Racism in North America - Canada

Canada

Canadians freely use the term "visible minority" to refer to all people of colour. This legally recognized term is entrenched in Canada's Employment Equity Act of 1995. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination told Canada that the term “Visible Minority” is offensive and racist. Many Canadians see the Employment Equity Act as an anachronism from the late 20th century which helps entrench race-based quotas.

Canada's treatment of Aboriginals is governed by the Indian Act, which provides special treatment for First Nations, Inuit and Metis. In 1999 the Canadian government created an autonomous territory, Nunavut, for the Inuit living in the Arctic and Northernmost parts of the country. The Inuit compose 85% of the population of Nunavut, which represents a new level of self-determination for the indigenous people of Canada. In August 2008, McGill University's Chancellor and International Olympic Committee representative Richard Pound made a statement in an interview with La Presse in which he said : "We must not forget that 400 years ago, Canada was a land of savages, with scarcely 10,000 inhabitants of European origin, while in China, we're talking about a 5,000-year-old civilization,". This is seen as a painful reminder that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada still struggle to gain acceptance as a nation that was equal to the British nation.

There are notable records of slavery in Canada from the 17th century. More than half of all Canadian slaves were aboriginal, and the United Empire Loyalists brought their slaves with them after leaving what became the United States. In 1793 the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, passed the Act Against Slavery making it illegal to bring slaves into the colony, and mandating the gradual emancipation of all slaves in Upper Canada. In 1834 slavery was outlawed in Canada. While most of the emancipated slaves of African descent were sent to settle Freetown in Sierra Leone, those who remained primarily lived in segregated communities such as Africville outside Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Starting in 1858, Chinese "coolies" were brought to Canada to work in the mines and on the Canadian Pacific Railway. These new immigrants were denied the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote, and in the 1880s, "head taxes" were implemented to curtail immigration from China. In 1907 a riot in Vancouver targeted Chinese and Japanese-owned businesses. In 1923 the federal government passed the Chinese Immigration Act, commonly known as the Exclusion Act, prohibiting further Chinese immigration except under "special circumstances". Japanese Canadians were also subject to anti-Asian racism, particularly during World War II when many Canadians of Japanese heritage — even those who were born in Canada — were forcibly moved to internment camps. The Canadian government officially apologized and made restitution for the treatment of Japanese Canadians in 1988. The Exclusion Act was repealed in 1947, the same year in which the right to vote was extended to Chinese Canadians. In 1967 all racial restrictions on immigration to Canada were repealed, and Canada adopted the current points based system.

Throughout the years, many high profile cases of racism against Black Canadians have occurred in Nova Scotia giving it the title of "The Mississippi of the North". The province in Atlantic Canada continues to battle racism with an annual march to end racism against people of African descent.