History Essay Sample on Chinese Immigration to Canada

Chinese immigrants to Canada were treated unequally when they arrived in Canada. The earliest Chinese immigrants came to Canada in 1788, followed by several Chinese gold miners from San Francisco in 1858 (“Before you read,” 212). They came to Western Canada in the hopes of supporting their families financially and having a better life. Chinese people played a significant part in settling and developing Western Canada. However, they experienced racism, being denied rights, unfair treatment, and blatant disrespect from the time they arrived in Canada. The most unequal treatments Chinese immigrants faced were the required head tax, being denied the right to vote, and school segregation. 

Upon their arrival in Canada, every Chinese immigrant was required to pay a head tax to enter the country starting in 1885 (“Chinese Immigration,” 212). Sam Eng explained in an interview that the head tax required by the Canadian government was 50 dollars. Over time, the amount of money increased to a total of 500 dollars. He expressed that “the Japanese people didn’t pay any head tax; the Chinese people did” (Huang 221). He also noted that not even European immigrants had to pay taxes; only Chinese immigrants had to. This unfair treatment severely impacted Chinese immigrants, especially because they were already struggling financially. Paying taxes to enter Canada was unfair to Chinese immigrants, but what was equally unfair was that they were denied the right to vote.

Even after all of their numerous contributions to Canada, Chinese Canadians were denied the basic civil right to vote. C.E. Louie informed a newspaper editor that Chinese people are not allowed to vote because, to the government, they are aliens (Louie 213). After a long time, the Canadian government declared that Chinese-Canadians were allowed to vote in 1947. The leading reason why they were given the right to vote is because of their service and sacrifice in the Second World War (Moore 213). It took almost a century for Chinese-Canadians to obtain a basic civil right and to be fully considered citizens of Canada. Being denied the right to vote was only one of the numerous violations of civil rights; another was the right to education. 

Chinese children experienced difficulties with and mistreatment in education due to segregation in the schools. Segregation occurred in schools with many Chinese students and those who were not fluent in English. In an article written by Jin Guo, Jean Lumb expresses that “[Chinese students] couldn’t go to a regular school because [they] were not white” (Guo 223). Paul Yee explained that the Children’s Protective Association believed Chinese students delayed class progression and were moral threats to younger students. In 1901, white parents in Victoria got the support of the Trades and Labour Council to transfer all Chinese students because the school board wouldn’t. In 1907, it was decided that Chinese children could attend white schools only if they were born in Canada or properly understood English. However, in 1921, two hundred Chinese students were segregated from their white classmates and still experienced a large amount of racism (Yee 222). The segregation in schools made it nearly impossible for Chinese students to receive a proper education and have fair opportunities. 

Chinese-Canadian people experience several equal rights violations, such as paying head tax, being denied voting rights, and school segregation. Chinese immigrants came to Canada in hopes of building a stable and safe future for themselves and their families. Chinese immigrants were not given basic human rights, opportunities, and respect. The government's reasons for their treatment were unreasonable, resulting in countless struggles for Chinese immigrants. The disenfranchisement of Chinese-Canadians remains a significant aspect of the settling and history of Canada. Recognizing and educating oneself about the struggles of early Chinese immigrants helps one understand and be sensitive concerning the topic for Chinese-Canadians today.