Plainly stated, we have on one side these enormous 

 national liabilities and a sparse population. On the other 

 side we have vast areas of agricultural land in the Western 

 provinces within fifteen miles of existing railway lines, 

 only waiting settlers to establish homes for themselves and 

 their families, and to make these lands productive for their 

 own advantage and for the general financial advantage of 

 Canada; and in Ontario, Quebec and the lower provinces, 

 there is still room for a great many thousands of settlers. 



The mineral districts of our country thus far exploited 

 are a mere patch on the great mineralized area of the 

 Dominion, and our forests utilized in a sensible way will be 

 a source of incalculable wealth. Clearly our policy must 

 be to bring these matters under the notice not only of the 

 people of Great Britain and the United States, but of 

 many of the continental countries as well, and say to them, 

 "We want you to come to pur country and enjoy oppor- 

 tunities and advantages quite beyond your reach in your 

 own country. We shall not deceive you, nor shall we 

 permit others to do so. You will be informed of the 

 climatic conditions of the particular portion of Canada to 

 which you wish to go, and incidentally, we may mention to 

 you, that in every section of the Dominion the climate is 

 healthful and invigorating. With us you will enjoy the 

 form of government in which every citizen has a voice, 

 without reference to his position in life. If you are a 

 laggard, do not come. We want men, and women too, 

 who are industrious and who realize that indolence or 

 indifference will lead to failure here, as it will in any other 

 white country. We expect you to become citizens of 

 Canada and to take active, intelligent interest in Canadian 

 affairs; to see that your children are not only educated, but 

 by your example encouraged to lead clean, moral lives. 

 It is not our intention when you land on our shores to run 

 you loose to shift for yourselves. We shall have bureaus 

 or departments to take you in hand and advise and guide 

 you until you have reached your destination." 



Notwithstanding the War, Great Britain can furnish a 

 very large number of settlers of the right class, and for the 

 first time, I think, in history, the British Government is 

 prepared to lend its assistance, financially and otherwise, 

 to help those people to become established in one of the 

 Dominions. 



Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Holland and 

 other Continental countries can furnish us with thousands 

 of rugged, splendid people who are weary of the struggle at 

 home, and wish to seek their fortunes in a new land. 



We have a good Government; indeed, each successive 

 government is good in spots. Beyond question, it is the 

 aim of the Government and all of the ministers to do what 

 is best for the general interest of Canada. But govern- 

 ments are proverbially given to procrastination. The 

 political effect of a policy cannot be put out of sight. 

 Unquestionably the present Government recognizes the 

 vital importance of the subject that we have under dis- 

 cussion, and has the best intentions in the world, but to 

 get prompt and effective action there must be no relaxa- 

 tion of a campaign that has been, and is being, conducted 

 by the Press, trade organizations, and the Kiwanians 

 throughout the country. 



What is Required 



To begin with, there should be some amendments to our 

 immigration laws and regulations. The requirements of 

 continuous passage from country of origin is surrounded 

 by many difficulties. There can be no good reason why 

 an Englishman temporarily living in Oregon, who had 

 bought a ranch in Alberta, should under our regulations 

 be denied admission as a settler because he came to us from 

 Oregon instead of direct from England. Nor should we be 

 prevented from getting any settlers from the United States, 

 who, not being naturalized United States citizens, would 

 be required under our law to return to their own country 

 and come from there direct to Canada to ensure admission. 



1 am only referring to but one or two of many instances 

 in the last couple of years that were brought to my notice. 

 It is true that the regulations have recently been amended 



with reference to British settlers, but the barrier against 

 others still remains. The Act was originally designed to 

 deal with a special menace, but 1 am sure that it can be 

 amended so as to meet its original purpose without main- 

 taining such serious obstacles to colonization and settle- 

 ment. There are other details in the immigration regula- 

 tions that require alteration, but it is not necessary to 

 discuss them now. 



There should be urged upon the Government the 

 appointment without delay of a throughly capable, enter- 

 prising Minister of Colonization and Immigration. 1 

 think that my friend, the Hon. Mr. Stewart, who is with 

 us to-day, will bear me put in the statement that the 

 Department of the Interior is now overburdened with 

 work, and that this additional load should not be placed 

 on it. The Minister in charge of Immigration will be a 

 very busy man, and should be able to give his whole time 

 and thought to his work. Heretofore it has been a sort of 

 tradition that the Cabinet Minister or Deputy in charge 

 of Immigration should come from the West. There would 

 appear to be no good reason for this. While naturally the 

 main efforts of the Department will be directed to the 

 West, there is room for considerable energy in Eastern 

 Canada, and after all, it makes but very little difference 

 whether the Minister comes from the East or the West 

 provided that he is the right man. 



Settlers are Available 



The Minister should have a most capable staff o* 

 assistants and representatives in the Department at 

 headquarters in Great Britain, the United States, and on 

 the continent of Europe, to permit of this most important 

 matter being dealt with aggressively. He should have a 

 strong and intelligent advertising and publicity organiza- 

 tion in Great Britain, the United States, Scandinavian 

 countries and certain other selected countries of Central 

 Europe, through which an invitation will be extended to 

 every colonist of the class that we need, to give considera- 

 tion to the opportunities offered by Canada for settlement. 

 No allurements shall be held out that are not based 

 on facts, and precautions should be taken to see that 

 Government activities are not utilized by steamship agents 

 and others to delude intending immigrants for the com- 

 mission or remuneration that it might yield to them. 



The Minister should be empowered to take whatever 

 steps may be necessary to see that the settlers on arrival 

 in Canada are advised, properly directed, and cared for. 



1 am confident that in all this the Government would 

 have the active co-operation of the Canadian Pacific and 

 other transportation companies, who expended such vast 

 sums of money in co-operation with the Government to 

 secure colonists a few years ago. 



With this machinery in operation there can be little 

 doubt that selected and directed settlers will come to us in 

 large numbers with all the resultant advantages to the 

 country. 



1 know that many of pur fellow-citizens are imbued with 

 the conviction that immigration should, in a large measure, 

 be confined to people of British origin. This view is 

 based on the idea that our future as a British people will be 

 best safeguarded by populating our country with those of 

 our own race. It strikes me that in this instance policy 

 rather than idealism must prevail. Britain could not 

 furnish us with the required population of the desirable 

 type within reasonable time. We must get settlers where 

 we can without exposing the country to the dangers of a 

 defective and disastrous melting-pot. We shall not be 

 damaged by an intermixture of new blood and new thought. 

 Great Britain is a more vigorous and intellectual nation 

 with her mixture of English, Scotch, Welsh and Irish 

 than she would be if all were of one origin. Each nation- 

 ality furnishes some attribute that the other lacks. Those 

 of us who have had most experience in our own country 

 will bear testimony that our national stability and our 

 breadth of vision must be attributed to the fact that we 

 are made up of two predominating races. 



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