Chinese

The first Chinese in Canada were artisans and traders who arrived in 1788 in the Nootka Sound area of British Columbia. Chinese gold prospectors from San Francisco founded Barkerville, British Columbia, in 1858. Thousands of young men from China arrived in the 1880s to work on the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Government of Canada imposed many restrictions and regulations on immigrants from China, including a head tax. The Chinese Immigration Act was repealed in 1947.

Research at Library and Archives Canada

Head Tax Certificates

Head tax certificate for Jung Bak Hun. Library and Archives Canada, RG 76, Vol.712, C.I.5 certificate # 88103, issued January 3, 1919.

The Head Tax certificates (known as C.I.5 certificates) were issued to the individual immigrants. Library and Archives Canada holds only a small sample collection of the certificates. However, the certificate number and amount paid were recorded in the General Registers of Chinese Immigration, which are described below.

List of Head Tax Certificates Held at Library and Archives Canada

General Registers of Chinese Immigration. Library and Archives Canada, RG 76 D2a, vol. 700, reel C-9512.

General Registers of Chinese Immigration

Library and Archives Canada holds the General Registers of Chinese Immigration, 1885-1949 (RG 76 D2a). The entries are arranged numerically by serial and declaration numbers, in approximate chronological order. They include information such as:

• age;
• place of birth;
• occupation;
• date and port of arrival in Canada; and
• head tax paid, etc.

List of Microfilm Reel Numbers

The Port of New Westminster Register of Chinese Immigration (1887-1908) (RG 76 D2bi) contains names of Chinese immigrants who registered and paid the head tax at the port of New Westminster, British Columbia, in the years 1887 to1898, 1907 and 1908. This is the only port register known to have survived. Names in this register should also be found in the Chinese General Registers of Immigration created by headquarters in Ottawa. The names are arranged in numerical sequence by declaration number. The register has been digitized and is available online. The use of this digitized database is facilitated by a name index.

Port of New Westminster Register of Chinese Immigration (1887-1908)

Once an immigrant's name has been located in the registers, the details listed can assist you in researching other records in our custody. Records can be searched using the General Inventory database. Select Government Records.

Title: Chinese Immigration Records

Research in Other Institutions

Some Libraries in British Columbia hold microfilm copies of the General Registers of Chinese Immigration (RG 76 D2a).

Search for other records in CAIN [www.archivescanada.ca/], using the Keyword term "Chinese immigration" or the Title Keyword "Chinese."

Research Online

Across the Generations: a History of the Chinese in Canada [http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/generations/index.html]

Chinese-Canadian Genealogy
[www.vpl.ca/ccg/]

Historical Chinese Language Materials in British Columbia: An Electronic Inventory [www.sfu.ca/davidlamcentre/hclmbc/index.html]

Use AVITUS to find other Web sites about Chinese immigration.

Research in Published Sources

Search for books on Chinese in AMICUS, using authors, titles or subject terms such as:

• Chinese immigration

Related Topics

Passenger Lists, 1865-1935