The Vietnamese Refugee Experience: An Analysis of Canadian Government Policy During the Vietnamese Refugee Crisis from 1975 to 1982

The Vietnamese refugee crisis is arguably one of the most significant humanitarian crises in modern history. At its height, between 1979 and 1980, more than 70,000 Vietnamese refugees arrived in Canada. When the Vietnamese refugee crisis occurred, it set a new standard for future Canadian resettlement programs. United Nations initiatives such as the UNRC and UNHRC supported the organization’s efforts to streamline the process used to resettle Vietnamese refugees. My parents were among them. Focusing on the period between 1975 and 1982, this paper sets out to answer two questions: first, what factors affected Canada’s response to the Vietnamese refugee crisis, and second, how did the Vietnamese refugee crisis influence Canadian legislation, policies, and programs? My research findings show that humanitarianism and ‘white saviourism’ were key factors at play in the unprecedented intake of Vietnamese refugees at the height of this crisis. Keywords: Humanitarianism, humanitarian crisis, humanitarian aid, refugees, Vietnamese refugees