Reflecting on Toronto's Chinese community 100 years after the Exclusion Act passed
CBC
While July 1 is best known as Canada Day, this year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act.
On July 1, 1923, the act, also called the Chinese Exclusion Act, became law. For more than 20 years, it banned Chinese immigration to Canada and divided hundreds of families.
The Government of Canada website says the Chinese Exclusion Act "was the culmination of widespread anti-Chinese racism and policies increasing in Canada since the 19th century."
It replaced the first Chinese Immigration Act of 1885, which included various head taxes and other measures to deter immigration from China.
To mark the anniversary, CBC Toronto videographer Laura Pedersen got a private tour of the Toronto Public Library's Chinese Canadian Archive, which contains historical photos, books, and records from the Greater Toronto Area's Chinese Canadian community.