[1] Politicians from British Columbia referred to the place as "a white man's province", and the book includes an analysis of the phrase itself.
The ninth chapter discusses 1908-1914 anti-Asian exclusionary activity,[7] and it also states the overall attitudes towards China, Japan, and Chinese and Japanese immigration held by White British Columbians of the era.
[4] Mary C. Waters of Harvard University wrote that the author "assumes a high level of familiarity with Canadian and British Columbian history and personalities" and "the reader must labor through a great deal of detail and some repetition to be able to abstract general principles and historical themes and developments.
[2] Paul M. Koroscil of Simon Fraser University wrote that the book was "an excellent study on the topic" and "a major contribution to the historical literature of British Columbia".
[10] Robert K. Whelan, of the College of Urban and Public Affairs of the University of New Orleans, wrote that the book is "more ambitious and broader in scope" compared to The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: The Sikh Challenge to Canada's Colour Bar by Hugh Johnston; he stated "Both of these are excellent works—well written and well researched".