Immigration

1. Immigration The process of people establishing homes, and often citizenship, in a country that is not their native country Everyone in Canada who is not Aboriginal, Metis or Inuit is here because one of their ancestors immigrated to Canada

2. Early English Exploration 1497 – John Cabot claimed the areas of Newfoundland and Cape Breton for England English fishermen would arrive in this area every spring, fish all summer, then return home with stocks of salted fish They did not establish permanent settlements at this time

3. Early Canadian Exploration 1000 CE – Vikings were fishing off the shores of Newfoundland, and logging One of their settlements was found in Lanse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland They did not stay long; archaeologists believe that conflicts with Native peoples in the area led them to find these supplies elsewhere 1400s – Basque fishermen (from an area between France and Spain) also came to fish off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador; they did not establish any settlements

4. Early French Exploration 1534 – Jacques Cartier landed on the shores of Newfoundland, and began exploring further inland He wrote home of the fish that was readily available, taking samples home with him He could not convince the King that settlements in the New World would be profitable, but the French, like the English, returned every year to fish

5. How A Rodent Becomes a Wardrobe Necessity 1604 – Samuel de Champlain arrives in Atlantic Canada and claims the area for the French He discovers that there are lots of beavers in the New World, which is exactly what is needed to make the newly-fashionable beaver-fur hats 1604 – Champlain establishes a settlement at Acadie(now Maine) 1605 – Champlain moves the settlement to Cape Breton after the first year because the harsh winter had led to scurvy amongst the settlers

6. The Rush for Settlements 1608 – The French settle at Donnacona (or, as you’d call it today, Quebec City) and make this the capital of New France 6,000 settlers come from France to help establish the new settlement and set up fur trading posts throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebece The English see this and quickly come in to set up their own forts in what is Ontario; this is the birth of the Hudson Bay Company

7. Questions to This Point Refer to your Questions sheet to work on the questions from this section.

8. Confederation Brings Settlement 1867 – Confederation brings ON, QU, NS and NB together as Canada In order to make this new country successful, PM Sir John A. Macdonald promised to build a trans-continental railroad uniting the country Macdonald wanted the Canadian West settled to prevent the Americans from taking over the area, and to increase production

9. Purchasing the West 1870 – the Canadian government purchased Rupert’s Land (MB, SK, AB, BC, YT, NT, NU) from the Hudson Bay Company 1873 – the Canadian government established the Northwest Mounted Police force and sent them West to help make it safer for settlers

10. Clifford Sifton 1896 – Clifford Sifton becomes the Minister of the Interior, and it’s his job to help settle the West Sifton knows that immigrants from England and France are not going to adjust well to life in Canada’s West: • The climate is too different • The land is too different • Most people coming from the UK and France at the time are not used to living in isolated places

11. Dominion Settlement Act Sifton enacts the Dominion Settlement Act and starts advertising that there is “free land” available in Canada all over Europe This Act allowed new settlers 160 acres (65 hectares) of “free land” with only four conditions: • a $10 fee • a promise to break the land • a promise to build a house • a promise to stay for three years

12. Go West, Young Man! Settlers from Eastern Europe, fleeing religious persecution or economic hardship begin immigrating to Canada’s West Some of those who came were: Mennonites and Dukhobors from Russia Icelanders Ukrainians Austro-Hungarians

13. Effect of Eastern Immigration While there were settlers from the UK and France that also headed West, they tended to settle in cities and towns; it was mainly the Eastern Europeans that started the farms that have made the Prairies so wealthy The diversity of the immigrants in Canada West ensured that this area of Canada was more multicultural than Eastern and Atlantic Canada

14. Questions to This Point Refer to your Questions sheet to work on the questions from this section.

15. Who Gets In Today? The government uses four categories to classify people applying to immigrate to Canada today: • Refugees • Family Class • Economic Immigrants • Other

16. Refugees People who are escaping persecution, torture, or cruel and unusual punishment Many refugees have already fled their homeland and are living in another country in refugee camps; to prevent further persecution in the countries where the refugee camps are located, many countries take in refugees 13% of Canada’s immigrants every year are from the “Refugee” category

17. Family Class Spouses, partners, children, parents and grandparents of people living in Canada 28% of Canada’s immigrants every year are from the “Family Class” category

18. Economic Immigrants Skilled workers and businesspeople Many immigrants who come to Canada that have skills in their homelands are not permitted to have jobs in those same areas in Canada because Canada does not recognize their qualifications This has sparked a lot of debate in Canada recently, and the government is looking at ways to get more immigrants working in the fields they are trained in 55% of Canada’s immigrants every year are from the “Economic Immigrants” category

19. Points System and Health Criteria People applying to enter Canada as Economic Immigrants need to earn a certain number of points in the points system in order to be granted immigrant status They also need to prove they are healthy, and may be refused if: • Their health could put the health of Canadians at risk (TB) • They have a condition that could endanger public safety (a mental disorder) • Their health could put an “excessive demand” on Canada’s health care system (HIV/AIDS) Canada used to favor immigrants of British or European ancestry, and restricted immigration from Asian countries like China and India; the points system ensures that there is no discrimination in immigration based on race or country of origin

20. Other People accepted as immigrants for humanitarian or compassionate reasons Example: a couple of years ago, Canada allowed a 6-year old Afghani boy with a rare type of facial tumor to immigrate to Canada with his grandfather so he could receive proper treatment for his tumor 4% of Canada’s immigrants every year come from the “Other” category

21. Immigration And Refugee Protection Act Created in 2002 as the most recent of many laws Canada has had about immigration since 1867 It is this Act that establishes the categories of immigrants It is also this Act that lay out objectives for some of these categories

22. Objectives of the Immigration Act • Pursue social, cultural and economic benefits for all Canadians • Respect the bilingual and multicultural character of Canada • Support the development of minority official language communities in Canada • Share the benefits of immigration and support a prosperous economy across all regions of Canada • Reunite families in Canada • Promote the successful integration of immigrants into Canadian society, recognizing that integration involves mutual obligations for new immigrants and Canadians society

23. Questions to This Point Refer to your Questions sheet to work on the questions from this section.

24. Immigration and Security Immigration and Protection Act, 2002 34. A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on security grounds for: • Engaging in an act of espionage or an act of subversion against a democratic government, institution or process as they are understood in Canada; • Engaging in or instigating the subversion by force of any government; • Engaging in terrorism; • Being a danger to the security of Canada; • Engaging in acts of violence that would or might endanger the lives or safety of persons in Canada; or • Being a member of an organization that there are reasonable grounds to believe engages, has engaged or will engage in acts referred to in paragraph a, b or c

25. Immigration Within Provinces Under the Provincial Nomination Program, provinces can “nominate” a certain percentage of the immigrants Canada selects each year Example: a province can specify it needs immigrants with particular skills Some provinces can set up their own immigration offices in foreign countries to promote immigration there The Canadian government cannot tell immigrants where to settle, but the Provincial Nomination Program increases the likelihood that immigrants will settle in provinces where the labour needs match the skills of the immigrants

26. Canada-Quebec Accord A specific immigration agreement between the federal government and Quebec that allows Quebec to nominate the percentage of immigrants to Canada that corresponds to its population within Canada This means that if Quebec’s population is 45% of the Canadian population, Quebec can nominate 45% of the immigrants coming into Canada Quebec is also allowed to require that immigrants in Quebec send their children to French schools Quebec is allowed to ask for immigrants whose first language is French; 75% of French-speaking immigrants settle in Quebec

27. Questions to This Point Refer to your Questions sheet to work on the questions from this section.