In 1946 almost everyone arriving at Halifax's Pier 21 came from Britain or the rest of Europe, and Canada's laws made sure of it: Chinese immigration had been all but banned since 1923, and officials could turn people away for their nationality or "race". By 1982, a family arriving at Toronto's airport was as likely to come from Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, the Philippines or Vietnam as from Europe, and Canada officially described itself as multicultural. How did policy change so dramatically, and what did these changes mean for heritage and identity in Canada?
After the war: open doors for some
After 1945 Canada needed workers for its booming economy. Tens of thousands of war brides arrived with their children, and Canada admitted more than 165,000 displaced persons (DPs), people uprooted by the war, including Ukrainians, Poles, Balts and Jewish Holocaust survivors, between 1947 and the early 1950s, often on contracts to work in mines, forests, farms or as domestic workers. Large numbers of Dutch, Italian, Greek and Portuguese immigrants followed in the 1950s and 60s, building neighbourhoods such as Toronto's Little Italy. But on May 1, 1947, Prime Minister Mackenzie King told Parliament that Canada would welcome immigrants to grow its population but did not intend to change the "fundamental composition" of its people, meaning policy would continue to favour white Europeans. The Immigration Act of 1952 kept broad powers to refuse people on grounds such as nationality and ethnic group.
| Change | Date | What it meant |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Citizenship Act | In force January 1, 1947 | For the first time, people were Canadian citizens and not only British subjects living in Canada |
| Repeal of the Chinese Immigration Act | May 14, 1947 | Ended the 1923 ban, but Chinese immigration was still limited mostly to close family members for years; Chinese and South Asian Canadians won the federal vote in 1947 |
| Quotas for South Asia | 1951 | Small yearly quotas for immigrants from India, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka): a door barely opened |
| Caribbean Domestic Scheme | From 1955 | Women from Jamaica, Barbados and later other Caribbean countries were admitted as landed immigrants on condition that they work as live-in domestic workers for at least a year, after which they could change jobs; the yearly numbers admitted were small |
| New regulations | 1962 | Removed most openly racial criteria and made education and skills the main test, though family sponsorship rules still favoured Europeans |
| The points system | 1967 | Applicants scored points for education, job skills, knowledge of English or French, age and a job offer, regardless of race or nationality |
| Immigration Act | Passed 1976; in force 1978 | Set goals of family reunion, non-discrimination and humanitarian help; created refugees as a separate class and allowed private groups to sponsor refugees |
Refugees
- Hungarians (1956–57): after the Soviet Union crushed the Hungarian uprising, Canada quickly admitted about 37,000 refugees, waiving many usual requirements. The fact that they were European and fleeing communism during the Cold War made them popular with the public and the government.
- Czechoslovaks (1968–69): after Soviet tanks ended the Prague Spring, about 11,000–12,000 Czech and Slovak refugees came.
- Tibetans (1970–71): a small group of about 230 Tibetan refugees was resettled in communities across Canada.
- Ugandan Asians (1972): when dictator Idi Amin expelled Uganda's South Asian population in August 1972, Canada accepted about 6,000–7,000 people within months, many of them Ismaili Muslims who built new lives across Canada.
- Chileans (from 1973): after a military coup, several thousand Chileans fled to Canada, though only after church and labour groups pressed a government that had been more willing to take refugees from communist countries.
- The "boat people" (1979–80): after the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands fled Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, many in crowded boats. Canada set a target of 50,000 and then raised it to 60,000; more than half were privately sponsored by churches, community groups and families under the new 1976 Act. In 1986 the United Nations awarded the Nansen Refugee Award to the people of Canada.
Multiculturalism (1971)
The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963–1969) described Canada as a partnership of two founding peoples, English and French. Ukrainian Canadians and other groups, sometimes called the "third force", objected that this ignored the millions of Canadians of other backgrounds, and First Nations, Métis and Inuit rejected being left out of the "founding peoples" altogether. On October 8, 1971, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced a policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework: Canada would have two official languages but no official culture, and the government would help cultural groups keep their heritage and take part fully in Canadian life. Canada was the first country to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. The policy was later written into section 27 of the Charter (1982) and the Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988).
- It recognized the reality of a diverse Canada
- People did not have to give up their heritage to be Canadian
- It encouraged immigrants to feel welcome and take part
- Festivals, languages and community groups enriched Canada
- Many Québécois saw it as downgrading French Canada to one culture among many
- Some argued it divided Canadians instead of building a shared identity
- Others said it funded festivals but did little against racism and inequality
- Indigenous leaders said First Nations, Métis and Inuit are nations, not one ethnic group among many
A changing population and new heritage
Because the points system ignored race and nationality, the sources of immigration changed quickly. By the late 1970s, a large and growing share of newcomers came from Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa. Cities changed most: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver gained new neighbourhoods, places of worship, restaurants, media and festivals. Caribana (now the Toronto Caribbean Carnival) began in 1967 as a Centennial project of Toronto's Caribbean community, Winnipeg's Folklorama began in 1970, and multilingual radio such as Toronto's CHIN served many language communities. Change also brought loss and conflict: Toronto's first Chinatown was largely demolished in the 1950s and 60s to build the new City Hall and its square, and many newcomers faced racism in housing and jobs.