where a noncitizen's eligibility to immigrate is (partly or wholly) determined by whether that noncitizen is able to score above a threshold number of poi ...

in 1967.

Redress and legacy

Since the 1 July

Dominion Day Dominion Day was a day commemorating the granting of certain countries Dominion status — that is, "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or externa ...

holiday coincided with the enforcement of the ''Chinese Immigration Act'', Chinese-Canadians at the time referred to the anniversary of

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

as "Humiliation Day" and refused to take any part in the celebration. On 22 June 2006, then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

apologized in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. The first phrase of the apology was spoken in

Cantonese Chinese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While the ...

, despite the overwhelming number of affected Chinese who are versed in the Taishanese dialect. He announced that the survivors or their spouses will be paid approximately $20,000 in compensation for the head tax. On 15 May 2014, then-

Premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female premi ...

apologized in the Legislative Assembly. The apology motion was unanimously passed and aims to make amends for historic wrongs. Unlike the federal apology, no individual compensation was provided. However, $1 million was promised to be put into a legacy fund which would help legacy initiatives. The formal apology went through a three-month consultation period with various parties to help ensure that the apology was done properly. On 22 April 2018, then-Mayor of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Gregor Robertson issued a formal public apology. The Act and its legacy have been the subject of an acclaimed documentary film and work of historical fiction: * '' Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice'' (2011) by Kenda Gee and Tom Radford * ''The Red Tiger'' (2019) by Chuck Lim The centenary of the bill's commencement was marked on 1 July 2023; a national remembrance ceremony was held by the Senate on 23 June, while proclamations and memorial ceremonies were held in communities such as Calgary and Halifax. The newly-founded Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver also opened to the public that day.

References

External links

{{Chinese Canadian 1923 in Canadian law 1923 in international relations Anti-Chinese activities in Canada Anti-Chinese legislation Canadian federal legislation Canadian immigration law History of Chinese Canadians History of immigration to Canada History of Vancouver Immigration legislation Legal history of Canada Repealed Canadian legislation Chinese-Canadian culture in Vancouver Immigration bans Asian immigration to Canada White supremacy in Canada