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Chinese head tax
The Chinese head tax was a fixed fee charged to every Chinese person entering Canada. The head tax was first levied after the Canadian parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 and it was meant to discourage Chinese people from entering Canada after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The tax was abolished by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which outright prevented all Chinese immigration except for that of business people, clergy, educators, students, and some others.
Through the mid- to late 19th century, some 17000 labourers were brought from China to do construction work on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), though they were paid a third or a half less than their co-workers (about CA$1/day). Once the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, the demand for cheap labour was non-existent, so the provincial legislature of British Columbia passed a strict law to virtually prevent[clarification needed] Chinese immigration in 1885. However, this was immediately struck down by the courts as ultra vires ("beyond the powers") of the provincial legislative assembly, as it impinged upon federal jurisdiction over immigration into Canada. A similar attempt had been made a year before, and another one was made in 1878 to tax every Chinese over the age of 12 the sum of taxed $10 (equivalent to $385 in 2023) every three months.
Responding to the anti-immigration sentiment in British Columbia, the Canadian government of John A. Macdonald introduced the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, which became law in 1885. Under its regulations, the law stipulated that all Chinese people entering Canada must first pay a CA$50 (equivalent to $1,749 in 2023) fee, later referred to as a head tax. This was amended in 1887, 1892, and 1900, with the fee increasing to CA$100 (equivalent to $3,847 in 2023) in 1900 and later to its maximum of CA$500 in 1903 (equivalent to $18,000 in 2023), representing a two-year salary of an immigrant worker at that time.
However, not all Chinese arrivals had to pay the head tax; those who were better off financially and presumed to return to China based on the apparent, transitory nature of their occupation or background were exempt from the penalty. These included arrivals identifying themselves as: students, teachers, missionaries, merchants, or members of the diplomatic corps.
The Government of Canada collected about CA$23 million ($393 million in 2023 dollars) in face value from about 81,000 head tax payers. The head tax did discourage Chinese women and children from joining their men, but it failed to meet its goal, articulated by contemporary politicians and labour leaders, of the complete exclusion of Chinese immigration. That was achieved through the same law that ended the head tax: the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which stopped Chinese immigration, but with certain exemptions for business owners and others. It is sometimes referred to by opponents as the Chinese Exclusion Act, a term also used for its American counterpart.
After the Chinese Immigration Act was repealed in 1948, various community leaders including Wong Foon Sien campaigned for the federal government to open immigration policies for the Chinese community.
However, the concept of a redress movement did not begin until 1984, when Vancouver Member of Parliament (MP) Margaret Mitchell raised the issue of repaying the Chinese Head Tax for two of her constituents in the House of Commons of Canada after the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been proclaimed and entrenched in the Constitution Act, 1982.
Over 4,000 other head tax payers and their family members were eventually registered by the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) and its member organizations across Canada, after the issue gathered broad public attention on the CJVB radio program, Chinese Voice, hosted by Richmond, British Columbia, personality Hanson Lau in February 1984.
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Chinese head tax
The Chinese head tax was a fixed fee charged to every Chinese person entering Canada. The head tax was first levied after the Canadian parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 and it was meant to discourage Chinese people from entering Canada after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The tax was abolished by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which outright prevented all Chinese immigration except for that of business people, clergy, educators, students, and some others.
Through the mid- to late 19th century, some 17000 labourers were brought from China to do construction work on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), though they were paid a third or a half less than their co-workers (about CA$1/day). Once the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, the demand for cheap labour was non-existent, so the provincial legislature of British Columbia passed a strict law to virtually prevent[clarification needed] Chinese immigration in 1885. However, this was immediately struck down by the courts as ultra vires ("beyond the powers") of the provincial legislative assembly, as it impinged upon federal jurisdiction over immigration into Canada. A similar attempt had been made a year before, and another one was made in 1878 to tax every Chinese over the age of 12 the sum of taxed $10 (equivalent to $385 in 2023) every three months.
Responding to the anti-immigration sentiment in British Columbia, the Canadian government of John A. Macdonald introduced the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, which became law in 1885. Under its regulations, the law stipulated that all Chinese people entering Canada must first pay a CA$50 (equivalent to $1,749 in 2023) fee, later referred to as a head tax. This was amended in 1887, 1892, and 1900, with the fee increasing to CA$100 (equivalent to $3,847 in 2023) in 1900 and later to its maximum of CA$500 in 1903 (equivalent to $18,000 in 2023), representing a two-year salary of an immigrant worker at that time.
However, not all Chinese arrivals had to pay the head tax; those who were better off financially and presumed to return to China based on the apparent, transitory nature of their occupation or background were exempt from the penalty. These included arrivals identifying themselves as: students, teachers, missionaries, merchants, or members of the diplomatic corps.
The Government of Canada collected about CA$23 million ($393 million in 2023 dollars) in face value from about 81,000 head tax payers. The head tax did discourage Chinese women and children from joining their men, but it failed to meet its goal, articulated by contemporary politicians and labour leaders, of the complete exclusion of Chinese immigration. That was achieved through the same law that ended the head tax: the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which stopped Chinese immigration, but with certain exemptions for business owners and others. It is sometimes referred to by opponents as the Chinese Exclusion Act, a term also used for its American counterpart.
After the Chinese Immigration Act was repealed in 1948, various community leaders including Wong Foon Sien campaigned for the federal government to open immigration policies for the Chinese community.
However, the concept of a redress movement did not begin until 1984, when Vancouver Member of Parliament (MP) Margaret Mitchell raised the issue of repaying the Chinese Head Tax for two of her constituents in the House of Commons of Canada after the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been proclaimed and entrenched in the Constitution Act, 1982.
Over 4,000 other head tax payers and their family members were eventually registered by the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) and its member organizations across Canada, after the issue gathered broad public attention on the CJVB radio program, Chinese Voice, hosted by Richmond, British Columbia, personality Hanson Lau in February 1984.