Chinese Immigration to Canada Essay Example for Free

Chinese Immigration to Canada Essay Canadian culture and the way Canadians live their lives is signi? cantly different from the Chinese. Chinese who are â€Å"fresh off the boat† often struggle with language barriers, cultural gaps and the new environments they are introduced to because they arrived in a strange country with no experience. In spite of the dif? culties many Chinese encounter, they are willing to acquire new knowledge about Canada. Many families who immigrate to Canada lose everything. They encounter ? nancial, employment, and language issues. Although interacting in a new language can be extremely stressful for immigrants and be detrimental to their self-esteem, learning English is inevitable for Chinese immigrants. Chinese immigrants would blend into Canadian society easier if they had previous knowledge of cultural and social differences or a greater language pro? ciency that would allow them to adapt more effectively in their new society as well as interact more comfortably. ! Immigrant children are usually shy when in a class with other Canadians. Most of the time, when Chinese students come to Canada, they usually associate with their friends who speak Chinese and they avoid interacting with other students who speak English. However, when students make friends, they are introduced to a new language and new social behaviours. These new friendships are bene? cial to both the native Canadian as well as the immigrant student because they learn from each other. This learning fosters tolerance instead of breeding ignorance and racism. It is crucial for immigrant students to meet native Canadians because that is the most convenient means of introducing them to their new society. ! Families that have no relatives or friends in Canada immediately experience signi? cant ? nancial and employment problems. These complications prevent new immigrants from feeling safe in their new country, and many seek comfort in church groups. These church groups help new immigrants to adjust to the Canadian lifestyle, and they also provide important resources for the new immigrant to explore in order to adjust to their new community with few problems. Yet, in the recent years, many wealthy Chinese have immigrated to Canada, so factors like ? nancial and employment problems do not apply to them. Many of these wealthy Chinese immigrants operate businesses in China from Canada; therefore, the need to ? nd employment is not problematic. ! Many Chinese immigrants come to Canada because of the numerous opportunities Canada provides. The student life within school and outside of school provides more freedom and the ability to think independently. In China, high school students are loaded with homework and spend most of their free time doing homework and going to tutors. The Canadian scenery provides opportunities of living in a new country with beautiful landscapes and wonders. Families are ? nally able to relax in a non-overpopulated country and enjoy the nice weather. Background History Before The first Chinese immigrants to settle in Canada were 50 artisans who accompanied Captain John Meares in 1788 to help build a trading post on the West Coast of Canada. In 1858, Chinese immigrants began arriving from San Francisco as gold prospectors in the Fraser River Valley, and Barkerville, BC, became the first Chinese community in Canada. By the 1860s, the Chinese population of Vancouver Island and BC was estimated to be around 7000. Many of the first Chinese migrants were young peasants from South China. They laboured under appalling conditions to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Between 1880 and 1885, 15 000 Chinese labourers completed the BC section of the CPR, but more than 600 workers died during the construction stage. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were more than 17000 settlers in Canada. From 1988 to 1993, more than 167 000 Hong Kong immigrants settled in Canada, By 2001, 82% of people of Chinese origin lived in one of these two provinces. By the start of the 21st century, the 2006 census showed that there were 1 346 510 people of Chinese ancestry living in Canada. The Chinese are the third largest ethnic group in Canada, after the English and French. The major periods of Chinese immigration (from 1858 to 1923 and since 1947) shows changes in the Canadian Government Immigration Policy. From 1885, Chinese immigrants were obligated to pay a $50 â€Å"entry fee† or head tax† before being admitted into Canada. The Chinese were the only ethnic group to pay a tax to enter Canada. By the 1900s, in response to agitation in BC, the Liberal government restricted Chinese immigration by raising the head tax to $100 per person. After the 1903 session of Parliament passed legislation raising the head tax to $500, the number of Chinese who paid the head tax dropped from 4719 to 8 people. Current Situation Chinese immigrants in the 21st century come to Canada for a better education, freedom and hopes to start a new life. The education system in China does not incorporate both physical activity and studying. However, some immigrants only come to Canada to leech money from the government by buying land. Statistics 72% born outside of Canada 45% born in Peoples Republic of China 30% born in Hong Kong 10% born in Taiwan 85% can either speak French or English Why did the Chinese decide to immigrate to Canada? ! The year 1858 marked the start of the Chinese immigration to Canada. None of the colonies at that time had immigration restrictions. The ? rst wave of Chinese immigrants to arrive in Canada were in? uenced by various push and pull factors. The push factors were ? oods, and wars in China which made it dif? cult for people to grow crops for food, live in safety and peace, and make a living. Pull factors for Canada were related to the slow growth of the young country. New settlements and industries often had a shortage of workers. British Columbia was very distant from Europe and eastern North America which meant that China was the largest source of low-cost labour. Other factors such as efforts of labour recruiters and in? uence of family and village networks also in? uenced the decision to migrate to Canada. ! Most Chinese immigrants in the last quarter of the 19th century came from a small area in the southern part of China. There were eight regions but only four regions had rich soil. Only ten percent of the land was usable for growing crops. All the districts were heavily populated and farmers often faced natural disasters such as ? oods and droughts. At the end of the 19th century, China was in a political disaster. Poor living conditions led to revolts and wars, including the Opium Wars against the British. Farmers were dragged into armies, crops were ruined and bandit gangs raided villages during these unstable years. The Chinese government could not maintain law and order in the region. ! Gold was discovered along the Fraser River in British Columbia during 1858. Thousands of workers, including the Chinese, who worked in the California Gold Rush, immediately came to Canada. Therefore, there was a tremendous need of workers in British Columbia to build roads, clear land and construct railways. They also worked in coal mines, ? sh canneries and on farms.