Introduction

The period 1946 to 1976 marks an important phase in the history of the peopling of Canada. While the primary concern during these years was to develop immigration policies which would reflect Canada’s labour needs, increasing tolerance for cultural diversity coupled with growing international humanitarian concerns over the treatment of certain ethnic groups, swayed both public opinion and official policy. Clearly, Canadian immigration policy favoured certain ethnic groups over others in the selection of immigrants.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the Canadian government actively recruited 'preferred' immigrants, those of British, American, and northwestern European ethnic backgrounds. By the 1960s, however, as Canadians became decreasingly tolerant of ethnic prejudice, the federal government admitted greater numbers of non-traditional immigrants, including Asian immigrants from Hong Kong, Pakistan, and India.

By the 1970s, Ottawa based immigrant recruitment plans on acceptance of cultural and ethnic diversity. This process was facilitated by the actions of government leaders who introduced dramatic changes in government policy. The factors contributing to this change included new popular attitudes in Canada towards acceptable and non-acceptable immigrants, trends in national migration patterns and the perceived role of immigration in the development of the nation.