In 1858, gold was found in the Fraser River Valley in British Columbia. Thousands of miners, including Chinese workers who were living in California and, as I stated in the "Push Factors" page, the southern part of Guangzhou, came to the region in search of gold. Furthermore, with the once uninhabited valley in high need of facilities and services like roads, stores and etc, plenty of jobs that were needed to run these services was vastly available. This shortage of labour and high availability of jobs was also a huge factor for many new Chinese immigrants, who came in search of better job opportunities, which is better than in Guangzhou, where jobs were scarce. These workers was eventually hired to build roads, clear land, construct railways, dig ditches and other related tasks.
Another huge wave of Chinese immigrants came during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1882. During this time, they didn't have enough workers. Therefore, people who could help construct the railway was desperately in need. Although many of the white Canadian workers didn't like the fact that they should hire Chinese workers, not being able to finish the railway was even worse than working with the Chinese immigrants. By then end of 1882, out of the total 9000 workers, over 6500 of them were Chinese, all of whom was hired to help with the construction of the C.P.R. (Chinese Canadian Stories 5) Despite the horrible conditions they had to work with, once again, the availability of jobs in British Columbia was a crucial part in bringing Chinese immigrants to Canada.
The last pull factor for the Chinese immigrants is that working overseas isn't a new experience for them. China, in being such a prosperous trading nation, has allowed workers to trade with countries outside of China. This experience of overseas work has allowed for Chinese immigrants to do much more better and comfortable in Canada than someone who has no knowledge of working abroad. Furthermore, when Chinese workers go to a specific country, they would set up services to help other fellow Chinese workers. These services include providing help for shelter, business contacts and loans. These services makes it easier for new Chinese immigrants to travel and work abroad. This same thing applies for new immigrants that arrived in British Columbia. The immigrants who have already been in B.C for some time would set up these services and would in turn help newer immigrants. Because of their prior knowledge of overseas work and being able to receive help from other Chinese immigrants, it plays a big role in bringing more Chinese immigrants to British Columbia.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Chinese Canadian immigrants has faced horrible living conditions and prejudiced attacks and segregation when they first came to British Columbia. Also, relocating from their home in China to Canada itself takes great effort. However, the reasons for leaving and the benefits they are going to receive, whether it be the availability of jobs or gold, simply outweighs the struggles and difficulties to live in Canada.