For many years the Chinese were the least popular of all potential immigrants to Canada. Before 1947, discriminatory immigration laws made it impossible for all but a handful of Chinese men, and very few women, to establish families in Canada. Discrimination against Chinese immigrants was also economic, in that the Chinese were denied advanced education and high-paying career opportunities. The Canadian government also impinged upon Chinese civil rights by refusing Chinese-Canadian citizens the right to vote in British Columbia. Between 1946 and 1950 Chinese immigrants constituted only 0.6 percent of total immigration to Canada. Between 1951 and 1955 this percentage rose to 1.4 percent. Throughout the period under consideration the number of Chinese immigrants remained small, and only reached 6.8 percent of total immigrants between 1971 and 1975.