Canada passes "Chinese Immigration Act"

June 30th, 1923. The Canadian Parliament passes the "An Act Respecting Chinese Immigration, 1923" (also referred to as the "Chinese Immigration Act" and the "Exclusion Act"). The aim of this Act was to prevent Chinese immigration to Canada, specifically through British Columbia. The Act outlines who can and cannot be admitted into Canada, how such peoples are to be managed and the consequences for attempting illegal entry.

The Act outlines the groups permitted and prohibited from entering the country. Among those permitted: students, merchants, diplomats, and Chinese children born in Canada (§5); among those prohibited: idiots, the feebleminded, epileptics, psychopathic persons, the insane, alcoholics, criminals, prostitutes and the mentally or physically defective (§8).

For those groups that were allowed into Canada, entry could only be from either Vancouver or Victoria, B.C (§7). Once admitted, immigrants had to register and receive a certificate to legally remain in the country(§17). The Chinese that had entered before this Act were required to register with the government, and they could only leave Canada for two years or else lose their legal status (§23). The penalties for attempting to illegally enter the country included: fines, deportation, detainment, and imprisonment (§26).

This Act was preceded by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885. That Act attempted to curtail Chinese immigration by forcing immigrants to pay a fifty dollar fee for entry into the country. This legislation forms a part of a history of several racist pieces of Canadian legislation aimed at restricting immigration form Asiatic countries (Scheiberg).

The motivation for this Act, along with its predecessors, were concerns about the threat of "undesirable" persons. This Act's connection to eugenics thus lies in its focus on the exclusion of undesirables, particularly its exclusion of the "mentally incompetent or defective"(§8).

Some of historical consequences of this legislation included the deportation of thousands of Chinese immigrants; the taxation of millions of dollars from Chinese immigrants by the Canadian government; and racial and cultural intolerance towards Chinese immigrants.

-Luke Kersten

Canada passes "Chinese Immigration Act"

June 30th, 1923. The Canadian Parliament passes the "An Act Respecting Chinese Immigration, 1923" (also referred to as the "Chinese Immigration Act" and the "Exclusion Act"). The aim of this Act was to prevent Chinese immigration to Canada, specifically through British Columbia. The Act outlines who can and cannot be admitted into Canada, how such peoples are to be managed and the consequences for attempting illegal entry.

The Act outlines the groups permitted and prohibited from entering the country. Among those permitted: students, merchants, diplomats, and Chinese children born in Canada (§5); among those prohibited: idiots, the feebleminded, epileptics, psychopathic persons, the insane, alcoholics, criminals, prostitutes and the mentally or physically defective (§8).

For those groups that were allowed into Canada, entry could only be from either Vancouver or Victoria, B.C (§7). Once admitted, immigrants had to register and receive a certificate to legally remain in the country(§17). The Chinese that had entered before this Act were required to register with the government, and they could only leave Canada for two years or else lose their legal status (§23). The penalties for attempting to illegally enter the country included: fines, deportation, detainment, and imprisonment (§26).

This Act was preceded by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885. That Act attempted to curtail Chinese immigration by forcing immigrants to pay a fifty dollar fee for entry into the country. This legislation forms a part of a history of several racist pieces of Canadian legislation aimed at restricting immigration form Asiatic countries (Scheiberg).

The motivation for this Act, along with its predecessors, were concerns about the threat of "undesirable" persons. This Act's connection to eugenics thus lies in its focus on the exclusion of undesirables, particularly its exclusion of the "mentally incompetent or defective"(§8).

Some of historical consequences of this legislation included the deportation of thousands of Chinese immigrants; the taxation of millions of dollars from Chinese immigrants by the Canadian government; and racial and cultural intolerance towards Chinese immigrants.

-Luke Kersten

Canada passes "Chinese Immigration Act"

June 30th, 1923. The Canadian Parliament passes the "An Act Respecting Chinese Immigration, 1923" (also referred to as the "Chinese Immigration Act" and the "Exclusion Act"). The aim of this Act was to prevent Chinese immigration to Canada, specifically through British Columbia. The Act outlines who can and cannot be admitted into Canada, how such peoples are to be managed and the consequences for attempting illegal entry.

The Act outlines the groups permitted and prohibited from entering the country. Among those permitted: students, merchants, diplomats, and Chinese children born in Canada (§5); among those prohibited: idiots, the feebleminded, epileptics, psychopathic persons, the insane, alcoholics, criminals, prostitutes and the mentally or physically defective (§8).

For those groups that were allowed into Canada, entry could only be from either Vancouver or Victoria, B.C (§7). Once admitted, immigrants had to register and receive a certificate to legally remain in the country(§17). The Chinese that had entered before this Act were required to register with the government, and they could only leave Canada for two years or else lose their legal status (§23). The penalties for attempting to illegally enter the country included: fines, deportation, detainment, and imprisonment (§26).

This Act was preceded by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885. That Act attempted to curtail Chinese immigration by forcing immigrants to pay a fifty dollar fee for entry into the country. This legislation forms a part of a history of several racist pieces of Canadian legislation aimed at restricting immigration form Asiatic countries (Scheiberg).

The motivation for this Act, along with its predecessors, were concerns about the threat of "undesirable" persons. This Act's connection to eugenics thus lies in its focus on the exclusion of undesirables, particularly its exclusion of the "mentally incompetent or defective"(§8).

Some of historical consequences of this legislation included the deportation of thousands of Chinese immigrants; the taxation of millions of dollars from Chinese immigrants by the Canadian government; and racial and cultural intolerance towards Chinese immigrants.

-Luke Kersten