Valerie Knowles

New edition revised and expanded to tackle recent developments in Canada’s immigration policy, up to 2014 Covers the history of immigration to Canada (including the different kinds of immigrants) and the history of immigration policy Includes profiles of the policymakers and public figures that have shaped policy over the years A comprehensive history of immigration, with chapters dedicated to each immigration era Author has won the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography...

Immigrants and immigration have always been central to Canadians’ perception of themselves as a country and as a society. In this crisply written history, Valerie Knowles describes the different kinds of immigrants who have settled in Canada, and the immigration policies that have helped to define the character of Canadian immigrants over the centuries. Key policymakers and moulders of public opinion figure prominently in this colourful story, as does the role played by racism. This new and...

Cairine Wilson, Canada’s first female senator, was one of nine children raised in an atmosphere of rugged Scots liberalism and strict presbyterianism by affluent Montreal parents in the late nineteenth century. She displayed an interest in politics early in life and through her father’s position in the Senate, was befriended by many notable politicians of the period, including Sir Wilfrid Laurier, an experience that left a permanent mark on her. Her appointment to the Senate in 1930 was a...