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AUTHOR'S NOTES
This was my History final assignment for the semester in grade 10. The entire assignment consists of three reports and a dramatic piece (that was done very poorly on my part, so it won't be posted here). Apart from writing, I also share a passion for history. I had a lot of fun researching and writing these reports so I hope you'll enjoy reading them.

Canada in the 1900's

Immigration to Canada (1900-1914)
Immigration is a crucial point in Canadian history, because it marked the beginning of a new era, a new world, and many new lives. This report talks about Laurier and Sifton’s plan for immigration, qualifications of an immigrant, child immigrants, and what potential immigrants had to do to get their 6 hectares of free land, and keep it.

Wilfred Laurier was Canada’s Prime Minister at the time, and he was worried that all the Americans seeking a new frontier would slowly start moving into Canada and eventually claim part of Canada as their own. His solution was immigration. Laurier decided that having more people in Canada would secure the border, and boost economic profit with more traffic on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Wilfred hired a thirty-five year old businessman from Manitoba to be in charge of the immigration campaign. His name was Clifford Sifton. Sifton decided that the qualifications of an immigrant had to consist of: capable farmers, familiar with harsh climates, willing to do hard work, and most predominantly… British or English-speaking.

Many people immigrated to Canada because of the free land, freedom of life, exemption from military service, fertile soil, and it was described as having scenic views, abundant crops, and a good climate. The people who were already in Canada were British, and therefore wanted British immigrants to carry on English values and traditions. Other cultures were not welcomed, because their traditions and beliefs were too different from that of the English culture. Some cultures which had the lowest immigration rates were Italy, China, and India. Most of the people who immigrated to Canada were British, but many found it too difficult to maintain their farms and survive the harsh winters and returned to Britain. The Hungarians, Slavs, and Russians adapted to Canadian life the easiest, because they were adept at farming in harsh conditions.

Many children immigrated to Canada in the 1900’s. Most of them were orphans or runaways, but some were given up by their families in the hope of giving them a better life. Many of these children were adopted into homes as slaves to work the farm, however, some got lucky and were taken into good families. An estimated 300 000 children immigrated to Canada between 1867-1924.

Immigrants did not have an easy trip to Canada. They had to sail in from across the ocean on overcrowded ships, full of diseases and bacteria for months (many infants under 2 years of age died before they reached Canada because of this). After the terrible ship ride, they had to go to the harbours, then sail to Quebec City from Halifax. They were then examined by doctors to be declared healthy. If they were not healthy, they were sent back home on those awful ships. If they were healthy, they’d take the railroad for days to get to their destination. They were then given lot numbers, basic food and tools, and a map and trek by foot for several more days to get to their plot of land. They then had to accomplish two things in two years: build a stable shelter, and grow a successful crop.

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Bibliography

Bolotta, Angelo. Hawkes, Charles. Jarman, Fred. Kierstead, Marc and Jennifer Watt. Canada: Face of a Nation. Toronto: Janice Schoening, 2000.

Francis, Douglas, and Donald Smith. Readings in Canadian History Post-Confederation Second Edition. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data: Anthony Luengo, 1986.

www.immigration.ca/tempent-visit.asp

www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com