Head Tax Canada Chinese

About Head Tax Canada Chinese

Canada imposed a head tax on Chinese immigrants starting in 1885, after Chinese workers completed the Canadian Pacific Railway. The tax started at 50 and increased to 100 in 1900 and 500 in 1903, equivalent to two years wages. Over 82,000 Chinese immigrants paid the head tax, generating approximately 23 million for the Canadian government. When the head tax failed to sufficiently restrict Chinese immigration, Canada passed the Chinese Immigration Act in 1923, banning Chinese immigration entirely until 1947. In 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized and announced ex gratia payments to surviving head tax payers and their spouses. Approximately 20 people received payments. The head tax remains a dark chapter in Canadian immigration history.