1.4 clifford sifton · clifford sifton • when wilfred laurier (liberal) was elected as prime...
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1.4 Clifford Sifton
multi-cultural Canada?
John A MacDonald“On the whole, it is considered not
advantageous to the country that the
Chinese should come and settle in
Canada,” said Macdonald. “That may
be right or it may be wrong, it may be
prejudice or otherwise, but the prejudice
is near universal.”
National PolicyJohn A MacDonald’s re-election platform in 1878
1. Railroad
2. Western Settlement
3. Protective Tariffs
The railroad was finally completed in 1885, just after
the Northwest Rebellion.
The Railroad
Kicking Horse Pass
William Van Horne
Put in charge of the
C.P.R.
• Experienced boss
• Used cheap Labour
(China, FN, others)
• Given 25 million acres
of Prairie land
• Got Railroad done in
1885
Difficult Engineering
Chinese Workers• Thousands of workers
were brought from China to work on the railroad.
• Paid less than ½ wages, and given dangerous work.
• Expenses were deducted from wages.
• Many thousands could not afford to return to China.
The Last Spike• By 1885, the railroad
was completed.
• There was
o Infrastructure
o Land Available
o Opportunity
John A MacDonald“the Aryan races will not
wholesomely amalgamate with the
Africans or the Asiatics”
“the cross of those races, like the
cross of the dog and the fox, is not
successful; it cannot be, and never
will be.”
Wilfred Laurier
Clifford Sifton• When Wilfred Laurier
(Liberal) was elected
as Prime Minister in
1896, he put Clifford
Sifton in charge of
Immigration.
• Sifton had an “open-
door policy” to
immigrants of all
backgrounds.
Immigration Ads
Who Came?• Britons who had little land/resources
• Religious minority farmers from
Russia/Ukraine/Poland that were seeking a new life
• Americans looking to expand
• Poor immigrants from places like Ireland looking for
jobs in the city
Multi-Cultural Canada
BacklashPeople gave various reasons for resenting immigrants:
1. More workers dilute the job market, keeping wages
low and unemployment high
2. Fear that immigrants might change the dominant
culture
3. Fear that French-Canadians would become an
even smaller percentage of the population
4. Racial prejudice
Closing the Door• After 1905, Canada began to look for ways to close
the door to immigrants that were not desired.
• Over the next fifty years, immigration policy
became based primarily on race and religion.
Critical Questions1. How has immigration policy affected our country
today?
2. What is immigration policy based on today? Is this
fair?
3. Why is immigration such a “hot topic” today in the
media, and in American politics?