Similar to other members of the Canadian elite, Emily Murphy
held some very definite views on the subject of immigration,
believing that Canada needed to select immigrants carefully
to avoid serious difficulties in the future. Of the two
perspectives that prevailed at the time, one was an attitude
that supported the exclusion of those who did not fit the
preconceived notion of what an acceptable immigrant was
(common among the Anglo-Saxon cultural elite), while the
other embraced an open-door policy, viewing immigration and
population increase as vital to Canada's economic growth.
Emily Murphy's attitude towards immigration leaned
towards exclusion for a number of reasons. Developing a
distinct sense of "Canadianism" was important to her and
other nation-builders who had a vested interest in
maintaining the cultural elite. However, her work as a
magistrate, as well as her appointment by Order of the
Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council to report on public
institutions operated by the Alberta Government caused her
to have special concerns about the type of person who came
to Canada.
As a magistrate, Murphy noticed that a disproportionately
large number of criminals were immigrants. As a reporter on
Alberta Government institutions, such as prisons and mental
institutions, she could not help noticing that 70 percent of
those house at mental institutions were of foreign birth. So
too, her growing concern with the drug trade, caused her to
notice the large role Asians played in the traffic of
narcotics. As a result, she became convinced that it was
necessary to pay close attention to the qualities of
immigrants who were allowed to enter Canada.
In a 1929 speech she gave to the Women's Canadian Club,
Emily Murphy suggested that the club study 50 races of
foreign immigrants. In her speech, she noted that 70 percent
of the "insane" in Alberta were foreign born, and stated
that "many thinking women" were in favour of an "intelligent
quota system" that would impose limitations on
immigration—designed to maintain the Anglo-Saxon character
of the Canadian culture. A reasonable quota, she suggested,
would be to allow one foreign immigrant into Canada for
every three Anglo-Saxon immigrants. She also recommended the
formation of Canadian Clubs among New Canadian women, in the
interests of "Canadianization," since simple acts of
kindliness, such as offering a cup of tea or speaking a
friendly word to a newcomer were the most effective means of
integrating them into the community. |