Ellen Fairclough became Canada's first female cabinet minister in 1957 as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. During her tenure, she worked to reduce discrimination in Canada's immigration policies. In 1962, Fairclough introduced regulations that ended racial discrimination in immigration selection. This made Canada the first of the major immigrant receiving countries to abolish a "white Canada" policy. However, Fairclough's reforms to make immigration more merit-based faced opposition from those who felt it replaced one form of discrimination with another.

1. MAJOR NEW
INITIATIVES

2. POST BOOM PERIOD
 Eased immigration restrictions to admit not only unsponsored refugees and displaced persons but ordinary
immigrants from a growing number of countries
 Preserving "old" Commonwealth [US & Europe] immigration.
 Because Liberals under Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent, not prepared to abolish Canada's racist immigration
policy
 Diefenbaker assigned 1957 federal contest referred illiberal 1952 Immigration Act
 “We will overhaul the act's administration to ensure that humanity will be considered and put an end to the
bureaucratic interpretations which keep out from Canada many potentially good citizens.”
 “Canada must populate or perish“ declared PM candidate combative despite Saskatchewan lawyer was not really
interested in immigration uninfluential Citizenship and Immigration portfolio went to Diefenbaker caretaker minister

3. THOUGH CARETAKER BUT PATHBEAKING MP
 Caretaker MP from Hamilton Ontario, Ellen Fairclough, who became Canada's first woman federal cabinet minister in 1957, A charted
Accountant by profession
 Became federal minister for Citizenship and Immigration for 4 years and 3 month longer than any till date exception to Walter Harris.
 Fairclough’s political fortunes took a drubbing during her first two years by recession & Concern that influx of unskilled sponsored
workers & sponsored family members without paid employment.
 1958 joblessness mounted New Conservative government put brakes on immigration by policy to prevent visitors to Canada from
accepting unauthorized employment
 March 1959 Fairclough became minister again of Citizenship and Immigration brave attempt to control sponsorship of unskilled post
war Italian relatives from southern Italy restricting to close relatives and Focus on skilled, unsponsored immigrants from North Italy.
 1958 to 59 Despite Total immigration to Canada declined by 15 percent but Italian immigration of unskilled continued to grow.
 1959 Government issued warning to restrict the admissible classes of close relatives

4. CONTROL OF SPONSORED MOVEMENT
 Regulations in P.C. 1954-1351 of September 17, 1954 No Sponsorship for relatives from Egypt or brothers and sisters and
married sons and daughters from any country of North America, Latin America, Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel.
 To curtail the chain migration of unskilled relatives met storm of protest the Liberal opposition and Canada's ethnic
communities Especially Italian Canadians who were sponsoring relatives in large numbers in Fairclough own riding
 Defending minster backlog of sponsored applicants
77,158 in 1955 to
131,785 in 1959.
Italy alone numbers sored from
12,000 in 1954
23,000 in 1955 to
63,000 in 1959 Rough estimate 2 and 1/2 years to handle them.

5. REDUCED DISCRIMINATION OF SKILLED MIGRATION
 “ discrimination existed in the past in that well qualified Italians who wished to migrate to this country had little or no
chance of having their applications considered unless they were in the sponsored categories.”
 Uproar in House and lack of support April 1959 Fairclough backed down rescinded the new regulation on charges of
discrimination
 With Deleted classes restored sponsored movement continued mid 1960 until its evident Italian immigration would
outstrip Great Britan which renewed curb on sponsorship movement
 Sponsored relatives divided into 5 categories until 1964
with married children, brothers, and sisters of permanent residents receiving the lowest priority,
quality of settlement arrangements offered by the sponsor to be graded.

6. WORLD REFUGEE YEAR 1959 - 1960
 Fairclough spirited minister took political risk allowed 325 tubercular refugees this country's contribution to World
Refugee Year.
 Courageous since arrival of Undesirables as earlier described Non Commonwealth Communist from Hungary just 2
yrs.
 Die hard communist influx re-awaken latent anti-immigration sentiment
 Canadian regulation focused on individuals with infirmities, even on humanitarian grounds Though international
agencies persuaded Canada to accept more "hard-core" (i.e., unsponsored, disabled, or ill) refugees.
 Church and MPs was Stewart Fleming from Okanagan-Revelstoke mounted pressure accept a portion of Europe's TB
refugees. As many UN countries had waived regulations classifying such refugees as inadmissible to special programs.

7. TB REFUGEE
 Canada should join with Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, France, Italy and some of the other countries that have
recognized the difficult situation of these refugees and institute on a trial basis ... a program designed to provide for
the difficult cases and in particular those who are suffering from tuberculosis
 As Canada admitted 325 tubercular refugees and 501 members of their families during World Refugee Year they were
among 6,912 refugee admitted this year. On humanitarian ground from majority were Polish, Ukrainian, and
Yugoslavian
 buoyant economy in Europe, the economic recession in Canada iscourage the entry of unskilled workers immigration
fell from 71,689 in 1961 lowest since 1947.
 To circumvent the criteria for unsponsored immigrants many Entered as visitors then contacted influential people or
organizations to Get PR. But this overshadowed large illegal Chinese immigration based on Hong kong based
industries that purchased and sold false identities. June 1960 government announced amnesty to all illegal Chinese till
date.

