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Case Study 1: Japanese Canadians Japanese Canadians Have Lived in Canada Since the 1870S

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Case Study 1: Japanese Canadians Japanese Canadians Have Lived in Canada Since the 1870S Context Card Case study 1: Japanese Canadians Japanese Canadians have lived in Canada since the 1870s. Most of them lived in British Columbia, where they worked as fi shers, farmers and business owners. Racism against Asians led the BC government to ban Japanese Canadians from voting, which in turn affected their federal voting rights. During the Second World War (1939–1945), when Canada was at war with Japan, the democratic rights of Japanese Canadians were further restricted. For perceived security reasons, Japanese Canadians were forcibly relocated away from the Pacifi c coast and barred from voting federally, no matter what province they were in. It wasn’t until 1948 that Japanese Canadians were fi nally granted full federal and provincial voting rights. In the years that followed, Japanese Canadians never stopped asking for an apology. They fi nally got one in 1988, when the federal government formally apologized for past injustices. Source: CWM 20150279-001_p21, George Metcalf Archival Collection, Canadian War Museum Japanese Japanese 1871 Canadians 1895 Canadians Source: JCCC Original Photographic Collection, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 2001.4.119 Source: Image C-07918 courtesy of the Royal BC Museum and Archives Because of the racist attitudes of many people in the province at that time, the British Columbia British Columbia joins Confederation. Canada’s government passes a law banning Japanese population now includes a Japanese Canadian Canadians from voting in provincial elections. minority. They have the right to vote provincially Since federal voting rights are tied to provincial and federally if they are men, age 21 or older, and ones, Japanese Canadians living in BC cannot own property. vote in federal elections. Japanese Japanese 1898 Canadians 1900 Canadians Source: Samuel J. Jarvis, Library and Archives Canada, C-001977 Japanese Canadians living in British Columbia Source: Yoshimaru Abe Collection, Nikkei National Museum, 2013.54.4 get the federal vote when Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier’s government brings in a new Canada- Tomekichi Homma takes his legal fi ght to vote wide electoral law that prevents provinces from in British Columbia elections all the way to the excluding any ‘class’ of citizens. Supreme Court of Canada, which rules in his favour. This decision is later overruled in England. Japanese Canadians are still denied the provincial Japanese Canadians continue to be excluded vote in British Columbia. from voting provincially in BC. Japanese Japanese 1917 Canadians 1920 Canadians Source: William James Topley, Library and Archives Canada, PA-028129 Prime Minister Robert Borden’s government passes a new federal election law. It states that a person cannot vote federally if they are not allowed to vote provincially due to their race. This means that Source: Masumi Mitsui Collection, Nikkei National Museum, 2014.10.1.10 Japanese Canadians in BC are again denied the right to vote federally as well as provincially. During the First World War, Japanese Canadians join the military to fi ght for Canada. These soldiers Japanese Canadians living in other provinces and all Canadian military serving overseas can have the right to vote, but there are very few of vote in the 1917 federal election. them outside BC. Japanese Japanese 1936 Canadians 1941 Canadians Source: Isami (Sam) Okamoto Collection, Nikkei National Museum, 2000.14.1.1.1 Source: Tak Toyota, Library and Archives Canada, C-046350 The Japanese Canadian Citizens League sends a delegation to the House of Commons to request the After Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in the Second right to vote. Prime Minister Mackenzie King says he World War, Canada declares war with Japan. had not known they wanted to vote. Japanese Canadians are seen as a security threat, and racism gets worse. Twelve weeks later, the They are allowed to speak before a special Government of Canada orders all Japanese committee, but do not succeed in getting the federal Canadians to be moved from the BC coast and vote for Japanese Canadians. confi ned in internment camps. Japanese Japanese 1944 Canadians 1948 Canadians Source: Vancouver Sun Source: Library and Archives Canada, e010695747-v8 Canada is still at war with Japan. Parliament After the Second World War ends, Parliament changes the elections law so that Japanese restores Japanese Canadians’ right to vote in Canadians who have been moved from British federal elections. Japanese Canadians, like Columbia are not allowed to vote federally, no 88-year-old W.A. Curnyow (seen here), are now matter where they live now. able to cast a ballot. Japanese 1988 Canadians Source: The Canadian Press / Ron Poling The Canadian government formally apologizes to Japanese Canadians for denying them their civil and democratic rights. Here Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signs the apology while Art Miki, President of the National Association of Japanese Canadians, looks on..
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