Who Changed Their Minds? Two Shifts in Canadian Public Opinion on Immigration: 1995-2005 and 2023-24

When Conservation Excludes: Japanese Canadian Fishers and BC’s Salmon Industry (1900-1930)

How fisheries policies in British Columbia in the early twentieth century became tools for racial exclusion of Japanese Canadian fishermen under the banner of protection, and what their experiences can teach us today.

In early 20th-century British Columbia, salmon conservation policies were closely tied to Anti-Asian sentiment. Under the guise of protecting fish stocks, government officials pushed policies to exclude Japanese Canadians from the fishing industry. Dr. Benjamin Bryce examines how race, environment, and policy came together to shape BC’s fisheries.

“Japanese Internment and dispossession in Canada during World War II had a long history, not only the result of wartime anxiety. It drew from decades of anti-Japanese discrimination in British Columbia.”

Benjamin Bryce

Associate Professor, UBC History

Key Findings

In early 20th-century British Columbia, salmon fisheries’ management was tightly intertwined with racial discrimination. Despite being citizens and vital to the industry, Japanese Canadian fishers faced reduced access to licences, legal restrictions, and growing hostility from white fishermen.
Salmon fisheries became a battleground for resource control and for defining who was welcome in Canada as exclusionary practices were shaped both by fears of environmental depletion and white nationalism.
Japanese Canadian fishers pushed back on this discrimination with legal petitions. In 1928, a Supreme Court case ruled that the province could not give priority to some British subjects over others.

Recommendations

Conservation and environmental protection policies in B.C. should be designed with explicit attention to racial justice and social justice.
Fishing policies must also consider the community needs and fishing practices of historically marginalized or discriminated groups.

Implications for Current Events

On August 7, 2025, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Cowichan Nation’s aboriginal right to fish on the south arm of the Fraser River.[1] After more than 10 years of legal battles, the Cowichan First Nation is now able to legally return to the lands that they had fished prior to colonial restrictions. The British Columbia Supreme Court’s recent ruling calls contemporary attention to the ongoing challenges associated with communities’ right to water and fishing—rights long suppressed by settler colonial states. Going back more than a century, very similar battles for fishing rights were ongoing. At the time, it was Japanese Canadian fishermen in British Columbia who were stripped of access to fisheries in favour of white fishers, all under the guise of salmon conservation. Japanese Canadian fishers in the 20th century and First Nations’ ongoing fights today show us that regulation is never neutral.

[1] Ollek, Maya, Brodie Noga, and Moira Kelly, “Cowichan Tribes: Court Reaffirms Flexible Approach to Aboriginal Right to Fish,” JFK Law LLP, September 11, 2025, https://jfklaw.ca/cowichan-tribes-court-affirms-flexible-approach-to-aboriginal-right-to-fish/

About the Authors

Benjamin Bryce is an Associate Professor of History at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on migration and health in the Americas. At UBC, he teaches courses on global history, migration, imperialism, and anticolonialism. He is also chair of the Latin American Studies program (2022-2027). Beyond UBC, Bryce is the digital editor of the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association (2025-27), the curator of the virtual museum BridgeToArgentina.com, and a fellow at the Lateinamerika-Institut at the Freie Universität in Berlin, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2023-26).

Zixi (Peter) Zhang is a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of British Columbia. He studies early modern East Asia with a focus on China. His current research centers on the Chinese intellectual diaspora during the Ming-Qing transition in the seventeenth century.

Original Research

Benjamin Bryce, Japanese Exclusion and Environmental Conservation in the BC Salmon Fisheries, 1900-1930, Western Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, Issue 3, Autumn 2022, Pages 267–292, https://doi.org/10.1093/whq/whac033

Document details

This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.

From Exclusion to Expression: How Creative Expression Supports Refugee Youth in Canada

Refugee youth use creativity to heal, feel belonging, and shape new identities as they navigate life in Canada.

As refugee youth resettle in Canada, many face exclusion, discrimination, and social pressures – especially in schools. Dr. Sofia Noori’s research explores how young people use storytelling, music, and creative expression to navigate these challenges, heal from trauma, and rebuild a sense of belonging within Canadian classrooms and society.

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“Whether public schools serve as safe havens and/or places of healing depends on the adults' consistent, positive, and meaningful engagement with students, particularly those who have experienced forced displacement.”

Sofia Noori

Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education

Key Findings

Many refugee youth in Canada face racism and bullying in schools. These forms of exclusion build up over time and leave youth feeling emotionally disconnected and uncertain of who they are.
Storytelling, music, and self-reflection practices can create spaces where refugee youth piece together their past and present situations to feel more supported and included.
Higher education opens space for creative expression and self-exploration. Colleges and universities offer refugee youth outlets that support personal, community, and artistic growth.

