de cheap labor and services so they were heavily discouraged from settling in Canada. Politicians also were forced to follow the anti-Asian ideas. In 1885, newspapers, various labor groups and the people of British Columbia pressured the government of Canada to exclude the Chinese. In response, the federal government enacted the Chinese Immigration Act.The main restriction was the Head Tax. It imposed a $50 tax on all Chinese immigrants entering the country. After the act was introduced, the number of immigrants dropped considerably. However, the regulation proved to be effective for only five years, because eventually, the number of immigrants increased again. Fearing an Asian invasion, the government was pressured again by groups to pass legislation to control the entry of the Chinese.In 1900, the Chinese head tax was raised to 100 dollars per person. In 1904, it was raised again to $500. At this time, $500 was equal to 2 years of work. This had a huge effect on immigration. Before the tax was raised, almost 5000 immigrants entered Canada. In the year after the new tax, only 8 Chinese entered the country. This was because almost no one could afford to pay such a high head tax just to enter the country. Most people were from poor regions of China.Even though the immigration statistics were dramatically lowered, discrimination was still strong. The unemployed whites felt that Asians had stolen their jobs and therefore felt hatred towards them. This hatred lead to the many riots that were started partially in response to the BC government for not suspending Asian immigration. In response to the riots, the government did not try to deal with racism; instead they limited Asian immigration. By 1910, the federal government had set up new immigration policies to solve the Asian problem. From that point on, all Asians had to have at least $200 in their pockets. This was tougher on the Chinese, for they had to also pay the $5...
