1945-1967: Introduction / Post-war Years / 1952 Immigration Act / Policy Practise

Policy Practise: Refugees

Applicants

Refugees

Canada's changing immigration policies in the years following the Second World War dramatically increased the numbers of refugees accepted in the country. Although Canada waited until 1969 to become a signatory in the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), created in 1951, before then it had admitted numerous groups facing political, racial, and religious discrimination abroad. These groups included some 37,000 Hungarians after 1956 and 12,000 Czechoslovakians in 1968. In succeeding years, Canada admitted 8,000 Ugandans between 1972 and 1973, 10,000 Lebanese between 1976 and 1978, 60,000 Southeast Asians between 1979 and 1981, and 12,000 Poles in 1980. 11

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