Asiatic Exclusion League

Playing on the growing Sinophobia caused by the influx of Chinese immigrants and in response to strong pressure from the British Columbia, the provincial and federal governments passed several acts regulating the Chinese population in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Formed in 1907, the Asiatic Exclusion League advocated discriminatory legislation and a policy of “white immigration . . . to abate the Chinese evil.” During the night of 6–7 September, following a rally organized by the League, a mob rampaged through Vancouver’s Chinatown, destroying Chinese- and Japanese-owned property.