At a time when there is much controversy over the waves of people seeking asylum in western countries, it’s useful to look at Canada’s history of accepting them. The government of Canada has a web page describing the welcoming of refugees fleeing conflict, persecution or slavery.
Canada not perfect
That is not to say Canada has a perfect record. During Nazi rule in Germany from 1933 to 1945, Canada accepted fewer than 5,000 Jews even though they faced increasingly harsh treatment and mass murder. Its record on this was one of the worst of any democracy.
But among the success stories there was the welcoming of 40,000 Syrian refugees in 2016, Quakers in the 1770s, African-American (mostly runaway slaves) who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution in the 1780s, Poles fleeing Russian suppression starting in 1831.
More recently, Ukranians fled to Canada in the early 20th Century and during World War II, Chileans came in the early 1970s, Indonesians from 1979-1978 and Kosovars1990-2001.
Public opinion divided
A public opinion survey done in January 2017 found 47 per cent of respondents thought Canada was welcoming the right number of refugees, while 11 per cent thought the number should increase. Another 41 per cent said the figure was too high.
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