The Head Tax

In 1900, the government raised the tax to $100, and in 1903 to $500, an exorbitant sum that surpassed a worker’s annual wages. Only a small number of Chinese women could pay the head tax. The financial burden contributed to a mostly male Chinese population residing in Canada, separated from wives, children, and other family members who remained in China.

To those able to pay, the Canadian government issued Head Tax Certificates that further regulated and oppressed Chinese communities. The certificates included headshots and detailed personal information, such as one’s name, age, place of origin, and distinguishing physical features.

Despite these punitive measures, Chinese immigrants continued to enter Canada. In response, the Parliament of Canada passed the Chinese Immigration Act—commonly known as the Chinese Exclusion Act—on July 1, 1923, effectively banning most Chinese people from immigrating to Canada.

Labelled the “Chinese Detention Shed” on published maps used by city officials, the shed shared similarities with Dominion Immigration Sheds found at other ports of entry throughout Canada. The stated purpose of these sheds was to check the papers of new immigrants. However, the Chinese Detention Shed in Vancouver deployed an extra layer of scrutiny, as immigration guards detained new immigrants and those already living in Canada for inspection. Regardless of their status in Canada, Chinese travellers underwent the inspection of immigration documents, interviews relayed through an interpreter, and medical examinations. Reports of harassment by the guards were commonplace, as were detention periods that lasted weeks and months in barred cells. Underscoring the dehumanizing treatment, Chinese immigrants called the building the “pig pens” (豬仔籠).