The Last Best West (1896 - 1914)

Chinese Immigration Act, 1901

Document Summary:

Some important sections:

6: All Chinese entering Canada shall pay $100 each to the Canadian government, with the following exceptions:
? any diplomat or government official, plus his servants and advisers, etc.;
? the children born in Canada of Chinese parents who have briefly left the country for educational or other purposes;
? tourists, legitimate merchants, scientists and students;
? any Chinese woman married to a non-Chinese man.

7: No vessel docking in a Canadian port shall have more than one Chinese immigrant per 50 tons of cargo. Any ship operator who disobeys this rule must pay $100 per immigrant over the allowed maximum.

8: Operators of any vessel with a Chinese immigrant onboard will not allow the immigrant to leave the ship until a permit has been obtained. An operator may be fined $100 for breaking this rule.

9: No official at any port can issue a landing permit to a Chinese immigrant until he or she has been examined by a medical officer and cleared of having any illnesses, including leprosy.

11: Any Chinese immigrant who does not arrive by ship still must pay the $100 tax to a customs agent upon entry to Canada, unless he or she is passing through the country by train (as outlined in section 17).

12: No government officer will allow any Chinese person into Canada who is:

• a pauper, mentally disabled, or likely to become a threat to Canadian society;

• suffering from an infectious, contagious or loathsome disease;

• a prostitute or pimp.

13: A government official will issue to any Chinese person allowed to live in Canada a special certificate, which states the person's name, the name of the port of landing, the date of his or her arrival and an acknowledgment that the $100 tax has been paid.

14: This official will keep a register of all the Chinese he has allowed into Canada.