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Most of Newfoundland's first Chinese immigrants came from an area in
southern China called Kwangtung Province. This was a very poor part
of China. Many Chinese men left Kwangtung to find work. They would send
money home to their families. Sometimes the men stayed away for 20 years
or longer. Some never returned. Many left babies and young children
in China. Sometimes they did not see these children again until they
were grown up with children of their own.
Most Chinese immigrants to Canada first went to British Columbia.
They worked in the fishing and forest industries. Later, they helped
to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Their wages and living conditions
were bad. Many died. When the railway was finished, the Chinese looked
for other work. Little by little they spread across Canada. By 1895
the Chinese reached Newfoundland.
The Chinese Immigration Act
Wang Lee's story shows that immigrants are not always welcomed in their
new country. This was especially true for the Chinese. When the Newfoundland
government decided to bring in new immigration laws in 1906, Wang Lee
found himself adrift on the Atlantic Ocean.
Before 1906 the only law Newfoundland had for immigrants was the Disembarking
of Paupers Act. Under this Act, the captain of a ship could be
given a three month prison sentence for landing any person in Newfoundland
who because of age, disease or lack of support, could become a public
charge.3 On the tenth of May, 1906, the government passed
a new law—the Chinese Immigration Act. This Act said that any
Chinese person coming to Newfoundland had to pay $300. This kind of
tax—a tax on people—is called a "head tax." Governments
sometimes bring in head taxes when they are concerned about the number
or kind of people entering their countries. A year before, in 1905,
the Canadian government had set a $500 head tax on the Chinese. So did
many other countries.4 The head tax caused all the trouble
for Wang Lee.
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