Colonialism In Canada

Canada as a nation-state traces its evolution from the dispossession, racism, genocide and displacement of Indigenous peoples, lands and territories by European settlers and colonialists, mainly coming from Britain and France during the 15th century onwards. In a global context, settler-colonialism in present-day Canada was similar to the European conquest and colonial practices all over the world as there was a general trend and attempts of annihilating the Indigenous population. This overall impacted the cultures, traditions and social, political and economic organizations of Indigenous peoples. It is estimated that at the start of European settlement in Canada in the 15th century, there were around 350,000 to 500,000 and up to estimates
It also started the second phase of colonization and migration which consisted mostly of British nationals followed by other white European settlers (Germans, Ukrainians, Irish, Italians, etc.). This was also the period when non-Europeans were brought or migrated into Canada. As part of its capitalist expansion and industrialization, one of the first groups of non-Europeans came from China to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway. The railway connected Canada from Atlantic to the Pacific and saw the expansion of Canadian capitalism beyond Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes (eastern Canada). This expansion continued at the same time to further push the Indigenous peoples into the margins of the growing Canadian polity through racist and discriminatory policies (see The Indian Act, Residential
This immigration was mainly due to the post-war economic boom, continuing industrialization and the relaxation of eligibility requirements for immigration. Due to increasing global demands for labour and in order to stay competitive, Canada abandoned its racist immigration system and ended its preferential treatment for White European immigrants, and opted instead, to introduce a points system in 1962. This opened immigration to peoples of all ethnicities, nationalities and cultural backgrounds. Prior to this, Blacks, Indians, Chinese and other people of colour were generally considered undesirable elements unfit for inclusion into the Canadian polity and were also subjected to discriminatory policies (the Chinese Head Tax, deportation of Black Loyalists, etc.). In order to manage increasing diversity from non-White countries, the Canadian government implemented the policy of Multiculturalism and Bilingualism (English and French) in 1971. While Canada increasingly becomes multi-racial, the White-European Settlers are still the majority. Current estimates put the French Canadians at 30%; those of British origin at 45%; the native people less than 5% s and other immigrants at around 20% or more of the total population. Filipinos in particular now constitute 600,000 or 0.6% of the Canadian