Timeline

1910

Immigration Act

Further enhanced the discretionary powers of government, and allowed them to further control the flow of immigrants into Canada.

Created a new provision
that allowed any
governor-in-council to
arbitrarily deem immigrants “unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada.”

Introduced into Canada the concept of domicile/permanent residency. New immigrants were permitted to apply for this sort of residency after three years in Canada

1914

Viola Desmond is
born

1919

Immigration Act
Amendment (1910)

The government amended the Immigration Act in 1919 with more restrictive regulations in response to:

Postwar economic downturn (closing of many businesses in wartime);

Anti-foreign sentiment;

Labour unrest (Winnipeg General Strike).

1923

Chinese Immigration Act

The Immigration Act of 1923 restricted all Chinese immigrants to Canada.

Between 1923 and 1946, it is estimated that only 15 Chinese immigrants gained entry into Canada.

1944

Ontario Passes Racial Discrimination Act

Ontario becomes the first province to introduce anti-oppressive legislation in Canada. The Racial Discrimination Act prohibited the publication and display of any symbol, sign, or notice that expressed ethnic, racial, or religious discrimination.

1946

Viola Desmond is
arrested in a theatre

On November 8th, 1946, Viola went to see a move in the Roseland theatre in New Glasgow, N.S. After being refused a seat on the main floor, the ticket handler gave her a ticket for the balcony. She sat on the main floor anyway, and was arrested.

1952

Immigration Act

Reinforced existing practices and established a legislative framework for prior Immigration Acts.

1954

Ontario Passes Fair Accommodation Practices Act

Ontario Passes a second anti-discrimination act, which declares that; “no one can deny to any person or class of persons the accommodation, services or facilities usually available to members of the public.”

1962

Immigration Act

The minister of citizenship and immigration Ellen Fairclough introduced new immigration regulations that eliminated overt racial discrimination from Canadian immigration policy.

This act allowed approximately 64,000 Black Caribbean people into the country between 1962 and 1971.

1968

Sir George William
Affair

In spring 1968, six Caribbean students at Sir George Williams University complained that a professor actively practised racial discrimination in his courses. This claim was dismissed.

Ensuing protest of 200
students was met with violent police force and a riot squad; the situation deteriorated, causing $2 million worth of damage and the arrest of 97 people.

Ringleaders

Roosevelt “Rosie” Douglas, from Dominica, given a two years prison sentence

Anne Cools, from Barbados, was sentenced to four months. In 1974, she moved to Toronto and founded Women In Transition Inc., Canada’s first home for female victims of violence.

1970

Africville is destroyed

Formerly enslaved black people in Halifax set up a city, including their own school, church, and other establishments, calling the neighbourhood Africville. Citizens of Africville were forced to pay Halifax taxes, but were not granted city benefits. Africville was designated as a slum, and Halifax decided to destroy it in favour of industrial factories in 1970.

1971

Canadian Multiculturalism
Policy (8 October, 1971)

Pierre Trudeau (Prime Minister at the time) announced "multiculturalism within a bilingual framework as an official government policy."

The goals of multiculturalism were to uphold people's right to practice their own cultures freely and to acknowledge the cultural contributions made by many ethnic groups to Canadian society.

1976

Immigration Act

The immigration act of 1976 represented a shift in Canadian immigration legislation. It was significant because it:

Defined refugees as a distinct class of immigrants.

Legally mandated consultation between the federal government and various governmental levels for planning and managing immigration.

Was seen as one of the first
modern progressive
pieces of legislation.

1982

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms

In 1982 Canada repatriated our Constitution. We became independent from british rule and law. When we repatriated our constitution we also added the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was embedded in the constitution and made human rights constitutional.

Charter 15 states: 15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

1989

CLM

Black people and Indigenous Peoples in Nova Scotia's criminal justice system face persistent racial prejudice, as the Royal Commission on the Prosecution of Donald Marshall Jr. noted in its report.

2002

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)

This act replaced the 1976 immigration act. It notably made immigration into Canada harder, including for refugees, as a direct result of the events on September 11th, 2001. The act also made it easier for people in common-law or same-sex relationships to enter Canada.

2005

CLM

The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean became Canada’s first Black Governor General.

2010

CLM

Mayor Peter Kelly of Halifax apologised on behalf of municipal, provincial and federal governments, for demolishment of Africville in 1962.

