Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave a formal apology on June 22, 2006 to the Chinese Canadian community for the use of a head tax and the exclusion of Chinese immigrants to Canada. The Prime Minister said "we fully accept the moral responsibility to acknowledge these shameful polices of our past."

More than 15,000 young Chinese men helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway under harsh conditions, but as soon as the railway was completed the men and their families were no longer wanted in Canada.

In 1885 a head tax was put on Chinese immigrants to discourage them staying in Canada. The head tax continued to be raised over the years, and in 1923 Canada passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which in effect stopped Chinese immigration to Canada for nearly a quarter of a century.

To add meaning to the apology, the Canadian government will give symbolic individual payments of $20,000 to living Chinese head tax payers and to living spouses of deceased payers. While about 80,000 Chinese immigrants paid the head tax, only about 30 are still alive. Several hundred widows of those who paid the head tax are also still alive. The federal government is also establishing a $24-million community historical recognition program to provide grant and contribution funding for related community projects.

Photo Source: Office of the Prime Minister

More on the Canadian Chinese Head Tax
Chinese Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act in Canada
Speech by Prime Minister at Reception for Members of Chinese Community
History of Immigration to Canada