Through interviews with peers and group discussion, students will be introduced to the concept of migration and how it relates to their lives. In the process, they will learn about Canadian immigration history and migration issues in general.

Process

1. In pairs, ask students to interview each other on "where they are from".

2. One in ten people in developed countries are said to be migrants. Based on observation, does the class seem to represent the average?

3. Then ask students to refer to the Statistics Canada table - "One hundred years of immigration in Canada". Relate their class interviews to the Statistics Canada document - where do their classmates fit on the table (children of earlier immigrant waves, newer immigrant waves, first peoples, etc.)?

4. Discuss who is represented on the map and who isn't (First Peoples, for example).

5. Observe the changes in top countries of origin over time; what regions of the world are more represented in the first half of the century compared to the second half?

Extension

Teachers read "100 years of immigration in Canada", and "Historical background to discrimination in Canada's immigration policy". Ask students to insert the events not included on the table provided by Statistics Canada. Refer to the examples of exclusion practices listed below. This activity will encourage students to recognize how Canada´s immigration policy has evolved from one that selects based on national origin or race to one based on a more objective point system.

Background
According to the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), until the 1960s, Canada chose its immigrants on the basis of their racial categorization rather than the individual merits of the applicant, with preference being given to immigrants of Northern European (especially British) origin over the so-called "black and Asiatic races", and at times over central and southern European "races". Race officially ceased to be a relevant factor with the introduction of the point system in the 1960s. The rejection of the explicit racism of immigration policies prior to the sixties was a necessary and important step in the struggle against racism.

Examples of exclusion practices:

• Chinese head tax ($50 - 1885, $100 - 1900, $500 - 1903)

• Chinese Immigration Act (1923)

• Agreement to limit Japanese immigration (1907)

• Internment of Japanese-Canadians during WWII

• Continuous passage rule to exclude immigration from India (1908)

• Refusal of Jewish refugees during WWII

• Order in Council prohibited "any immigrant belonging to the Negro race" (1911)

• Doukhobors, Mennonites and Hutterites were not permitted to immigrate to Canada (1919)

Source: Historical background to discrimination in Canada's immigration policy (CCR)

Teacher Resources

• 100 years of immigration in Canada, by Monica Boyd and Michael Vickers, Canadian Social Trends Autumn 2000

• Report on Systemic Racism & Discrimination

Student Resources

• One hundred years of immigration in Canada (Table version)

• One hundred years of immigration in Canada (Multimedia version)