Recommendations

Incorporate refugee voices in policy development. Youth with experiences being refugees can and should help shape the programs and policies that affect them, especially in education.
Offer comprehensive mental and emotional well-being programs for refugee youth. In addition to therapy, other forms of healing that encourage reflection, creativity, and identity exploration should be accessible.
Equip educators with additional teaching support and training that focus on the needs and useful teaching practices to best support refugee youth and newcomers.

Implications for Current Events

Given programs like Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) and efforts to create new work and study streams for refugee youth, there is an urgent need to consider how educational environments can support, rather than just accommodate, these young people. Dr. Sofia Noori’s research highlights how, for refugee youth, the journey doesn’t end at arrival. Many refugees face emotional hardship and cultural pressure in schools, which can further alienate them.

Resettlement must include more programming and emphasis on creativity through music, art, and storytelling. Educators, policymakers, and school leaders must integrate refugee voices into curricula, fund creative arts programs, and ensure that schools and colleges foster spaces where identity is not suppressed but explored. As Canada continues to think creatively about its refugee resettlement programs, it should also develop innovative and effective educational policies that ensure refugee youth are not only settled but also feel welcome and supported.

About the Authors

Sofia Noori is an Assistant Professor at UBC’s Faculty of Education, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy. Her research and writing focuses on how refugee youth navigate schooling systems in Canada, in the aftermath of living in civil unrest or war, migration, transitory states, refugee camps, and resettlement. Her work is informed by postcolonial theory and developmental psychology. She is working with educators from across the country to develop resources, materials, and strategies to help meet the academic and psychosocial needs of newcomer students from war zones.

Marjorie Rugunda is a PhD student in the department of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia. She holds a BA degree from Rhodes University, South Africa and a Master’s degree from the University of Calgary. Her current research studies how institutions within Africa represent entrenched colonial legacies that shape contemporary social and political relations in (post)colonial contexts.

Document details

This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.

Canada’s Higher Education Sector as Immigration Actor

The increasing integration of Canadian higher education with immigration has sparked debate and positioned the education sector as a crucial player in the nation’s immigration strategy.

The Canadian immigration system often touts a pathway from study to immigration, attracting thousands of international students each year. But with soaring enrollment numbers, many now face challenges in moving from student to permanent resident status. Dr. Sandra Schinnerl and Dr. Antje Ellermann examine this disconnect, highlighting the increasing competition and uncertainty international graduates face in their journey toward permanent residency.

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“We need to recognize that education and immigration are linked, where expectations are made but might not be met today.”

Sandra Schinnerl

CMS Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Senior Economist,
Immigration and Integration Policy, Government of British Columbia

Key Findings

Higher education institutions are key actors in Canada’s immigration system. By driving growth in international student enrolment, universities and colleges shaped both the scale and composition of temporary and permanent immigration.
Rapid growth in international enrolments produced unintended system-wide pressures. Institutional supports and immigration capacity did not keep pace with growth in admissions.
International graduates face uneven labour market outcomes. Many encounter employment barriers, lower earnings, and limited opportunities to use their Canadian education to secure permanent immigration status.

Recommendations

Expand institutional support systems to help international students navigate employment and immigration pathways.
Coordinate international student recruitment with labour market and immigration realities. Higher education institutions should consider housing, services, and workforce realities, while the government should provide clear, stable immigration policies and pathways for qualified graduates.
Ensure transparency in policy objectives. Governments should clearly communicate that international student policies are not designed primarily for permanent settlement.

Implications for Current Events

As of August 2025, the number of new student arrivals to Canada had decreased by 132,505 (59.7%), compared to the same period in 2024. This decline reflects the Canadian government’s 2024 decision to introduce a cap on international student permits for 2025, aimed at addressing unsustainable growth. The federal government also tightened eligibility criteria for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP), further limiting international students’ opportunities to transition into the Canadian workforce and, consequently, their possibility of obtaining permanent residency.

What drove this recent reduction in Canada’s international student population? Dr. Schinnerl and Dr. Ellermann trace the recent changes to a misalignment between government, university, and student goals—exacerbated by the previously uncapped admission system. They argue that while the majority of international students view Canadian education as a pathway to permanent residence, neither immigration policy nor university programs have prioritized this transition. The uncapped admission system allowed the number of graduates seeking permanent residency to far exceed the number of permanent resident annual targets. These changes also underscore the findings of the original 2023 research that highlighted that the education–immigration relationship was becoming precariously unsustainable.

About the Authors

Sandra Schinnerl is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Migration Studies and a Senior Economist with the Government of British Columbia, focusing on Immigration and Integration Policy. Sandra’s work broadly examines the changing relationship of post-secondary institutions in providing support, skills and preparation for international students interested in migrating to Canada. Sandra earned her PhD at the University of British Columbia.

