• Order-in- Council PC 1931-695, 1931
    Includes: Order-in-Council PC 1923-183 (31 January 1923), Order-in-Council PC 1930-1957 (14 August 1930) With the passage of Order-in-Council PC 695 on 21 March 1931, the government of Prime Minister R.B. Bennett implemented the tightest immigration admissions policy in Canadian history. [1] …
  • Canadian Immigration Acts and Legislation
    by Lindsay Van Dyk, Former Junior Researcher What do immigration rules tell us about Canada? Since 1869, Canada has had laws and regulations governing the admission of immigrants. Immigration legislation has evolved and changed over time, shaped by the shifting social, political and economic …
  • Immigration Act, 1869
    Canada’s first immigration act following Confederation contained few restrictions on immigration. The government of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald developed an open immigration policy to encourage the settlement of the West, seeking to enhance access to the region’s natural resources and create a …
  • Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration, 1885
    The Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration was appointed to obtain proof that restricting Chinese immigration to Canada was in the best interest of the country. Approximately 15,000 Chinese labourers came to Canada in the 1880s to work on the western section of the Canadian Pacific Railway in …
  • The Chinese Immigration Act, 1885
    (plus amendments: 1887, 1892, 1900, 1903) Following the recommendations published in the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration in 1885, the federal government passed a bill to restrict Chinese immigration to Canada. The Chinese Immigration Act imposed a duty of $50 on every Chinese person seeking …
  • Royal Commission on Italian Immigration, 1904-1905
    The Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire into the Immigration of Italian Labourers to Montreal and the Alleged Fraudulent Practices of Employment Agencies was called in 1904 to investigate the recent influx of Italian labourers to Montreal and their exploitation by immigration agents. There were …
  • AIR image testing
    Tamara Abdul Hadi has an MFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and has taught photography for multimedia at Concordia and photography intervention courses in Cairo and Beirut. Tamara co-founded Rawiya Collective, which was a collective of 6 women photographers from and …
  • Sheelah Mary Coughlan
    My mother and my brother Christopher arrived in Halifax 1944 or possibly 1945. Pease were declared during her crossing. Chris was a baby so diapers etc. needed to be washed etc. Mom commented on how small her room was and of course she had to share. She mentioned how young mothers helped each other …
  • Gerald, Irene and Doreen
    It was 1942 and a lovely Sunday afternoon when I met my handsome soldier. My plans that day were to go with my cousin Muriel to watch the Highland Regiments at Braemar eighteen miles from Aberdeen, Scotland (where I lived) to enjoy the wonderful bands. We usually rode our bicycles and made a day of …
  • Giuseppe, Addolorata DiFalco e figli
    Addolorata Di Falco and daughters arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax aboard the Saturnia on May 27, 1954. Giuseppe Di Falco arrived at Pier 21 on August 21, 1951. (translated from original text written in Italian by Addolorata Salvatorelli-Di Falco) My name is Addolorata Salvatorelli-Di Falco. I married …