100 YEARS OF MIGRATION TO CANADABRITISH COLUMBIA – MIDDLE SCHOOL
100 Years of Immigration to Canada
Lesson Overview:
Canada is a diverse nation that is made up of people who come from all over the world. The multicultural nature that results enriches our society. Over the past 100 years, the origins of Canada’s immigrants have changed immensely.
Grade Level:
Grade 6
Time Required:
Two sixty-minute classes
Curriculum Connection (Province and course):
British Columbia curriculum, Social Studies 6
Link to Canadian National Geography Standards:
Essential Element #1: The World in Spatial Terms
- Major countries of the World
Essential Element #4: Human Systems
- Human migration patterns
- Patterns of Culture in Canada and the World
Geographic Skill #2: Acquiring Geographic Information
- Use maps to collect and/or compile geographic information.
Geographic Skill #3: Organizing Geographic Information
- Prepare various forms of maps as a means of organizing geographic information.
Links to Statistics Canada:
One hundred years of immigration to Canada, an audio-visual presentation
Canadian Social Trends:100 years of immigration in Canada (Autumn 2000)
2001 Census Results Teacher’s Kit – Activity 10: Immigration and Citizenship
Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required:
- Attached student activity sheet (answers are provided for the teacher at the end of the document)
- Two identical blank maps of the world (World maps can be found at:
- Overhead transparency of the same blank world map
- General student atlas
- Overhead projector
- Different coloured overhead markers
- Students will need pencil crayons.
Main Objective:
The primary goal of the lesson is for students to visualize how Canada welcomes the world. It is also important for students to recognize the changes in origins of people who have migrated to Canada.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
- Create two world maps which show the migration pattern of the top eight countries of origin of immigrants to Canada historically and presently
- Use primary data and represent it in a visual way that makes sense to them
- Learn the location of some the major countries of origin for Canada’s immigrants
- Compare and contrast historical data and present census data
The Lesson:
Teacher Activity / Student ActivityIntroduction / Ask students “Where in the world do you or your ancestors come from?”
Make a mark to indicate the country of origin on the transparency map and draw lines from the country of origin to Canada.
NOTE: For First Nations students, marks can be made on regions of Canada based on the location of their ancestral territory with lines drawn to their current location. / Respond by saying country of origins.
Depending on the diversity of the class, students get a sense of the origins of their classmates.
Lesson Development / Hand out the Activity Sheet: Table of 100 years of Immigration to Canada (1901-2001). Discuss the origins of immigrants to Canada in the first few decades. Ask students to hypothesize why mostly Europeans immigrated to Canada. Connections could be made with the events column of the chart and how that impacted the origin of immigrants. Perhaps this will generate a discussion on why people move to other countries (this could be a small group discussion) with responses written on overhead.
Hand out two world maps. Ask students to use the data from 1961 to 1970 for one map and data from 1991 to 2000 for the other map.
Instructions: Students are to use their atlases to label and colour the top 8 countries of origin for immigrants to Canada. Each country should be shaded a different colour. Draw a line from the country of origin to Canada. (Teachers can even ask students to draw the lines thickest for the #1 country, thinnest for the #8 country.) Model how the map should be completed. Review basic mapping skills (title, legend, north indicator, neatness, labels, shading, etc).
Circulate to see that students are labeling maps correctly. / Think of some reasons of why people migrate.
Use atlases to find, label and shade countries on the maps.
Conclusion / Assign questions for homework. Collect both maps to mark next class. Answers to questions can be discussed next class to connect to a follow up lesson. / Once students have completed the mapping activity, they can answer the questions on the activity sheet.
Lesson Extension:
Follow-up lessons could be on push-pull factors of immigration. Students could go home and interview their parents on why they chose to live in the city/town that they do.
In the lesson introduction, instead of the teacher writing origins of his/her students on the overhead, they could use push pins on a wall map and different coloured yarn to connect the two locations.
Assessment of Student Learning:
Collect both maps to mark next class. Answers to questions can be discussed next class to connect to a follow up lesson.