Antje Ellermann is Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on the politics of migration and citizenship in the global North. She is the author of the award-winning The Comparative Politics of Immigration: Policy Choices in Germany, Canada, Switzerland, and the United States (2021) and States Against Migration: Deportation in Germany and the United States (2009), both published by Cambridge University Press.

Document details

This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.

Italian Dumplings and Chinese Pizzas: Food, Migration, and Identity Between China and Italy

How Chinese and Italian consumers find each other at the dining table.

Chinese food in Italy and Italian food in China are more than meals—they’re cultural exchanges shaped by migration, tourism, and media. Professor Gaoheng Zhang’s research examines how food mobilities between China and Italy have shaped identities, challenged stereotypes, and highlighted both the tensions and possibilities of cross-cultural understanding in today’s globalized world.

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“Food is an essential life experience for migrants and other mobile subjects. The China-Italy case study is compelling because of the global influence of their cuisines and labour migrations.”

Gaoheng Zhang

Professor, UBC French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies

Key Findings

Food is more than nourishment; it is a cultural language. Studying food culture helps us understand how Italian and Chinese migrants understand each other.
Chinese restaurants in Italy and Italian food in China are cultural bridges for immigrants and locals to negotiate their identities in relation to each other.
Migration between Italy and China increased in the 1980s. While Chinese food offered Italians a taste of the exotic, it also became a target for racial stereotypes. Meanwhile, middle-class Chinese tourists embraced Italian cuisine in China as a signal of their global, multi-cultural identity exemplified by a taste on international cuisines.

Recommendations

Food mobilities are central to migration stories. Policymakers should pay more attention to how everyday practices—like dining out or owning a restaurant—shape intercultural understanding.
Media and public discourse should be more aware of how culinary narratives can both foster empathy and reinforce racial boundaries.
Supporting migrant food entrepreneurs and promoting inclusive food cultures like holding food festivals can help combat cultural exclusion and facilitate cross-cultural understanding.

Implications for Current Events

Zhang’s research highlights the significant role food plays in cultural exchanges. As migration continues to reshape societies and anti-Asian racism resurfaces globally—especially in the wake of COVID-19—food stories become stories about who belongs. In Italy, Chinese restaurants were early targets of public fear during the pandemic, revealing how racial anxieties are often projected onto everyday spaces like eateries. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists navigating Italy’s cuisines negotiate both fascination and exclusion, mirroring global struggles over identity and cultural ownership. These dynamics are not unique to China and Italy. Across the world, migrants and tourists use food to claim space, assert their identity, and foster a sense of belonging. Policymakers and social actors should recognize the role of transcultural cuisines in promoting economic inclusion and cultural dialogue. Supporting diverse food cultures can be a powerful tool against xenophobia—turning the dining table into a site of connection rather than division.

About the Authors

Gaoheng Zhang is an Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia. Zhang’s scholarship analyzes migration and culture from within contemporary Italy’s and Western Europe’s global networks with Asia, America, and Africa. He applies multi-lingual, multi-perspectival, and multi-sited methods to his case studies. His intellectual project is focused on transculturality and dialogism.

Document details

This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.

Canadian international student policy at a crossroads

Temporary Residence in Canada: A Patchwork of Rules

From Temporary to Permanent Residency: Recent Trends in Canada’s Two-Step Immigration Selection

Staying Behind: Limited Displacement and Inequality After Wildfires in the U.S.

Only the most severe wildfires actually push people to migrate out of their homes after a natural disaster in the U.S. Most people stay behind.

As wildfire seasons become more frequent and severe across North America, the question of how people respond—whether by moving or staying—is an increasingly urgent one. Research by CMS affiliate Professor Kathryn McConnell finds that most people do not migrate after wildfire-related disasters in the U.S., offering insights for climate adaptation and disaster relief planning in Canada and beyond.

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“We have seen across Canada this summer that wildfires are having a major impact on people's communities. What we are trying to understand in this research is the extent to which fires cause long-term population change, which I think is an increasingly important question as fire seasons get worse.”

Kathryn MConnell

Assistant Professor, UBC Sociology

Key Findings

Most U.S. wildfires between 1999-2020 did not cause significant population mobility. People tended to migrate only when fires caused major structural damage.
Wildfires, even destructive fires, do not cause long-term or permanent population shifts. Instead, migration due to wildfires is often short-lived, with residents returning within a year.
Both emotional ties and limited economic options could drive individuals’ decisions to stay put after wildfires. There is some information on the drivers of immobility, but they need to be studied more.

