-
Period: to
1867-1870s: Slow Beginnings to Canadian Immigration
After Confederation and the adoption of the National Policy, the federal government of Canada sought to use immigration as a means to achieve agricultural settlement of Western Canada (Whitaker, 3-4). Immigration overall was very low until the start of the next century, and the vast majority of immigrants were from European countries and the United States due to white immigrants being favoured, but some East Asian men did arrive to work in British Columbia (Stats Canada; Ongley, 765-766). -
1877: First Japanese Immigrant Arrives
The first Japanese immigrant arrived in BC in 1877, but Japanese immigration would overall remain extremely low until the 1890s (Ward, 3). -
Period: to
1880s: Important Changes in Japan
Emigration in Japan was rare until the 1880s, by which point the rapid economic changes occuring in the country encouraged some farmers to leave in search of opportunities abroad. These sojourners mostly intended to return home after amassing a fortune overseas, and small numbers of them made their way to British Columbia to perform wage labour for less pay than white workers. Due to intense discrimination, they formed very insular communities (Ward, 3, 8-10). -
Period: to
1890s-1900s: Peak of Japanese Immigration
The peak of Canadian immigration in general, including Japanese immigration, was in the 1890s-1900s when it was widely promoted by the Laurier administration (Stats Canada; Whitaker, 6-7). As a result, a quarter of BC's labour force consisted of Asian immigrants, which caused an increase in anti-Asian sentiment (Whitaker, 10). In this period, over 30,000 Japanese men arrived in BC and formed the Issei, or 'first generation,' of Japanese-Canadians (Ward, 3-4). -
1895: Japanese-Canadians Lose the Right to Vote
Anti-Asian sentiment saw Japanese immigrants portrayed as an inherently greedy and unassimilable threat to white Canadians. Labour made restricting Asian immigration a priority, and this cause was quickly taken up by provincial politicians as a way to earn votes (Goutour, 550-558, 571; Palmer, 9). As a consequence, Japanese-Canadians lost voting rights, which made communities more insular and deprived future generations of opportunity for economic advancement (Fukawa, 152, 160; Palmer, 10). -
1908: The Gentlemen's Agreement - Japanese Immigration Significantly Reduced
Despite public pressure, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance prevented the federal government from restricting Japanese immigration directly. Instead, they reached a mutual agreement with Japan to limit immigration (Whitaker, 10; Ward, 5). This was different from other Asian exclusion laws because it still allowed women to immigrate as wives. As a result, most new immigrants were now women, and the Canadian-born Nisei generation came to outnumber the Issei immigrants (Ward 5-8, 19-20; Fukawa, 153). -
Period: to
1910s-1930s: Canadian Immigration Heavily Reduced
Compared to the high peak of the previous decades, Canada now entered a long period of record low immigration (Stats Canada). Between further restrictions and increased nativist sentiment, the First World War, and the Great Depression, immigration was significantly reduced through this period, including from Japan (Stats Canada; Ward, 4). -
1914-1918: The First World War
The war was accompanied by nationwide restrictions on immigration (Stats Canada). Some Issei volunteered for service in the hopes of gaining voting rights, but these benefits were withheld until the 1930s (Fukawa, 153). -
1922: Restrictions on Japanese Fishermen
Under the justification of eliminating "unfair" competition, BC restricted the number of fishing licenses issued to Japanese-Canadians, the areas in which they could fish, and their ability to procure boat engines (Fukawa, 156-157; Palmer, 11). The implementation of such restrictions reflected the continuing strength of anti-Asian sentiment, and how this public pressure manifested itself in politics (Palmer, 11; Goutour, 564-565). -
1925: The Railway Agreement - No Change for Japanese Immigration
After WWI, Canada's railways pressured the federal government to return to a pro-immigration stance, which resulted in them being given responsibility for immigration to settle the west (Osborne and Wurtele, 108-109). While this did lead to a temporary increase in immigration, it was soon revoked as the 1930s saw a demand for more restrictions (Ibid., 121). Crucially, these changes did not have a great impact on Japanese immigration, which would continue to be restricted. -
1928: Further Restrictions on Japanese Immigration
Under pressure from BC politicians, the federal government placed further restrictions on the number of Japanese immigrants who were allowed into the country (Palmer, 11). -
Period: to
1930s: The Great Depression
A rise in nativism combined with a lack of economic incentive meant that Canadian immigration decreased even more during this time (Stats Canada; Osborne and Wurtele, 121). While new immigrants were scarce, the Canadian-born Nisei generation was entering adulthood and now outnumbered Japanese-born immigrants. They began to form their own associations and advocate for equal rights and opportunities (Ward, 12). -
