(SOME CONDITIONS MAY APPLY)
THE GREAT IMMIGRATION E-SCAVENGER HUNT!!
by Lyndal Neelin (Western Quebec School Board)
(SOME CONDITIONS MAY APPLY)
THE GREAT IMMIGRATION E-SCAVENGER HUNT!!
by Lyndal Neelin
(Western Quebec School Board)
| How many of you have gone on a scavenger hunt? It's a typical camp game. You are given a list and a bag and sent off to gather as many of the things on the list as you can find in the time allowed.The team to return with the most objects inside the time limit wins. Think of this as an electronic scavenger hunt. The topic is immigration. The things you are being asked to collect are data, pictures and impressions. Where possible you can copy and paste from the web sites you're searching. Where that is not possible you will have to write about your findings in your own words. Open a new document right away. Call it Immigration or ScavengerHunt. Don't forget to save it, and then minimize it so you can open it again when you find something to add. |  |
Bon Voyage!
The first European establishments in Canada were
not especially interested in immigration. It took very few Europeans on the
ground in the Canadian trading posts to keep the operation running smoothly.
They were even concerned that settlers would disrupt business. They would be
dependent on the trading companies for defence and help, and they would
certainly disturb the beaver habitat. Only when Louis XIV began to take an
interest in his New World holdings did immigration really pick up. It was
understood that in order to keep his hold on the territory he would have to
occupy it and defend it. He named Jean Talon as his Intendant, making him
Canada's first immigrant recruiting officer.
Go to http://fc.lbpsb.qc.ca/~history/ to
find descriptions of three of the first groups of immigrants to arrive in New
France under the care of the French Regime. Look under lessons -- module 2 --
topic 3. Collect the descriptions of 1Engagés, 2Filles du Roi, and 3soldiers, by copying and pasting them into your
document.
This web site also describes Jean Talon's
policies to encourage natural population growth. Why was a growing population SO
important to the health and well being of the colony? 4Copy and paste an answer into your collection,
or scan through the data and write your own explanation.
After
the conquest in 1760 the flow of French speaking immigrants understandably
ended. British subjects to fill the spaces left by departing French merchants
and deported Acadian farmers did arrive but immigration was slow, despite The
Royal Proclamation's intent to assimilate the new colony and its people. 85% of
the 70,000 French Canadians had little or no contact with the British. The
arrival of almost exclusively urban merchants did little to change the odds.
Go to http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
and search under "immigration". Scan through the first article to make a list of
pros and cons. Why the reluctance about encouraging immigration? What made
immigration an inevitable "good"? 5Find at least 2 entries to put under each
heading.
Irish famine victims became an important wave of
immigrants. Using the same article from The Canadian Encyclopaedia Online http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
6describe the situation at home that
"pushed" them out of Ireland, the promises that "pulled" them to Canada, and the
situation that actually greeted them.
| United Empire Loyalists arrived with expectations about British law and government that shifted the balance of power and became important in shaping both Ontario and Quebec. Loyalists also played significant roles in the Maritimes. For a look at an often overlooked Loyalist community go to http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/ and follow the links: Remembering Black Loyalists - Site Map - 1775-1800. Read "the Story" to get an overview and then 7choose 1 individual story to bring back. Copy and paste into your document. |  |
 |
The National Archives of Canada has a collection of documents and
pictures related to immigration. The following 3 examples paint a picture
of immigration before 1900.
|
9Click on the photograph of the
Chinese Quartier in 1886. What do you think about these living conditions? Can
you find the bird house -- why might someone have built it there?
10On the next page, click on "Lees dit"/ "Read
This". What is this ad promising? Who was it written for? What is NOT shown in
any picture?
Western immigration began in earnest in1896. The
American frontier was saturated. Railway, shipping and real-estate interests
joined the new Canadian Government (and the newly elected Wilfrid Laurier) in
promoting western settlement. Immigrants of good Anglo-Saxon stock were
preferred. Clifford Sifton might have been trying to convince himself as well as
a reluctant Canada with his famous description of the perfect immigrant:
"I think a stalwart peasant in a sheep-skin coat, born on the
soil, whose forefathers have been farmers for ten generations,
with a
stout wife and half a dozen children, is good quality."
Go to http://timelinks.merlin.mb.ca/referenc/db0053.htm
11Find out why Sifton favoured rural
immigrants. Cut and paste the answer into your document.
