1914-1945: Overview / War Years / Interwar Years / World War II / Changing Attitudes

Interwar Years

Interwar Legislation

The Second Wave

Exclusion

Anglo-conformism and the Red Scare that followed the Russian Revolution together initiated a new direction in immigration legislation. The Winnipeg General Strike prompted some of the measures in the new Immigration Act of 1919. Section 41 allowed the government to deport political organizers who sought to overthrow "by force" any "constituted law and authority." Section 38 gave the government the power to prohibit or limit entry of "any nationality or race deemed unsuitable." The government used this power later that year to pass two orders-in-council. PC 1203 prohibited entry of Germans, Austrians, Hungarians, Bulgarians, and Turks because their association with the war (this order was repealed by 1923). PC 1204 prohibited the entrance of Doukhobors, Mennonites, and Hutterites because of their

"particular customs, habits, modes of living and methods of holding property" (this order was repealed in 1922).

These exclusionary measures coincided with a interwar period of unemployment and structural changes within the Canadian economy. The war had accelerated urban growth and industrialization as industries filled wartime demands for munitions and armaments. The government had not planned well for the massive demobilization that would follow the war. Municipal and provincial governments and traditional charity organizations could not cope with the needs of the growing ranks of the unemployed and the thousands of returned soldiers.

War Years

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