Question by bdinney22: Student Handout #6: The Chosen Ones – A History of Selective Immigration. Anyone help?? Social Homework?
k so we have to do this handout for social above is the name of the handout. i will paste the work sheet followed by the questions help asap would be appreciated 🙂
With the exception of the First Nations, everyone in Canada is either an immigrant or descended from immigrants. But how did all these people, from so many different countries, end up living here? What criteria did they have to meet in order to gain entry? The truth may explode some long-cherished myths about Canada’s immigration history.
As late as 1910, those wishing to move to Canada were subjected to a ranking system based on racial origin and how well immigration experts thought they could adapt to life in this country. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the Department of Immigration discarded these racial criteria and adopted a more tolerant attitude towards ethnic minorities. But in order to take a comprehensive look at Canada’s immigration policy, we have to go back another 300 years.
In 1660, immigrant settlement in Canada was mainly restricted to villages scattered along the St. Lawrence River. Most inhabitants were traders, merchants and soldiers and the area was nominally controlled by the French Crown. For years, the colony languished. French authorities considered it a backwater. Some said its only claim to worthiness was the quality of the furs in the region. But this changed when France’s arch-enemy, England, fixed her imperialistic eye on the New World. France knew the key to retaining the colony was to populate it.
To bolster the predominantly male population along the St. Lawrence, beginning in 1665, more than 700 French women were imported into the colony. Many were impoverished and their expenses were paid by the Crown, which led them to be known as les filles du roi, daughters of the King. This novel approach had the desired effect as the population grew.
Then, from 1665 to 1760, another 8,000 immigrants settled in Canada. Nearly all were single men and many didn’t care for what they encountered. For every one that remained, two returned to Europe. Canada’s early immigration policy was obviously flawed.
For more than a century, with the notable exception of les filles du roi, authorities encouraged male immigration. Single men could be transported cheaply, with many working aboard the ships to defray the price of passage. It was rationalized that, without families to encumber them, these men would travel the colony searching for work and settling where they liked. Married men, especially those with children, were considered inappropriate immigrants. It was believed they would abandon the colony rather than subject their loved ones to privation. This attitude changed in the 1750s when Britain tried to colonize Nova Scotia with loyal Protestants. It was hoped these staunch Englishmen would counterbalance the Catholic population in Quebec.
It is estimated that 2,500 Protestants came to the area between 1750 and 1780. But of the single males in this group, fully two-thirds disappeared from colonial records. They did not settle in Nova Scotia. They either slipped away to the United States or joined the army. As colonists, they were a total loss. However, among the married men, only one-third did not settle permanently. The British government was quick to realize it got much better value out of families, even though single men were cheaper to settle. This shift in thinking influenced Canadian immigration policy for nearly 50 years. As one historian put it, “families were channels for information and assistance, and an important source of support in adjusting to life in a new location.” A prime example occurred around 1815, when a group of Irish immigrants settled in Upper Canada.
Once the original group was here, they began writing letters home. They extolled life in Canada as compared to the conditions they left in Ireland. As a consequence, more family members immigrated and so did friends and neighbours. This became known as chain immigration and was quickly acknowledged to be a more effective colonization tool than the random importation of single males. Canada’s immigration policy was maturing.
For 200 years the primary reason for people coming to this country was the fact that they could get free land. All that changed at the beginning of the 20th century. Labour-seeking immigrants began to outnumber land-seeking settlers. This was amply demonstrated when the railroad was being constructed through the interior of British Columbia. Thousands of Chinese workers came to Canada hoping to earn wages unheard of in their homeland. They were here strictly to earn money, not to take up homesteads. They represented not only a drastic shift in the trend of immigration, but also a dramatic change in the way officials viewed those seeking access to this country.
The attitude adopted toward the Chinese was: if they wanted into Canada to work that was fine, but only male labourers would be allowed to immigr
that could probbaly help. paste what you know!! thanks!!
Best answer:
Answer by Mahl
I really only know about current things to do with immigration to Canada. I’m not really sure if that will help or not. If it will, just reply to this, and I will message with the stuff I know.
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