The Government of Nova Scotia issued an apology and a posthumous pardon to Viola Desmond.

2021

CLM

Cases decided by the Court of Appeal in Ontario (R v. Morris, 2021 ONCA 680) and Nova Scotia (R v. Anderson, 2021 NSCA 62) acknowledged the existence of systematic discrimination and anti-Black racism in the criminal justice system, as well as their effects on Black people in Canada.

Immigrants from enemy alien countries were denied entry into Canada and restricted categories of political and cultural dissidents were expanded. The Government was authorized to legally discriminate against potential immigrants based upon their “peculiar customs, habits, modes of life, and methods of holding property.”

SIGNIFICANT EVENT 4

In the 1960s, Montreal became a focal point for Black activism in Canada. Black Montrealers mobilised as never before to defend their rights and denounce the racism and discrimination to which they were being subjected every day. In the spring of 1968, six Caribbean students at Sir George Williams University filed a complaint that biology professor Perry Anderson practised racial discrimination in his courses by giving failing marks to all Black people, but were immediately denied. In protest, more than 200 students decided to peacefully occupy the ninth floor of the Henry F. Hall Building, and they barricaded themselves in and took the elevators and telephones out of service. In response, the university turned the matter over to the police, who intervened forcefully, and the situation deteriorated, resulting in over $2 million worth of damage and the arrest of 97 people.

SIGNIFICANT EVENT 1

In 1923, the Canadian government introduced a new Chinese Immigration Act to prohibit Chinese immigration. Between 1923 and 1946, it is estimated that only 15 Chinese immigrants gained entry into Canada. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the culmination of national anti-Chinese racism, and had lastig impacts in history. Only “Chinese diplomats, government representatives, merchants, Christian missionaries, teachers, Chinese students, children born in Canada who had left for educational or other purposes, and returning Chinese immigrants could be eligible to enter Canada,” implying that the vast majority of potential Chinese immigrants were effected. This act fed into the underlying bias that Canadians already felt for Chinese immigrants - that they were unworthy of stepping foot into our country. Given that Chinese immigration was strictly prohibited, the Chinese population in Canada deteriorated significantly in the 23 years that the act was in place.

SIGNIFICANT EVENT 2

Viola Desmond
On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond made a decision at the Roseland Theatre, in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, to not give in to segregation and stand her ground against racism and police officials. Although she was the only one directly affected, her act of defiance against segregation sparked a national conversation and increased support for the Canadian civil rights movement. Her courage to stand against racism and segregation paved the way for generations of black Canadians to challenge bias and stand in the face of adversity. Viola Desmond’s story also reveals the broken sociopolitical state of Canada in the 1940s.

SIGNIFICANT EVENT 5

As stated by the Federal Government, “[t]he promotion of equality entails the promotion of a society in which all are secure in the knowledge that they are recognized at law as human beings equally deserving of concern, respect and consideration”. Provision 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms constitutionally ensures the equality of everyone in our society. The entirety of the Canadian population, as well as future immigrants and generations will all be effecte by this charter. It has created change by cementing human rights in Canadian Constitutional law, and has been in place for 42 years.

Haitian Disporia (1961-1970)

Haitians began immigrating into Quebec in the 1960s and ’70s, fleeing the dictatorship of Francois Duvalier.

SIGNIFICANT EVENT 3

Between 1955 and 1967, the West Indian Domestic Scheme served as a scheme for Caribbean women to immigrate. Through the scheme, approximately 3,000 Caribbean women emigrated to Canada to work as domestic workers. Despite being a good opportunity to make money, women employed under the scheme were often treated with discriminatory values. In addition, the Canadian government and people were revealed to be racist in their treatement of the workers - despite the fact that these women were given immigrant status after a year of employment, which allowed them to pursue more training and employment options, the government attempted to limit their ability to sponsor family members who were applying for permanent residence.

West Indies Domestic Scheme 1955-1967

After the second world war there was an increased demand for domestic labour, which led to the 1955 West Indian Domestic Scheme.

The program enticed Caribbean women to immigrate to Canada in order to work as domestic helpers. They would receive permanent residency after a year of employment.

Immigration Acts and Legislation

Contemporary Legal Milestones (CLM)

Viola Desmond

Miscellaneous Events