60th Anniversaries: Sea of Changes
A sea change began in 1947 when peoples of Chinese and Indian descent won the franchise in British Columbia and the Japanese Canadian community established the pan-Canadian National Association of Japanese Canadian Citizens Associations (now the NAJC). Japanese Canadians remained severely restricted but over the next two years, the federal franchise would be won for all Asian-Canadians and the final restrictions against Japanese Canadians lifted. It was a period where allies from other communities actively supported Asian Canadian efforts to end discrimination. These communities began a period of recovery and rebuilding. The Canadian citizenship act also came into effect in 1947, and anti-Asian measures such as the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, the 1885 Chinese Head Tax, and the Continuous Journey Act were overturned.
Image courtesy of Chinese Canadian Historical Photo Exhibit at http://www.ccnc.ca