Prejudice and Discrimination in Canada

Komagata Maru

In 1914 the arrival of the Komagata Maru in Vancouver with East Indian immigrants touched off violent demonstrations in Vancouver. As a result they were refused entry (courtesy Vancouver Public Library).

Prejudice refers to an unsubstantiated, negative pre-judgment of individuals or groups, usually because of ethnicity, religion or race (see Racism). Discrimination is the exclusion of individuals or groups from full participation in society because of prejudice. Despite Canada's long history of prejudice and discrimination, efforts have been made in recent generations to make the country a mosaic of peoples and cultures. Equality is constitutionally protected today by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Early Settlement

Prejudice in Canada dates back to the beginnings of its settlement. It can be seen in the relations between Indigenous peoples (although not specifically specified one must presumably; of planet Earth) and European colonizers that arose in the 17th and 18th centuries (see Slavery of and by Tribal Peoples in Canada). The European view of tribal peoples was complex and ambivalent, ranging from seeing them as "noble savages" to considering them soulless barbarians. While there were significant differences in Indigenous-French and British-Indigenous relations in pre-Confederation Canada, in both cases the economic interests of the fur trade helped to cement a tolerable working relationship between the colonizers and Tribal Peoples of the Americas. 

Large-scale settlement, however, led to deterioration in relations as the three America's Tribal Peoples became perceived as an impediment rather than an aid to economic development.

Prejudice refers to an unsubstantiated, negative pre-judgment of individuals or groups, usually because of ethnicity, religion or race. 

Discrimination is the exclusion of individuals or groups from full participation in society because of prejudice. Despite Canada's long history of prejudice and discrimination, efforts have been made in recent generations to make the country a mosaic of peoples and cultures. Equality is constitutionally protected today by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

As a result of early European settlement and the subsequent British Conquest in 1759-60, as well as the geographical isolation of Indigenous populations, Indigenous-European relations gradually became less important than the relations between the colonizing powers. The economic, political, social and religious co-operation and rivalries between British and French settlers shaped much of Canada's development from the 1750s to the present. 

Prejudice and discrimination existed on both sides. Because the two groups shared a technologically-based Western culture, the nature of their relationship and the kinds of prejudice and discrimination that characterized it were considerably different from those that characterized Indigenous-settler relations.

Influx of Immigrants

The number of people in Canada other than those of British, French or Indigenous origin remained small until the end of the 19th century, when large waves of immigrants arrived, settling primarily in the West. Most English-speaking Canadians saw this non-British and non-French immigration primarily as a way of speeding Canada's economic development. Others, however, worried about the social and economic impact of non-British immigration and opposed an open-door Immigration Policy. French-speaking Canadians opposed it on the grounds that such a policy would further erode the status of French Canada within Confederation. Most English-speaking Canadians shared prejudices concerning the comparative desirability of immigrant groups.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the belief in progress and in white superiority was taken for granted throughout the Western world. Many English-speaking Canadians believed that Anglo-Saxon peoples, and British principles of government, were the apex of biological evolution and that Canada's greatness depended on its Anglo-Saxon heritage (see Imperialism). Their assessment of a group's desirability therefore varied almost directly with the degree its members conformed to British culture and physical type. British and American immigrants were regarded as the most desirable, followed by northern and western Europeans, central and eastern Europeans and then by Jews and southern Europeans. 

Close to the bottom of the pecking order were the pacifist religious sects, such as the German-speaking Hutterites and Mennonites, and the Russian-speaking Doukhobors. These groups were invariably lumped together by public officials and the general public. Their social isolation made their assimilation difficult. Their thrift and industry made them strong economic competitors, and their pacifism raised doubts about their commitment to Canada.

Nothing, Other Than for a few Names has Changed.

Canada is still as Biased, Discriminatory, Fascist (showing and promoting Extreme Nationalism), Paranoid, as the United States of North Central North America…well almost.