Voter Rights Timeline: Systemic Barriers Towards Voting Experienced by Historically Excluded Groups

Black communities secured freedom and rights during the gradual abolishment of slavery between 1793 and 1834 (1). As they became to be considered British subjects, they were technically allowed the same rights and privileges that the status carried, and that did in theory include the right to vote (1). As such, Black men were able to vote, but only under conditions that recognized them as naturalized subjects who owned taxable property (1). Further, Black women received the right to vote at the same time as white women in Canada, as long as they were eligible to own a taxable property and had their citizenship (1). This is not unique to the Black community, as until 1920, most colonies or provinces required eligible voters to have a taxable net worth or own property (1). This practice, however, functioned to systematically exclude the working class and other historically oppressed communities, namely Black individuals, Indigenous individuals and People of Colour (BIPOC) (1). While their official status in the eyes of the law had changed, the mistreatment of Black communities continued to persist through overt and invisible forms of discrimination. Although they were not prohibited by law to exercise the right to vote, hostile public sentiment against Black Canadians to exercise this autonomy did exist; and this discrimination affected their decisions to visit polling stations, impacting turnout (1). Interestingly enough, former Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier (1896-1911) signed an order-in-council to ban Black immigration in Canada. Although the order never became a law, it clearly exhibits what researcher R. Bruce Shephard calls Canada’s “campaign of diplomatic racism” (2, 3).

In B.C., Indo Canadians were denied the right to vote until 1947 (3). The first immigrants of Indian descent arrived in Vancouver in 1903, and up until 1907, were relatively unnoticed by the government (8). European settlers grew hostile because employers favoured them working for a lower rate of pay, and the government implemented various racist policies (8). This includes revoking their right to vote and requiring that they come to Canada with $200 cash in their name, while European settlers only needed $20 (8). Therefore, immigration for those of Indian descent was almost impossible. Despite this, they persevered. By 1923, many owned successful businesses and worked extensively in a number of sectors, participated in the armed forces, and contributed significantly to B.C.’s robust forest industry, which collectively aided in building of this nation (8, 9). Yet without the right to vote, they were still seen as second-class citizens, regardless of the fact that they were British subjects and held British passports (as Britain had colonized India at the time, and India only gained independence in 1947) (8).

The Japanese arrived in Vancouver in the late 1800s in tens of thousands, and did not get their right to vote until 1949 even though they had fought for Canada in the First World War (1914-1918) (3). They contributed greatly to the fishing industry in B.C. but in spite of this, there was social unrest and opposition to Japanese immigration by European settlers, and so their immigration was restricted by the B.C. government (10). After that, Japanese immigration dwindled substantially, and continued to make up a small percentage of Canadian immigration (10). Further, European settlers also grew uncomfortable with their large representation and success in the fishing industry, and so the amount of licenses issued to Japanese immigrants were also limited by the Federal government (10). After Pearl Harbour was bombed in 1941, the government began impounding boats and revoking the licenses of Japanese fishermen, devastating the community and the industry, despite many of those workers having been in the country for decades (11).

Chinese Canadians first arrived in B.C. during the gold rush of 1858. They helped with mining gold, and later helped to build the Canadian Pacific Railway (12) but were not granted the right to vote until 1947 (3). By 1900, canned salmon was one of B.C.’s most valuable exports, and the industry was largely built with the help of Chinese Canadian labourers (12). Despite their contribution to the building of the nation, in 1885 the Chinese Immigration Act required that Chinese looking to immigrate to Canada must pay a $50 head tax per person, which was raised to $500 in 1903 (13). This is more than a year’s wage for a labour worker at the time. Another Chinese Immigration Act was passed in 1923, greatly restricting Chinese immigration once again (12). Most of these laws were enacted due to public anti-Chinese attitudes, particularly when the economy would downturn which highlights how heavily white supremacy influenced political decisions (12, 13).