In 1941, an estimated 20,141 Chinese Canadian families lived
apart, with husbands in Canada and wives in China. With the
repeal of The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 in 1947, Chinese
people who had obtained Canadian citizenship were able to act as
immigration sponsors. Family reunification through sponsorship
was, however, slow to start, since most Chinese immigrants were
not naturalized as Canadian citizens, and many family members in
China did not meet the strict eligibility requirements for
sponsorship from Asia. It was not until after 1957, when
regulations affecting the Chinese were loosened, that the number
of separated families dropped considerably. By 1971, only 1,558
families were living apart. Family reunification and illegal
immigration: 1947–1966 ‘2,000 a Year Arrive From Red China,’
Courtesy of the Toronto Star, Saturday June 25, 1955, p. 6.
Family reunification (1957–1966) Family Reunifications and
Illegal Immigration: