Canadian Labour History: Stages of Immigration and Settlement

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the labour history of immigration in Canada, examining the various stages of settlement from pre-European times to the merit point system. It explores key periods, including French colonization, the arrival of American Loyalists, and the impact of the British victory in the War of 1812. The essay details the evolving immigration policies, including those related to the Underground Railroad, the periods between the World Wars, and the post-World War II era, focusing on racism and the treatment of displaced persons. It further analyzes the introduction of the point system, special immigration programs, and the Immigration Adjustment of Status Program. The essay also looks at the methods used to attract immigrants, as well as the changing conditions for workers and their responses to economic and social changes. The analysis of the Canadian immigration policies and their impact on the labour force is a key element of this essay.

Running head: LABOUR HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION IN CANADA
Labour history of immigration in Canada
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

1LABOUR HISTORY OF IMMIGRATION IN CANADA
Question: 1 Usefulness of studying stages of settlement of immigration in Canada
The usefulness of studying the stages of settlement of the immigration in Canada is to
understand the engagement of the migrated population with the ethnic groups and building the
relationship of engagement (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 2 Stages of settlement and immigration in Canada
There are eight stages of the settlement and migration in Canada and they are Pre –
European settlement, 1600 to the conquest of the new France, 1760 to the war of 1812, 1815 to
the opening of the West, 1880 to First World War, period between the wars, end of the war to
1967 and the last period since 1968 which is known as the “Merit Point system”. The purpose of
diving this period is to understand and focus on the important issues under each period with their
specific contribution in the immigration history of Canada (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 3 People before the advent of the Europeans
Before the Europeans, the Indians and the Inuit lived in Canada and they came to be
known as the aboriginals in the later part of the history.
Question: 3(b)
They were almost 220,000 of them living in that area. These aboriginals lives in small
ethnic groups and they were mostly depended on primary economical activities like hunting,
fishing and agriculture. These groups were migrant people and they could relate to each other as
they not system of superordination or subordination even though they had rich and poor divide
among the ethnic groups (Isajiw 1999).

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Question 4: French settlement and colonization
The French came to Canada as the settlers and the colonizers. These migrants settling
down in the unpopulated areas superimposed their own culture on the Indian society. The motive
behind the reservation was actually to induce the Indian society within the French culture (Isajiw
1999).
To establish migrant superordination over the French it was the policy adopted by the
first governor John Simcoe for development of a colony to establish the British hold in the
Northern America. Hence, the two groups of American loyalist flew to Canada as refugees
(Isajiw 1999).
Question: 5 American Loyalists
There were two sets of immigrants, early and late who were about 30,000 migrating to
Nova Scotia and 10,000 to Quebec. Most of them settled down on the area West of New France
in the farmlands. The rest settled down in the north of Lake Ontario.
Question: 5(b)
The early settlers were mostly farmers, soldiers, governmental employees, teachers,
lawyers and clergymen while the late loyalists were farmers (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 6 Effects of the British victory in the War of 1812
The immediate impact of the British victory of 1812 was the expansion and growth of the
British Empire in Canada (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 7 Immigration policies in Canada

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After the First World War, the immigration policy in Canada was focused on the
developing the economy of the country. However, after 1812, it was important to develop an
integrated immigration policy that would be aimed at racism free development of the immigrant
population (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 7 (b) Methods to convince immigrants from Europe to come to Canada
A variety of methods were used to attract the Europeans to migrate to Canada. They are
offering cheap lands, immigration agencies, intensive and exaggerated advertising and
commission of the immigration agents, delegation of influential people and exhibitions and other
means (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 8 Immigration to Canada on the Underground Railroad
The American blacks as the fugitives and freedmen came to Canada on the Underground
Railroad (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 8(b)
Their number declined after the census of 1871 according to the historians because many
American blacks returned to U.S after the proclamation of emancipation in U.S in1863 (Isajiw
1999).
Question: 9 Immigration pattern
Between the period of 1812 to 1880, the immigration pattern in Canada were mostly
different ethnic groups from different parts of the world starting from the Asians to Europeans
and Chinese (Isajiw 1999).

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Question: 10 Periods between 1880 and World War I
The period between 1880 to the First World War is sociologically important because it is
for the first time that the basis structure of ethnic stratification was formed and it provided a
good example of migrant subordination of the ethnic groups new to Canada (Isajiw 1999).
The immigration policy of Canada failed to accommodate the new pattern of economic
development. The policy had to focus more on the newly immigrants who were not the farmers
but the industrial labourers (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 11 Conditions for workers, and their response, in the period between World War
I and World War II
Between the period of the First world war and the second world war, the condition of the
workers were difficult,, they started working on the industry in large number. However, this did
not last for long and the economic recession led to the mass wage cut and unemployment. As a
gesture of protest, workers started joining the labour unions and waged several strikes for
restricting the migration flow who were taking up their jobs (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 12 Racism in immigration policy in the period between 1946 and 1952
The three important changes in the immigration policy were the restriction posed on
them. It is the “Gentlemen’s agreement” on the Japanese immigrants, the “head tax” on the
Chinese immigrants and the “continuous Journey (passage) rule (Isajiw 1999).
Between the period of 1946 to 1952, there were sign of racism within the immigration
policy of Canada. On one hand, it restricted the Asian migration completely one the ground of

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changing the fundamental ethnic composition of Canada, on the other, it gave refuge to the
Polish ex-serviceman who fought for them on the Allied side (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 13 Displaced Persons
Post Second World War, the country was pressurized and forced to take a large number
of refugees who were known as the “Displaced persons”. They were mostly from western
Europe, rest of them were Polish, Ukrainians, Russians, Hungarians, Jews and Eastern
Europeans (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 14 The important change in immigration policy that occurred in the period
between 1962 and 1967.
Immigration policy between 1962 to 1967 is important on history as the new policy did
not focus on the issue of ethnicity rather the economic needs of the country. The second
important changes in the immigrant’s policy were their non-discriminatory practices for the
immigrants population published as the “White Paper” (Isajiw 1999).
Question: 15 Point system
The merit point system introduced the sponsored and independent applicants which were
similar in all aspects leaving the last four elements, these are employment opportunities,
knowledge of English, arranged employment and professional occupational skills (Isajiw 1999)..
Question: 16 “Immigration Adjustment of Status Program.”
The number of illegal immigrants was rising in number which required the immediate
concern of the government and this was the purpose of the proclamation of “The Immigration
Adjustment of status Program” (Isajiw 1999).

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Question: 17 Canada’s obligation
The obligation for the country was to take the migrants was due to the “merit point
system” where the applicants were sponsored by those relatives already living in Canada (Isajiw
1999).
Question : 18 Two special immigration programs
Between the periods of 1978 to 1993, there were three changes in the immigration policy
of the country. The first change was the passing of the Immigration Act of 1976 which came into
force in 1978. The second change in the immigration policy was the 1990’s “business migrants”.
Over 18,445 business entrepreneurs Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and U. S given entry to
Canada. The last important change is the immigration policy was the 1993, Immigration Act
which gave authority to the government to decide number of immigrants in each category (Isajiw
1999).

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References
Isajiw, Wsevolod W. 1999. “immigration to Canda: New Faces in the Crowd” in understanding
Diversity:Ethnicity and Race in the Canadian context,pp.77-91. Thimpson Educational
Publishing , Inc..