The author of the article in the Canadian Encyclopaedia believes that
rural isolation was the price of admission into Canada for "visible minorities"
He argues that "if these Jews, Italians, Macedonians, Russians, Finns, Chinese,
etc, had been content to play the role reluctantly left for them...hostility
toward them might have been minimal". 12Why does the author believe this is true? Go to
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
and type "immigration" into the advanced search section. Click into the first
article, and then click on "more". Follow the link on the left side of the page
to The Great Western Migration. Cut and paste the answer into your document or
write it in your own words.
Go to http://www.komagatamaru.com/homepage.htmand
check out the incident history and the photo gallery. What does this incident
say about who was welcome in Canada in the 1920's? 13Cut and paste a synopsis, or summarize in a few
words, the story of the Komagata Maru.
Chinese migrants paid an
"entry" or "head" tax before coming into Canada. By 1900 the tax was a
restrictive $100. The objective was to discourage men from bringing their wives
or families with them to Canada and so discourage them from staying. When B.C.
politicians demanded the tax be raised to $500 the government appointed a Royal
Commission on Chinese and Japanese Immigration (1902), which concluded that the
Asians were "unfit for full citizenship ... obnoxious to a free community and
dangerous to the state."
 |
Go to Http://www.asian.ca/ and follow the links : knowledge - history - photographs. 14Find the name and birth date of the first Chinese-Canadian born in Canada by clicking on the pictures. |
| Post war immigration was still largely European. New arrivals came from Italy, Greece, Germany, Poland, Britain, Holland, Scandinavia, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Between 1928 and 1971 Pier 21 in Halifax welcomed more than 1 million people. |  |
Go to http://www.pier21.ca/ and follow the
links to - resource centre - ships. Scroll through the list of ships names and
15bring back the names of three ships
representing three different points of origin.
Check
out "The Daily" at StatCanada (http://www.statcan.ca/start.html) and find the
population graph for
1901-1996.
16 How many nationalities are represented? How are today's immigrants different
form earlier arrivals??
Immigration is a hot topic. Some protest that the new arrivals (about
33% of Canada's immigrants are from Europe; 33% from the Americas, (including
the Caribbean); and 33% from Asia, Africa and elsewhere) force changes in
Canadian culture. Others advocate tolerance and compassion pointing out the
wealth available to all in the cultural mosaic. Economists suggest that between
125 000 and 140 000 immigrants every year are needed to ensure the population
growth needed to support our economy. They point out that without immigration,
the decline in fertility in Canada over the past generation will mean that a
smaller and smaller number of working-age Canadians carry the burden of health
and social programs for a larger and larger number of elderly citizens.
Go to http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/ and type
"Germany" into the search box. Then follow the links to: Germany-Canada
Migration - Auswanderer to Canadians - Six People/Ten Questions: Interview one
person and 17bring back their most
interesting answer.
Go to
http://www.archives.ca/08/08_e.htmland
follow the links: Living Memory - by theme - newcomers: 18Collect the quote from David Homel about living
in a Montreal neighbourhood in 1996. How many cultures do you come into contact
with on any given day in your neighbourhood?
Canada's
point system screens would-be immigrants. An applicant in good health and of
good character who scores enough points is granted admission together with his
or her spouse and dependent children. Those who do not score enough points don't
get through. Points are based on criteria such as age, education, ability to
speak English or French and demand for that particular applicant's job skills.
Of course, our practice of welcoming the brightest and best from other countries
is also controversial. No country wants to see its investment in education leave
home.
Go to http://www.cic.gc.ca/
and follow the links --Immigrating to Canada - How are immigrants chosen? -
Skilled Workers - Information guide. 19Find the self assessment worksheet and fill it
out as if you were applying for entry. How did you do? Would Canada choose you?
Go to http://www.canadainfolink.ca/history.htm
and 20bring back the address of one
Canadian History site you think would be interesting to explore. Explain why.
Congratulations!! You have collected all 20 items on your scavenger hunt list and taken a whirl wind tour through the story of immigration in Canada. You have also had a look at many sites offering images, histories and impressions to broaden our understanding of immigration and what it means to be an immigrant. A good follow-up to this project might be to choose one of the countries of origin mentioned above and ask questions like "What made these immigrants to Canada willing to leave their homes?" and "Did they find what they hoped to find in Canada?" or "What special contributions did these arrivals make to Canada's economy and culture through their work, arts, music, and food ?" The possibilities are endless!