Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration

Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration
Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration
	Commissioners Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau and John Hamilton Gray
Date	1884-85
Commissioners	Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau and John Hamilton Gray
Ordered by	John A. Macdonald
Aftermath	Chinese Immigration Act of 1885; Chinese head tax

The Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration was a commission of inquiry appointed to establish whether or not imposing restrictions to Chinese immigration to Canada was in the country's best interest.^[1] Ordered on 4 July 1884 by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, the inquiry was appointed two commissioners were: the Honorable Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, LL.D., who was the Secretary of State for Canada; and the Honorable John Hamilton Gray, DCL, a Justice on the Supreme Court of British Columbia.^[1]^[2]

The commissioners heard from 51 witnesses who submitted their testimonies to 27 questions regarding Chinese immigrants in Canada, and what policies should or should not be implemented to restrict them. Each of these witnesses gave their accounts and the commissioners gathered their answers to draw upon for their conclusions. However, a majority of their interviews were concentrated in Victoria rather than in the countryside where Chinese men competed for jobs, and many^[who?] felt that this lost credibility for the report. Although they did venture to other cities, like Nanaimo and New Westminster, none of the voices from those cities make it into the final report.^[why?] (They held interviews in some locations in the United States as well, notably San Francisco and Portland.)^[3]

Submitting their final report in 1885, the commissioners concluded that there was little evidence to support the claims made against Chinese immigration. According to them, the Chinese were judged by unfair standards and subject to broad generalizations about their character and habits. Despite the lack of proof against the threat of Chinese immigration to Canada, the report recommended moderate legislation to restrict such immigration.^[1]^[2]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration, 1885". Pier 21. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Roy, Patricia E. (2014). White Man's Province : BC Politicians and Chinese and Japanese Immigrants, 1858-1914. UBC Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7748-5463-4. OCLC 1042254860.

[:0-1] "Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration, 1885". Pier 21. Retrieved 2021-05-26.

[:1-2] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:2-3] Roy, Patricia E. (2014). White Man's Province : BC Politicians and Chinese and Japanese Immigrants, 1858-1914. UBC Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-7748-5463-4. OCLC 1042254860.

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