!n 1900 the Head Tax, which was a fee that all Chinese immigrants
had to pay when they entered the country had increased from 50
dollars to 100 dollars. Three years later the tax had increased to 500
dollars. This made Chinese immigration to Canada decrease dramatically.
In 1906 the Immigration Act was passed. The purpose of the act was to let the government
have full control of deporting unwanted immigrants from Canada. Unwanted immigrant's
were considered those that had a public charge, were insane, had a disease, were
handicap, became an inmate of a jail or hospital and committing political crimes.
The War measures Act was passed in 1914, it made immigrants have to pay greater
taxes and it gave the government power to arrest or deport anti British supporters. The
act also restricted immigration during the war, which resulted in no population growth.
Population
In the 1890's Canada's Western population
consisted of only 13 percent, forcing the prime
minister Wilfried Laurier to start immigration
campaigns to attract settlers to the west. The
immigration campaign gave newcomers 65 hectares
of free land which had fertile soil and equipment
needed to farm. This campaign raised the prairies
population by 195 percent in a ten year period.
In 1901 only 12.7 percent of Canada's population were immigrants. However in 1911
the number of immigrants in Canada doubled to 25 percent of the population being
immigrants. Of the 25 percent of immigrants, 49 percent were born in the British isles.
In 1913, a record setting 400 thousand immigrants came to Canada
because of fears of the first world war that was starting in Europe.
Industrialization/Economy
Immigrants caused a rapid increase in factory and city
growth creating the snowball effect. The snow ball effect
occurred when more people moved to cites, which caused
industries to develop faster, creating more jobs, which again
caused more immigrants to move to the city for employment
The Canadian government gained a total of 28 million dollars from taxes that
immigrants paid from 1900 to 1911.18 million of these taxes were from Chinese
immigrants who had to pay a 500 head tax upon entering the country.
Immigration into Canada varied on how well the economy
was doing. If the Canadian economy was rising than their
would be jobs available that immigrants could take, which
caused the government to open up immigration taps.If the
economy was weak then the government stopped
immigration so that Canadians would have enough jobs
Social
Racism was still very common during the late 1800's/early 1900's. Black and
Asian immigrant groups were often discriminated, by both the government and
the British/French Canadians. For example, Black's werent allowed to own land
and Asian Immigrants had to pay more taxes than any other immigrants.
Many immigrants that came from Europe had no
english or french skills, making it almost
impossible for them to find a job.
Most immigrants left their homeland because of three
reasons. The first reason was lack of land, the second was
lack of personal freedom and the third was threat of war
PRESENT
Industrialization/Economy
Each year, the federal government spends an average of 883 million, to help Immigrants to settle in the
country. The help they receive includes, English or French lesson , finding schools for their children and
beginning a job search. Additionally all the immigrants in Canada cost the government 23 billion dollars of
tax payer money, which averages 6000 dollars per immigrant, which pays their welfare and health care.
Certain immigrants can work at jobs that few Canadian are certified in. These
immigrants are considered "Specialists". Specialists help Canadian industrialization in
different fields which include, Farming, Technology and Construction. These newcomers
bring experience and knowledge in different working fields that Canadians Lack.
When an immigrant gets a job they have to pay income
taxes from their income. On average each immigrant pays
10,340 dollars in taxes yearly which totals 25 billion yearly.
Population
There are 6.8 million foreign born residents in Canada today. This is 20.6
percent of the total Canadian population which is an all time high. The
largest part of foreign born residents are from the Asian continent, the
second greatest amount are from Africa and the third is from Europe.
Canada has the greatest immigration
percentage in the G 20.
Laws
In order to immigrate to Canada, immigrants must file an application that
cites which jobs they will take, their language knowledge and a complete
health exam which the government must approve in order to receive a
visa. After entering the country, immigrants receive permanent residence,
which gives them most of the rights citizens have. Four years later
immigrants could file for citizenship which gives them a pass port.
Only Canadian citizens are allowed to vote.
If you are a Canadian citizen you are also
guaranteed to never get deported.
Social
Today, Canada is considered the best country in the world in immigrant
life quality. According to a survey most immigrants who came to Canada
said that in the first 2 years they felt welcome and faced no discrimination.
Canadian Immigrants have the right to practice their own religion,
wear their own clothing and speak their own language. Since
Canada is a multicultural country, newcomers from different
countries can find communities with the same culture as them.
According to a recent study immigrants are less likely to get a job compared to
Canadian citizens because of their language skills. However immigrants still have
a greater chance of getting a job then they would compared to their home country.