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1497
1497, The arrival of the first immigrants
Europeans set search for a shorter way to Asia for trade. But what they did find was a land of natives with a plentiful amount resources left untapped, resulting in the start of European immigration and colonization. John Cabot was the first of the adventurers who mapped out the Northwest Passage. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/discover-canada/read-online/canadas-history.html -
Period: 1534 to 1542
Early Settlement
Jacques Cartier lead three expeditions and claimed the land for King Francis of France and fittingly called it New France. More French settlers moved to Canada in that time. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/discover-canada/read-online/canadas-history.html -
Period: to
Expansion and trade
Before expanding their settlements, getting a proper sitting with already existing places where the priority for both the British and French, the fur trade with locals provided that as it was a very profitable business. Causing more immigration and growth of the British and the French presences.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/immigration -
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham/The Seven Year War
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1859 put the British in the lead over the French in the Seven Year War which caused Great Britain to control Canada. These events affect immigration directly by destroying the French's place where they would immigrate and also it will indirectly impact it by putting other events into effect like the Loyalists and different ideologies on immigration of other groups. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/loyalists -
Period: to
The movement of the loyalists
The loyalists in the US throughout the American Revolutionary War who supported the British moved to Canada leading to New Brunswick forming and a more diverse/dense population. -
Period: to
The underground Railroad
Abolitionists smuggled slaves from the United States to freedom in Canada through 1800-1865. With an estimate of 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850.This further diversified Canada to the place it is today. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/underground-railroad/ -
War of 1812
Before the war, many of the immigrants were from the United States but after the war less came and more British immigrants emigrated to Canada from the British Isles. https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation/chapter/10-3-immigration/
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-1812 -
Period: to
The Great Migration
In 1815-1850, many British people brought their families to Canada with the enticing free land to take. Many slaves from America came to Canada, as it was said that if they fought for the British, they would be free. In the 1840's with the failure of potatos and many evictions, Irish settlers came to Canada. https://intriguing-history.com/great-migration-of-canada/ -
Enticing the Farmers
In 1868 the government provided immigrants land (160 acres) if they were to move to Canada because of homestead legislation. Different groups of people came from far and wide to make claim of this offer.
https://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/prairie_immigration/educational_site/illhist/04.shtml#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20attract%20farmers,free%20land%20to%20immigrant%20settlers.&text=This%20act%20gave%20a%20free,them%20to%20settle%20in%20Canada. -
The first immigration Act
This act allowed open boarders to immigrants except sick and criminals. This allowed for over 100,000 children to be taken from the United Kingdom to be in a better home or to be workers. 9_ACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAK
https://carleton.ca/ches/wp-content/uploads/A-Brief-History-of-Canadian-Immigration.pdf
https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/immigration-act-1869 -
The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway
The start of the railroad in 1881 had some struggles such as meeting promised requirements and costs, but it only became more so when building in the mountains of British Columbia. It was costly and difficult, so they hired Chinese people to work in BC and made them do the dirty work for a smaller wage. This event started the immigration of Chinese people into Canada
https://cpconnectingcanada.ca/our-history/ -
Period: to
Chinese Head Tax, The Immigration Act
Upon completion of the railway in 1885, the Chinese workers brought their families to live in Canada with them which caused a huge increase in the Chinese population. To deter immigration, the Chinese head tax formed, from $50 per person to $100 then $500 and finally an outright ban till the year 1947. This event altered the population of new immigrants coming into Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chinese_immigration_to_Canada#After_completion_of_the_CPR,_1885%E2%80%931947 -
French Canadians Immigrating out of Canada
Around 1900, more Quebecers moved to the US due to discrimination under the British rule is gone and buying farmland in Canada was increasing. Lots settled on the states bordering Canada. They are known as French-Canadian Americans
https://immigrationtounitedstates.org/402-canadian-immigrants.html#:~:text=The%201900%20census%20recorded%20that,educational%20opportunities%20under%20British%20rule.
https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/French-Canadian-Americans.html -
Period: to
WW1
Immigrants from "alien countries" were denied access and those already in Canada were under more restrictions. After the war, those restrictions tightened.
https://carleton.ca/ches/wp-content/uploads/A-Brief-History-of-Canadian-Immigration.pdf -
The War Measures Act
This act allowed the Canadian government to not allow immigrants into the country or deport them without a trial or any charges.https://ccrweb.ca/en/hundred-years-immigration-canada-1900-1999,
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2F40-years-later-security-and-the-flq%2Farticle4328160%2F&psig=AOvVaw2Rq-_Vcq3HrnHew7Ge15jk&ust=1622684956216000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOjXl9nq9_ACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD