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Presenting newcomers to Canada, 1910-1911


By 1909, Immigration Minister Frank Oliver was already at work on a new Immigration Act. Passed in 1910, the Act gave the government discretionary powers to regulate the volume, ethnic origin and occupation of immigrants. It did not bar any specific group.

 

  Frank Oliver
National Archives of Canada
C-4650




Wilfrid Laurier
National Archives of Canada
C-21604
 

In the last year of the Laurier Liberal government, 1910-1911, the Immigration Branch of the Interior Department commissioned two well-known Canadian photographers, William James Topley and John Woodruff, to photograph immigrants arriving at Quebec City. No matter what their country of origin, these carefully-chosen families and groups all appear to be the "right type" of people to succeed in Canada. Perhaps these photographs were intended to placate critics in a pre-election year. Many of those pictured were Canadian Pacific Railway passengers in transit, judging by tickets tucked into their hats.

 


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The Early Years
1870-1897
Advertising in Britain
1900-1916
Advertising in Europe
1900-1920s
Presenting newcomers to Canada
1910-1911
Advertising in the United States
1900-1920s
Advertising in Britain
1920s
The Early Years, 1870-1897 Advertising in Britain, 1900-1916 Advertising in Europe, 1900-1920s Presenting newcomers to Canada, 1910-1911 Advertising in the United States, 1900-1920s Advertising in Britain, 1920s