Chinese Immigration Records in Canada: How to Find Your Wuyi Ancestor
The Records Exist — And Your Ancestor Is Probably in Them
In 1885, Canada began writing down every Chinese person who arrived on its shores. Not a list of suspects — an administrative record, kept by federal officials at the ports, of who came,…
The Chinese Head Tax: How Canada Charged Wuyi Migrants
The Price of Entry
Canada's first restriction on Chinese immigration was not a ban. It was a price — the Chinese head tax (人头税, réntóushuì), a fee collected at the gate from every Chinese person seeking entry, from 1885 to 1923.
The ladder climbed in three…