The history of Chinese immigration to Canada is one of contribution and exclusion. 

From the late 1840s to the 1850s, harsh economic conditions, unstable political climates, and the threat of Western colonization in China drove many Chinese, primarily from coastal provinces like Guangdong and Fujian (where central government control was weakest), to seek gold in the American West. In 1858, a California scout claimed to have discovered “astonishing gold deposits” in British Columbia, spurring a wave of Chinese immigration to the region. After the 1880s, the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway brought a surge of Chinese laborers, leading to rapid growth in the number of Chinese immigrants. Between 1876 and 1884, British Columbia received 17,028 Chinese immigrants, around 17,000 of whom came to Canada specifically to work on the railway. Apart from a small number of merchants, most Chinese immigrants were from the working class. 

Among all immigrant groups in Canada, Chinese immigrants historically faced the greatest barriers to immigration and settlement. This exclusion was rooted in the racist ideologies prevalent in both official and popular discourse at the time. In 1867, Canada’s first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, explicitly expressed a vision of establishing a white settler state, and the continued influx of Asian immigrants posed a significant threat to this plan. In the context of racial politics, the concept of the “Yellow Peril” began to gain traction in white settler societies across the Americas starting in the 1870s. White settlers increasingly complained about the “immorality” of Chinese residents, claiming that “the majority of their women are prostitutes.” Popular media depicted Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian immigrants as unassimilable foreigners, warning that “Asians are invading, and if allowed to enter unrestricted, they will take over this land in no time, reducing the white population to a minority.”

Economic recessions escalated tensions between white and Asian workers, with the former blaming the competition from cheaper Asian labor. White labor unions became a leading political force advocating for restrictions on Chinese immigration, culminating in the 1907 anti-Asian riot in Vancouver, during which nearly every window in Chinatown was smashed by protestors.

Simultaneously, politicians’ attitudes toward Chinese residents began to shift, particularly in British Columbia, which had the largest Chinese population. By the 1870s, British Columbia’s legislature grew increasingly alarmed about the province being “overrun by Asians.” At its inaugural session in 1872, the legislature passed the Act to Amend the Qualifications and Registration of Voters, which disenfranchised Indigenous and Chinese residents. In 1878, the Premier of British Columbia promised to introduce the Chinese Tax Act.

In 1883, under pressure from British Columbia politicians, white settlers, and labor unions, the federal government also began addressing the issue of Asian immigration. In 1885, the federal government enacted the 1885 Act to Restrict and Regulate Chinese Immigration into Canada, which imposed a $50 head tax on every Chinese individual entering Canada, except for merchants, missionaries, diplomats, and students. The head tax increased to $100 in 1900 and $500 in 1903. In 1923, the Chinese Immigration Act (commonly known as the Chinese Exclusion Act) was passed, effectively banning the entry of Chinese laborers and their family members.

Despite their limited power at the time, the Chinese community did not passively endure official and unofficial discrimination. Instead, they actively resisted. In 1875, after being disenfranchised, Chinese residents formed associations and labor unions, employing methods such as petitioning, strikes, and boycotts to counter oppression. In 1907, following the anti-Chinese riot in Vancouver’s Chinatown, Chinese workers went on strike for a week in protest, paralyzing key industries such as hotels, shipyards, and sawmills that relied heavily on Chinese labor. This successfully shifted public opinion within the white settler community, leading to widespread criticism of the anti-Chinese riots. In 1911, lobbying efforts by the Chinese community resulted in the proposal of an amendment to the Chinese Immigration Act. However, with the election of the Conservative government, the bill ultimately failed to pass in Parliament.

During the long era of Chinese exclusion, Chinatown became a shelter for Chinese immigrants, providing them essential support for survival. Besides laborers, most Chinese immigrants entered Canada as merchants. Due to the lack of clear definitions in Canadian immigration law regarding the status of “merchants,” many of these individuals actually settled in Chinatowns, operating small businesses such as laundries, restaurants, tailoring shops, teahouses, and small grocery stores. The large population of single men also gave rise to the prostitution industry, as Canadian brothel operators directly imported women from China, most of whom came from southern rural areas.

References:

Adilman, Tamara. "A Preliminary Sketch of Chinese Women and Work in British Columbia 1858-1942." In Not Just Pin Money: selected essays on the history of women's work in British Columbia, 53-78. Victoria: Camosun College, 1984.

Dua, Enakshi. "Exclusion through Inclusion: Female Asian Migration in the Making of Canada as a White Settler Nation." Gender, Place, and Culture 14, 4 (2007): 445-466.

Huang, Kunzhang and Jinping Wu. The book The History of Overseas Chinese in Canada. Guangzhou: Guangdong Higher Education Press, 2001.

Woon, Yuen-Fong. "Between South China and British Columbia: Life Trajectories of Chinese Women." BC Studies: The British Columbian Quarterly 156/7 (2007): 83-107.