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Canadian History Through the Eyes of Chinese Canadian

Abstract: I use life-writing skill to trace Chinese settlement in Canada, which began in 1858 with the gold rush in the Fraser valley in British Columbia. The next influx was in the 1870s because of the need for labour in the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Upon the completion of the CPR, a head tax was introduced in 1885 to discourage Chinese migration, and the tax was increased twice. In 1923, the Canadian government passed Chinese exclusion legislation. Stories from this early period were from secondary sources. The period after the repeal of Chinese exclusion in 1947 to the 1960s was known as “family reunification” among Chinese Canadians, because family members left behind in China were able to join their fathers and husbands in Canada.  From this time onwards, I was able to obtain personal stories education and skills to immigrate to Canada independently. In the 1980s, there was an exodus from Hong Kong due to the fear of the return of its sovereignty to China, and Canada was the country of first choice. Since then, immigrants from both Hong Kong and Mainland China were the largest group entering Canada until 2010.


Key words: History, Chinese Canadians, life stories.


Vivienne Poy: Ph.D in history. First Senator of Asian descent, appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1998. Her work focused on immigration, multiculturalism, human rights and gender issues. Retired in 2012, and continues to be actively involved with the community. Chancellor Emerita of the University of Toronto.  Author of nonfiction. She is the author of Building Bridges: The Life and Times of Richard Charles Lee, Hong Kong: 1905-1983 (1998); Profit, Victory & Sharpness: The Lees of Hong Kong (2006); Passage to Promise Land(2013).