ImmigrationThe 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

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

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

Early French Exploration1534 – 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

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

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

Questions to This Point

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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

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

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

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

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 RussiaIcelanders UkrainiansAustro-Hungarians

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

Questions to This Point

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Who Gets In Today?

The government uses four categories to classify people applying to immigrate to Canada today:

• Refugees• Family Class• Economic Immigrants• Other

RefugeesPeople 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

Family ClassSpouses, partners, children, parents and grandparents of people living in Canada

28% of Canada’s immigrants every year are from the “Family Class” category

Economic ImmigrantsSkilled 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

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

OtherPeople 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

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

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

Questions to This Point

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Immigration and Security

Immigration and Protection Act, 200234. A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on security grounds for:a) Engaging in an act of espionage or an act of subversion against a

democratic government, institution or process as they are understood in Canada;

b) Engaging in or instigating the subversion by force of any government;c) Engaging in terrorism;d) Being a danger to the security of Canada;e) Engaging in acts of violence that would or might endanger the lives or

safety of persons in Canada; orf) 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

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

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

Questions to This Point

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