Historical Reflections on Immigration in Canada
The letters reflect the challenges and experiences of Chinese immigrants in Canada during the early 20th century, including issues such as the head tax, continuous passages act, and cultural discrimination. The narrative captures personal stories of love, family, and struggles amid a changing social landscape shaped by immigration policies and the cultural diversity of Canada.
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Presentation Transcript
Dear Poh, I m sorry I haven t written to you in so long I haven t found the time to with all that s been happening recently. I ve gotten engaged to a Chinese man named Bo and we plan to get married. My brother has had some troubles with his job but is doing okay. Recently there hasn t been as many Chinese people immigrating here because of the head tax as well the continuous passages act so I was very happy when I met Bo. The continuous passages act requires all south Asian immigrants to come to Canada by a non stop route. The head tax is specifically targeted at Chinese people. Basically it means that whenever Chinese people want to move to Canada they have to pay a tax of $100. It used to be $50 but the Canadian government made it higher because of so many Chinese people coming to Canada for more opportunities. The Chinese are very diligent so even with this tax they are still coming to Canada. With Love - Holly March 9, 1901 Daiyu Pau Shanghai, China 1259 Main street V6J 9G4
Dear Poh, Recently lots of new immigrants have been coming to Canada, Not that many to Woodstock, but overall Canada has been getting more people. A man named Clifford Sifton is responsible for a lot of this. He has been advertising the land in Western Canada to Americans and Europeans which means the English speaking population is growing a lot. I don t speak a lot of English, I know enough to get buy but with all these English speaking people I'm going to have to learn more so that we aren t mistreated for it. I hate how the European people call us China men I find it so disrespectful. We came to Canada for the same reason as them, opportunity. But just because we aren t white they feel the need to push hate onto us. Oh well I guess we ll just have to put up with it Love - Holly August 11 1904 Daiyu Pau Shanghai, China 1259 Main street V6J 9G4
Dear Poh, As you probably already know, Canada has lots of French speaking people living here, specifically in Quebec. The French viewed confederation in 1867 as an agreement that guaranteed the equality of the French and English across Canada, but with all the new immigrants the idea of 2 cultures living side by side is being rejected by the English speakers. Henri Bourassa is a French Canadian political leader who wants to see a bicultural nation where the French and English have equal strengths and thought that the French language and the roman catholic religion must be protected. In other news, Bo and I have gotten married! We are very happy together but my brother isn t doing the best, his work as a labourer is very hard on his body and I think soon he's going to have to find a new job. Send your love - Holly December 16 1907 Daiyu Pau Shanghai, China 1259 Main street V6J 9G4
Sir Robert Laird Borden
Dear Poh, Last time I wrote to you Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the prime minister of Canada but a few days ago was the election and it turns out that he lost. Laurier attempted to negotiate a reciprocity agreement with the United States which would allow western farmers to buy cheaper American goods but Ontario industry owners were opposed to this idea and turned Ontario against Laurier. This means our new prime minister is Sir Robert Laird Borden. Quite recently the telephone has become quite popular. I don t know if you have them in china yet but it is a way to communicate via sound waves! At the end of this I will enclose a telephone number that you can reach Bo, my brother, and I on. We also have motorized vehicles called cars going along the streets, we cant afford one because we aren t very well off as a group of Chinese people but its amazing what people can do. Love - Holly October 17, 1911 Daiyu Pau Shanghai, China 1259 Main street V6J 9G4 Telephone number 8-1854
Citations Clark, P., & McKay, R. (1996). Canada Revisited (5th ed.). Edmonton, Alberta: Arnold Publishing Ltd. Cranny, M., Jarvis, G., Moles, G., & Seney, B. (n.d.). Horizons: Canada's Emerging Identity (2nd ed.). Pearson Education Canada.