Student Data & Activity Sheet
One hundred years of immigration to Canada (1901-2001)
Date / Event / Top countries of origin of immigrants to Canada1900to1910 / Settlement of the West / From 1900 to 1910
1. British Isles
2. United States
3. Russia
4. Austria
5. Galicia
1911 to 1920 / World War I (1914 to 1918) / From 1911 to 1920
1. British Isles
2. United States
3. Russia
1921 to 1930 / Pier 21 in Halifax opens in 1928 / From 1921 to 1930
1. British Isles
2. United States
3. Poland
4. Russia
5. Czechoslovakia
6. Finland
1931 to 1940 / The Great Depression begins in 1929 / From 1931 to 1940
1. United States
2. British Isles
3. Poland
4. Czechoslovakia
1941 to 1950 / World War II (1942 to 1945) and the arrival of displaced persons/refugees (1947 to 1950) / From 1941 to 1950
1. British Isles
2. Poland
3. United States
4. Netherlands
5. Italy
6. U.S.S.R.
1951 to 1960 / Hungarian refugees begin to arrive (1956) / From 1951 to 1960
1. British Isles (25%)
2. Italy (16%)
3. Germany (12%)
4. Netherlands (8%)
5. United States (5%)
6. Poland (4%)
7. Hungary (3%)
1961 to 1970 / Americans of draft age; 11,000 Czechoslovakian refugees arrive from 1968 to 1969. / From 1961 to 1970
1. British Isles (21%)
2. Italy (13%)
3. United States (10%)
4. Portugal (5%)
5. Greece (4%)
6. FederalRepublic of Germany (4%)
7. Other West Indies (3%)
8. Yugoslavia (3%)
1971 to 1980 / Refugees accepted from Uganda and Chile (1972 to 1973); Indochinese Boat People (1975 to 1981) / From 1971 to 1980
1. British Isles (13%)
2. United States (10%)
3. India (6%)
4. Portugal (5%)
5. Philippines (4%)
6. Jamaica (4%)
7. People’s Republic of China (4%)
8. Hong Kong (4%)
1981 to 1990 / From 1981 to 1990
1. Hong Kong (7%)
2. India (7%)
3. British Isles (6%)
4. Poland (6%)
5. People’s Republic of China (6%)
6. Philippines (5%)
7. United States (5%)
8. Viet Nam (4%)
1991 to 2000 / 1997 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Citizenship and Immigration Act; 7,000 refugees from Kosovo arrive in 1999. / From 1991 to 2000
1. People’s Republic of China
2. India
3. Philippines
4. Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong
5. Sri Lanka
6. Pakistan
7. Taiwan
8. United States
Source:
Map instructions:
1.Use the countries listed from 1961 to 1970 for map 1. Use your atlas to find the location of these countries and label them on your map. Also label Canada on your map. Using different coloured pencil crayons for each country draw a line from the country of origin to Canada. Do the same on map 2 using the countries listed from 1991 to 2000.
2. Map Basics: Be sure to give both maps an appropriate title. Print neatly and clearly. All country names should be in capital letters written in black ink. Be sure to include a legend and a north indicator on your map.
Questions:
1.Compare the information on the two maps.
a. The majority of immigrants from 1961 to 1970 came from which continent? ______
b. The majority of immigrants from 1991 to 2000 came from which continent? ______
c. What do you think are the reasons for the shift in continents?
______
______
2.Which country continued to be one of the top countries of origins for the past 100 years? ______
3.How do you think world events affect immigration to Canada? Use examples from the chart to support your opinion.
______
4.What are some of the good things about having people migrate to Canada from all over the world.
______
5. What are some of the problems of having people migrate to Canada from all over the world? How can we solve some of these problems?
______
6.Is your country of origin one of the top 8 countries? Think of reasons why that may or may not be the case.
______
Answers:
1.A. Europe; B: Asia; C: answers will vary, some students may know that there were restrictions placed on non-white immigration; and that prior to the introduction of the points system in 1967, immigration laws heavily favoured European countries. Students might connect events in Europe (WW I, WW II) with people wanting to leave areas because of those events and come to a safe country
2.USA
3.Answers will vary. If life is hard or there is a crisis like war in that part of the world, people want to find a safer place to live.
4. Answers will vary. People can grow up learning about different cultures; increases the multicultural nature of Canada;
5.Answers will vary. Problems: Increased racism and intolerance; fear of losing jobs; overcrowding in cities, immigrants may have a tough time finding jobs and adjusting, etc. Solutions: More education, understanding and sharing of different cultures; immigrants who are willing to move to less populated areas will get easier immigration, or tax breaks or some sort of benefit.
6. Answers will vary.
Canadian Council for Geographic Education (1
Statistics Canada (