Recommendations

Wildfire recovery planning should account for those who stay. Many residents stay in place after destructive wildfires, and financial support should focus on the needs of those who stay.
Post-disaster response should also provide early support after destructive wildfires. The most needed assistance comes in the months immediately after a wildfire, and governments should deliver housing, financial aid, and other recovery services immediately after fires.
Federal and state agencies should create and share migration data that includes demographic details. More data would help identify which communities are more likely to relocate after wildfires, supporting more targeted disaster and recovery planning.

Implications for Current Events

In early 2025, wildfires in Los Angeles destroyed thousands of homes, raising alarms about possible long-term displacement. Similarly, Canada is facing one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, with widespread evacuations in provinces like Alberta. Yet, despite the scale of these events, we still know very little about how wildfire destruction in fire-prone regions impacts whether individuals stay put or leave.

Professor Kathryn McConnell and her colleagues’ research offers a starting place, finding that across more than two decades of wildfire events in the U.S., large-scale migration occurred only after extreme structure loss, and even then, often only for short stints. In both the U.S. and Canada, there is a need to strengthen support for emergency housing, local recovery planning, and rebuilding efforts, alongside continued attention to displacement risks. Recognizing the diverse ways people respond to environmental hazards is key. Recovery strategies should consider not only those who leave wildfire zones but also the majority who stay behind.

About the Authors

Kathryn McConnell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. Her work explores how climate change intersects with the built environment and shapes patterns of population movement. With a focus on climate-related hazards and social inequality, she uses sociological tools to support more equitable approaches to climate adaptation and mitigation. Before joining UBC, Dr. McConnell held a postdoctoral position at Brown University’s Population Studies and Training Center. She earned her Ph.D. and Master’s in Environmental Science from Yale University, and her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University.

Document details

This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.

Refuge and Rejection: Hong Kong’s Overlooked Holocaust History

The history of Hong Kong reveals the overlooked role of colonialism in shaping global responses to the Holocaust.

British Hong Kong was one of the last ports for the Jewish refugees to visit before finding a semi-permanent settlement in other parts of Asia. However, Hong Kong’s role studying the global Holocaust has largely been overlooked. CMS affiliate and PhD candidate Ryan Cheuk Him Sun examines the conflicting role that Hong Kong played, one that both provided shelter to the refugees but also interned and expelled them.

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“This research invites a broader, more interdisciplinary understanding of antisemitism—one that moves beyond Europe to examine its manifestations across regions, particularly Asia.”

Ryan Cheuk Him Sun

PhD candidate, UBC History

Key Findings

Holocaust studies have long centered on Europe, overlooking the little-known history of Jewish refugees in Hong Kong
Hong Kong played a conflicting role during the Holocaust, first providing shelter to Jewish refugees from Europe, and then later expelling them.
Hong Kong’s status as a former British colony reveals the contradictions of imperial policy during the Holocaust, simultaneously rescuing and rejecting Jewish refugees.

Recommendations

It is important to recognize that antisemitism has never been just a Euro-American idea; antisemitism can be traced around the world, including East and Southeast Asia.
The story of the Holocaust must be told from multiple world regions to provide a global approach to the Jewish experience and to understanding antisemitism.
As countries today face new refugee flows, the experiences of Jewish asylum-seekers in Hong Kong show that offering refuge matters, especially at times of conflicts.

Implications for Current Events

September 2–3 marks Victory over Japan Day in the US and China, commemorating the Pacific theatre’s end in WWII. On this 80th anniversary of the war’s conclusion, it’s a reminder that the fight against fascism, and the suffering it caused, extended far beyond Europe.

By uncovering Hong Kong’s overlooked role in Holocaust-era displacement, the article highlights how colonial policies helped shape both the survival and exclusion of Jewish refugees. The story also offers a hopeful reminder: Hong Kong and other Asian cities did once open their doors to those in need, demonstrating a legacy of humanitarian response. The contradictions of colonial asylum and exclusion help explain why the 1951 UN Refugee Convention was necessary in the first place—codifying the right to refuge after years of failure. As governments revisit migration policy in the face of current crises, these histories remind us of the urgent need to balance security with compassion and justice. At a time when the world is still dealing with refugee crises and rising anti-religious sentiment, these overlooked stories are more important than ever.

About the Authors

Cheuk Him Ryan Sun is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at UBC. His transnational research expands the geography of Jewish exile outside Europe and beyond Shanghai, to consider the British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore. He adopts a refugee-centered approach that highlights the agency and mobilities of Austrian and German-Jewish refugees in formulating their escape plans, while slowly becoming entangled with the wartime policies of British colonial administrations. His work shows how the distinct experiences of Jewish refugees in Hong Kong and Singapore have been ignored or subsumed within more standard narratives. He is particularly interested in Jewish refugees’ ship-bound experiences, especially how transiting through colonial port-cities and encountering local inhabitants informed Jewish refugees’ understanding of ‘the Orient’.

Document details

This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.

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