Immigration to Canada from China - History

Chinese immigration into Canada initiated in the 1850s with the finding of gold in the Fraser valley of British Columbia. These Chinese came from the United States, drawn to California a few years past also for the reason that of gold. These early on colonizers worked the gold fields and at what time the gold was worn out they moved into other work such as gardening, farming, domestic service, road construction and subsequently as railway builders.

A lot of of these early immigrants came from the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. They sailed to San Francisco but in May of 1858 reports of the detection of gold sent a number of of them to Victoria. It is reported that the earliest Chinese arrived in Victoria on June 28, 1858. The trip was set by Hop Kee and Co. of San Francisco and some 300 Chinese were sent with Allan Lowe & Co. aboard the Caribbean. The writers of From China to Canada affirm that in 1859 the first Chinese arrived straight from Hong Kong and the subsequent year some 4,000 Chinese immigrants landed at Victoria. It is further anticipated that 2,875 arrived in the first part of 1861. In addition to sea, some Chinese entered British Columbia by moving overland from the current state of Oregon.

In 1871, as British Columbia entered amalgamation, it had in relation to 3,000 Chinese within its boundaries. The immigrants were generally men and in 1871, when the first census was taken, there were only 53 Chinese women in the province.

For numerous years there was a movement to prevent the immigration of Chinese into Canada. In 1885 the Report of the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration was presented. That similar year an act was passed in the Canadian Parliament limit the proportion of Chinese immigrants to one for every 50 tons of vessel tonnage. A head tax was also forced. On finishing point of the railway, in 1885, about 1,000 Chinese returned to China.