Period: to
1940s: WWII and Postwar - The Lowest Point for Japanese Immigration
During the war, immigration decreased even further nationwide (Stats Canada). This was especially true for Japanese immigrants, of whom only 32 arrived throughout the entire decade (Ward, 4). Unlike during WWI, Japanese-Canadians were barred from volunteering due to fears that it would allow them to gain the vote and increase their social standing (Fukawa, 160-161). The war would also bring about substantial demographic changes due to the forced relocation of the community. -
1942-1945: Japanese-Canadians Relocated to Internment Camps
Unfounded fears around wartime loyalty, combined with opportunism on the part of anti-Asian actors, saw Japanese-Canadians in BC forcibly moved to internment camps and their assets sold for an extremely low value (Fukawa, 161-162; Ward, 13-14). After having lost their life savings and businesses, the community's return to BC also met strong racist opposition, which caused most Japanese-Canadians to relocate east to Ontario (Fukawa, 165; Ward, 8, 15). -
1946-1947: The Federal Government Attempts to Deport Japanese-Canadians
After WWII, the federal government offered to help many of the now-embittered Japanese-Canadians emmigrate to Japan. Most quickly changed their minds and decided to stay in Canada, but the government remained determined to deport them. Only after a fierce battle were they given the choice to stay in 1947. Most of those who still decided to leave were Issei immigrants, which further reinforced the Canadian-born nature of the community as it relocated to Ontario (Ward, 15-16). -
1949 - Japanese-Canadians Win the Battle for Civil Rights
Despite the injustices faced by Japanese-Canadians after the war, public opinion in Canada began to turn away from further exclusion laws as such practices were increasingly discredited by the war. In this context, Nisei activists and their Sansei children were able to win the right to vote in 1949, opening up many more opportunities and reducing the barriers between them and wider Canadian society (Palmer, 17-18; Ward, 16). -
Period: to
1950s-1970s: Canadian Immigration Strategy Changes Direction
Although Canada's immigration policy had previously focussed on short-term labour market concerns, in the late 1950s the nation began to switch to a more long-term strategy to solve rising economic issues (Ongley, 565-567). As society became less supportive of racial exclusion, the federal government now also needed a source of skilled labour outside of Europe and so began removing racial restrictions on immigration (Palmer, 18; Whitaker, 18-19). -
Period: to
1960s-Present: Japanese Immigration Returns
The changes in policy meant that Japanese immigration resumed after decades of extreme lows, although the postwar economic boom in Japan meant that Japanese immigrants were scarce compared to other Asian nations. Today, most new immigrants are highly-skilled workers, and the largely Canadian-born nature of the community means that Japanese-Canadians currently have the highest rate of intermarriage with other ethnic groups out of all Asian-Canadians (Ward, 17; Lee and Boyd, 316-317, 322-324). -
1962: Immigration Act Removes Racial Discrimination
As part of Canada's new immigration policy, longstanding racial restrictions were removed and replaced with a new points system that evaluated immigrants based on the skills that they possessed, which was fleshed out further in subsequent acts in the 1970s (Whitaker, 18; Ongley, 770). The new points system also had the effect of allowing many new immigrants into Canada who did not have existing family ties (Lee and Boyd, 312). -
1963: The Foundation of the Japanese Cultural Centre (JCC) in Toronto
With most Japanese-Canadians now living in Ontario, the JCC provided a way for Toronto residents to connect to their roots. Although there is no longer an insular Japanese community like the kind established by the Issei, the JCC today remains important for subsequent Canadian-born generations in maintaining their unique identity despite their high degree of integration with wider society (Ward, 2, 17-18). -
1971: Canada Adopts a Policy of Multiculturalism
Rather than appealing to racist public opinion to earn votes from white Canadians, the federal government now decided that it was important to appeal to the increasing number of ethnic minorities (Palmer, 22-23, 27). In contrast to the anti-Asian stance taken up in politics in previous decades, segregation and exclusion were now contrary to the nation's official policy. -
Period: to
1980s: Immigration Expands Further
The criteria for immigrants to enter Canada via the points system was lessened and immigration increased even further (Ongley, 770). The percentage of the foreign-born population originating from Asia increased substantially at this time (Stats Canada), though Japanese immigrants were only a small percentage of this wave. -
1988: Japanese-Canadians Receive Compensation
As Canada's history of Asian segregation was increasingly discredited, the Japanese-Canadian community was able to win financial compensation for the violation of their civil rights during and after the Second World War (Palmer, 26).