The White Women's Labor Laws: Anti-Chinese Racism in Early Twentieth-Century Canada

This article chronicles the prosecution of two Chinese men under a 1912 Saskatchewan statute forbidding “Chinese” men from employing “white” women. The “Act to Prevent the Employment of female labour in Certain Capacities” was motivated largely by anti-immigration and racist attitudes, and white workers' concerns about the competitive pricing of Chinese goods and services. Its effect was to bar Chinese business owners from hiring the cheapest labour available in the province.