A Tale of Perseverance

                   

                       Chinese immigrant railway worker- circa 1922

                     SOURCE: British Columbia Archives and Records Service (HP 69844)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not Welcome Anymore

    

The Chinese were instrumental in building Canada's railway, but were no longer welcome after it was done. Watch the CBC Archives video clip entitled, "Not Welcome Anymore" to see what it was like to be a Chinese immigrant in Canada during this time. 

 

Don't forget to check out the "Did you know?" section. 

 

Click on the icon to view the video

 

Video Focus Questions:

Initially what was the primary reason for Chinese workers immigrating to Canada? 

What immigration policy did the Canadian government impose to discourage Chinese people from immigrating to our country?  

What factors had a negative affect on the Chinese population in Canada? 

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Food For Thought

 

In 1885, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald told the House of Commons that the Chinese worker "has no common interest with us, and while he gives us labour he is paid for it, and is valuable, the same as a threshing machine or any other agricultural implement which we may borrow from the United States on hire and return it to the owner on the south side of the line… he has no British instincts or British feelings or aspirations, and therefore ought not to have a vote."

 

At the time John A. Macdonald's comments about Chinese people were not considered controversial. 

Think About It:

What does this say about the idea of citizenship that dominated Canada at the time?

Why would these comments be controversial today?

 

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Activities and Rubrics

How would YOU respond to Sir John A. Macdonald's quote?

Respond from one of the following points of view:

1. Non-Chinese labourer

2. Chinese labourer

3. Member of Parliament

4. Owner of company employing Chinese labour

Suggested formats for your response:

1. News editorial

2. Political cartoon

3. Oral address by Opposition MP

4. Song

5. Digital scrapbook

6. Letter home to family

7. Drama

8. Position Paper

 

Response Rubrics

Click icon for rubric.

 

 

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Resources & Curriculum Connections

 

Textbooks

Francis, Daniel. Voices and Visions - A Story of Canada.  Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2006.  

Rees, David, Darrell Anderson Gerrits, and Gratien Allaire. Our Canada: Origins, Peoples, Perspectives. Toronto: Thomson-Nelson, 2006. (www.nelson.com/albertasocialstudies)

 

Websites

Glenbow Museum "Seven Stories" Online Exhibit - Explore the stories of Asian immigrants to Calgary

Letters for the Trunk - Learn about the men and women who settled in the Canadian West in the first half of the twentieth century.

CBC Archives - Look further into the "Tale of Perseverance" of Chinese immigrants in Canada.

Working Conditions for Chinese Railway Workers

 

Curriculum Connections

 

 

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