Timeline

Preface to Timeline

This timeline presents a selection of notable moments that have shaped Canadian immigration. While it features a variety of events, policies, and social changes, each is connected by the central focus of this exhibition: Canada’s points-based immigration system. 

It is important to note that not all key moments, political administrations, or migrant communities are represented here. Their absence does not diminish their contributions to Canada, the challenges they faced, or the significance of their stories. Instead, this is a curated snapshot meant to highlight contrasts in how Canada has admitted and excluded certain groups over time, how these decisions have influenced the national narrative, and how politics have broadly shaped immigration policy.

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[1] Janet Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada,” Canadian Council for Refugees, accessed August 8, 2025, https://ccrweb.ca/en/hundred-years-immigration-canada-part-2.

[2] Daniel Meister et al., “Immigration Act, 1869,” Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, accessed August 8, 2025, https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/immigration-act-1869.

[3] Daniel Meister et al., “Settling the West: Immigration to the Prairies from 1867 to 1914,” Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, accessed August 8, 2025, https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/settling-west-immigration-to-prairies.

[4] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[5] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[6] “Exclusion of Chinese Immigrants (1923–1947) National Historic Event,” Government of Canada, December 5, 2024, https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/evenement-event/exclusion-chinois-chinese.

[7] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[8] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[9] Meister et al., “Heterosexism in Canadian Immigration Policy, 1952-1978.”

[10] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[11] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[12] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[13] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[14] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[15] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[16] Brian Casey et al., “CIHS Bulletin,” Canadian Immigration Historical Society, no. 82 (September 2017): 1–16.

[17] Dench, “A Hundred Years of Immigration to Canada.”

[18] Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27, Consolidated Acts (Justice Laws Website - Government of Canada, 2001), https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-2.5/fulltext.html.

[19] Susana Mas, “Express Entry Gives First Dibs to Temporary Foreign Workers,” CBC News, September 28, 2015, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-temporary-foreign-workers-express-entry-1.3242569.

[20] “#WelcomeRefugees: Key Figures,” December 19, 2024, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/about-refugee-system/welcome-syrian-refugees/key-figures.html.

[21] *Own background

[22] *Own background