1921

A survey about mental health was published by the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene (CNCMH), led by Dr. Clarence Hincks.1 The survey was intended to find the relationship between immigration and mental health in Alberta.2 Hincks found that the proportion of Canada-born citizens was considerably low in institutions such as mental hospitals and jails.3 From this data Hincks interpreted that the mental health issues in Alberta were due to the genes of recent Slavic immigrants, without considering the mental struggles one my go through when assimilating into a new country.4 Some political groups such as The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) and The United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA) utilized the survey to further push their pro-sterilization agenda.5 Lobbying that was undertaken by the UFWA in particular was a major contributing factor to the establishment of the Sterilization Act created in 1928.6