In the mid 1800s, Chinese immigrants came to Canada to help build the railroads connecting the provinces of Canada together. They were promised to be well-payed and to have food and shelter provided for them. They wanted to come to Canada in hopes of having a better job to provide for their family. Once they arrived, they realized the promises were nothing but lies. They were payed about half of what a white man doing the same job earned. They were treated poorly by others because of the clothes they wore, their lack of knowledge about Canadian culture, and their accents. As more immigrants came to Canada in search for a chance at a better life, the Canadian government put a head tax on all Chinese immigrants as of 1885. The head tax started at $50 per person, $50 around that time would be equivalent to $1,303.53 today, also equivalent to a 2 year salary of a Chinese immigrant. The head tax did not stop Chinese immigrants as the salary in Canada was roughly 20% more than they earned in China. So, the government raised the head tax again, this time, to $100 per person, roughly $2,607.05. The only exception were doctors, university student, those from richer families and people with higher education, which was only a small percentage. The Chinese immigrants were not only faced with the head tax, specifically for them, they were also faced with a lot of discrimination and were shouted at with racial slurs. They were not allowed to be in the same pools as white people, weren’t allowed to shop at the same stores at the same time as white people. Basically, they weren’t treated as human beings, they weren’t treated with respect and equally.
How has the Chinese immigration affected Canada and how does it still affect it today?
During the time of head tax, Chinese immigrants were faced with extreme poverty in order to pay the head tax to enter this country. Because of the fees they had to pay, they remained in poverty even after the head tax was removed, they were still employed in low-paying jobs and were not able to receive education. Their children; however, had a better chance of succeeding and having a good life because of the sacrifice their parents had made.The children were able to eventually attend school and get education. Based on these past events in Canada, today, living payers of the head tac and their children have lost their trust in the Canadian government.
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