8. 1960 BRAIN DRAIN TO US
 Lack of job 1 of 3 immigrant retured to parent country or entered US
 Worrisome as most Canadian from North wanted to move Toward more South who were well educated and
professional
 1961 25% of 70,553 Canadian left for US were professionals and managers.
 Doctors trained businessmen, university professors, and scientists were leaving Canada in greater numbers than ever
before. Until Vietnam war and Race Riot in US reversed .brain Drain

9. GROWING ELLEN FAIRCLOUGH STATURE
 One knowledgeable observer impressed by her performance was Prof. David Corbett, the noted Canadian
immigration expert. Writing in the International Journal, he praised Mrs. Fairclough Mrs. Fairclough for her "flexible
interpretation of regulations and liberal use of ministerial powers" and applauded the "steady improvement of the
Immigration Service and its procedures

10. JANUARY 19, 1962 FAIRCLOUGH ENDED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
 Learning from pre 1962 Race Riots in USA for Canada New Regulation Ended RACIAL DISCRIMINATION from policy.
 Focused on Unsponsored immigrant with requisite education, skill, or other qualifications were to be considered
suitable for admission, irrespective of race, colour, or national origin, provided they were able to support themselves
until they found employment or were coming to take a specific job
 Inserted last moment vestiges of discrimination provision that allowed European immigrants and immigrants from the
Americas to sponsor a wider range of relatives out of fear influx of relatives from India,
 This clause was also removed in 1967.

11. EFFECT OF 1962 REGULATION
 Canada became the first of the three large receiving countries in international migration — the others being the
United States and Australia
 In 1975, the United States embarked on a similar course the Kennedy amendments to the Immigration Act which
came into effect in 1978.
 In 1973 Australia PM also abolished the White Australia policy.

12. JOHN DIEFENBAKER WORK OVERSHADOWED ALLEN FAIRCLOUGH
 the Bill of Rights that John Diefenbaker presented so proudly in 1960 rejected discrimination by reason of race,
colour, national origin, religion, or sex, the government could no longer justify selecting immigrants on the basis of
race or national origin
 Hence in 1962 Immigration Procedures looked DISCRIMINATORY seemed anachronistic and untenable in an era when
racism was coming under attack.
 Aware deputy to Fairclough Dr. George Davidson director the Canadian Welfare Council realizing DISCRIMINATORY
immigration procedures hampered her operations in the United Nations and the multiracial Commonwealth lobbied
for their removal and bore fruit in 1962 regulation Diefenbaker government virtually abolished the White Canada
policy of earlier PM from John A. Macdonald to Louis St. Laurent
 Conservatives David Corbett opposed but at last greated Fairclough put “immigration policy in its proper context as
part of foreign policy”

13. OPPOSITION TO REMOVAL OF DISCRIMINATORY PROVISIONS
 One opposition says “substitutes one set of criteria for discrimination for another”
 Another word "discrimination" and "selection", dictionary shows, mean precisely the same thing, and they cannot
mean anything different
 lady has done is to make it necessary to look at every individual case and compare it with every other case
 Abolishing convenient general categories going to create an administrative problem
 Charles H. Millard if Canada recruited only Skilled people in Shortest supply from Third world countries its guilty of
Poaching. He wrote Editorial in newspaper Asking Canada to admit a substantial number of unskilled immigrants and
assume responsibility for training them. "We maintain a position of doubtful international morality", "while we rattle
around in an empty country while the world’s masses cry for living room."

14. IMMIGRATION FROM NON EUROPEAN AREAS
 1962 first set
 Africa improved to 264 from 104.
 West Indies 1,132 from 427
 Middle East 1,995 from 1,460
 South America 424 from 201.
 West Indies increased from
1961: 1000 to 2000
1962 : 2000 to 3700
1963-7: 8000
1968: 14,250
1970: 13,600

15. BELL'S RESURRECTION
 True believer in immigration instead short tem Tap on tap off to long term policy
 “I reject completely any tap on, tap off policy or any attempt to relate long-range immigration objectives to
immediate changes in our economic climate”
 Suggested that annual immigration rate equivalent to 1 percent of Canada's population.
 Simply Stated "no statement of new policy, but a simple statement of what are appropriate targets and objectives.“
 result of these steps, as well as of an upturn in the Canadian economy, immigration figures began to rise

16. 1963 LIBERALS R LESTER B. PEARSON
 quickening pace of technological innovation had resulted in certain acquired skills becoming obsolete and in workers
requiring periodic training to keep up with technology.
 increased emphasis being placed on the skills and personal attributes and control sponsored movement.
 Sedgwick Report, one-man board of inquiry establishment of a completely independent immigration appeal board.
 came into force on November 13, 1967 was empowered appeals against all deportation orders and, subject
 only to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on questions of law, to cancel or stay deportation for humanitarian
and compassionate reasons as well as on legal grounds.
 establishment of the Department of Manpower and Immigration in 1966 and account the entire position of
employment, training and placement in Canada

17. POINT BASED SYSTEM REDUCED POWER OF IMMIGRATION OFFICER
 was Tom Kent, the English-born, Oxford-educated public servant who had been a prominent British and Canadian
journalist and a Montreal business executive before joining the federal public service in 1961 as a special consultant
to Lester Pearson
 as deputy minister reformed to include much-vaunted points system in jan 1966.
 an unassailable selection method that did away with caprice and prejudice.
 assign points up to a fixed maximum in each of nine categories, including education, employment opportunities in
Canada, age, the individual's personal characteristics, and degree of fluency in English or French

18. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE IMMIGRATION APPEAL BOARD
 points system was incorporated into the new immigration regulations of 1967
 the elimination of discrimination based on nationality or race from all classes of immigrants;
 the reduction of the sponsored class to dependent relatives,and the establishment of a new class, nominated relatives
which included sons and daughters of any age or marital status brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, aunts
uncles, nephews, nieces and grandchildren likely to enter the work force; an
 the creation of a special provision that allowed visitors to apply for immigrant status while in Canada
 establishment of the Immigration Appeal Board a Canada
 Manpower and Immigration Council and four advisory boards, three of which dealt with adult occupational training,
the adjustment of immigrants, and manpower and immigration research respectively