Prime Minister King's Response to Immigration during the German-Austria Jewish Immigration Crisis | The Brian Mulroney Institute of Government

This diary entry from former Prime Minister Mackenzie King illustrates the government's attitude towards Jewish immigration during the German-Austria Jewish immigration crisis.
This entry occurs around the time of the Evian Conference where President Roosevelt convened several countries to address the Jewish refugee problem in Europe.
On Tuesday March 29, 1938 Prime Minister King wrote "A very difficult question has presented itself in Roosevelt's appeal to different boundries to unite with the United States in admitting refugees from Austria, Germany, etc. That means, in a word, admitting numbers of Jews. My own feeling is that nothing is to be gained by creating an internal problem in an effort to meet an international one. That we must be careful not to seek to play the role of the dog in the manger so far as Canada is concerned, with our great open spaces and small population. We must nevertheless seek to keep this part of the Continent free from unrest and from too great an intermixture of foreign strains of blood, as much the same thing as lies at the basis of the Oriental problem. I fear we would have riots if we agree to a policy that admitted numbers of Jews."
It is clear from this excerpt that not only was the Prime Minister largely opposed to Jews, but that he saw Jews as a disservice to the Canadian economy and agriculture and to his political career.
Anti-semitic sentiments were common at this time both by Government officials and Canadians at large.

Citation

Mackenzie King, William Lyon. Diaries of William Lyon Mackenzie King March 29, 1938. Diary Entry. Item 10034, Reference MG26-J13, p. 2. Library and Archives Canada. Accessed July 27, 2022. https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=DiaWlmKing&IdNumber=10034