Asian Heritage Month
Advancing Leaders Through Innovation
#AHM2024
This month is a reminder for all Canadians to come together to combat anti-Asian racism and discrimination in all its forms.
Timeline of Asian Communities in Canada
There are just over 200 years of experience, from the arrival of the first Chinese settlers to building the trading post at Nootka Sound. The timeline below shows a brief glimpse of the breadth of Asian developments, from trading posts to government constitutions.
The timeline examines the settlement of various Asian groups, the discrimination many of them endured in our early ages, historic accomplishments, firsts, biographies, and the gradual alterations by which Canadian society accepted the right and equality of Asian immigrants.
Source - The Canadian Encyclopedia | Historica Canada
Jan. 1, 1788
The first Chinese to settle in Canada were 50 artisans who accompanied Captain John Meares in 1788 to help build a trading post and encourage trade in sea otter pelts between Guangzhou, China and Nootka Sound.
Jan. 1, 1858
In 1858, Chinese immigrants began arriving from San Francisco as gold prospectors in the Fraser River valley, and Barkerville, BC, became the first Chinese community in Canada. By 1860, the Chinese population of Vancouver Island and BC was estimated to be 7,000.
Jan. 1, 1877
The first known immigrant from Japan, Manzo Nagano, settled in Victoria, BC. The first wave of Japanese immigrants, called Issei (first generation), arrived between 1877 and 1928. By 1914, 10,000 people of Japanese ancestry had settled permanently in Canada.
Jan. 1, 1885
Some 15,000 Chinese labourers completed the British Columbia section of the CPR, with more than 600 perishing from dynamite accidents, landslides, rockslides, cave-ins, cases of scurvy because of inadequate food, other maladies, fatigue, drowning, and a lack of medical aid. The death count of Chinese workers over the entire construction period has been estimated to be between 600 and 2,200 workers. Largely because of the trans-Canada railway, Chinese communities developed across the nation.
Jan. 1, 1885
Chinese migrants were obligated to pay a $50 "entry" or "head" tax before being admitted into Canada. The Chinese were the only ethnic group required to pay a tax to enter Canada. By 1903, the head tax was increased to $500; the number of Chinese who paid the fee in the first fiscal year dropped from 4719 to 8.
Jan. 1, 1885
The original draft of the Act gave federal voting rights to some women, but under the final legislation, only men could vote. The Act gives some Reserve First Nations with property qualifications the right to vote but bars Chinese Canadians.
Jan. 1, 1897
The first Sikhs came to Canada at the turn of the 20th century. Some came to Canada as part of the Hong Kong military contingent en route to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (1897) and the coronation of Edward VII (1902) and returned to Canada to establish themselves in British Columbia. More than 5,000 South Asians, more than 90 percent of them Sikhs, came to Canada before their immigration was banned in 1908.
Jan. 1, 1902
The federal government appointed a Royal Commission on Chinese and Japanese Immigration, which concluded that the Asians were "unfit for full citizenship ... obnoxious to a free community and dangerous to the state."
Jan. 1, 1907
An order-in-council banned immigration from India and South Asian countries. The population of South Asians in Canada would drop to roughly 2,000, the majority being Sikh. Though wives and children of legal Sikh residents were allowed entry to the country in the 1920s, it would not be until the late 1940s that the policies were changed to allow for full South Asian immigration to Canada.
May 23, 1914
In 1914, 376 people from India aboard the immigrant ship Komagata Maru languished in Vancouver Harbour while Canadian authorities debated what to do with them. Two months later, on 23 July, Canada’s new navy escorted the ship from Canadian waters in action for the first time.
Jan. 1, 1923
An amendment to the 1908 Hayashi-Lemieux agreement reduced the number of male Japanese immigrants to 150 annually. In 1928, the Gentlemen’s Agreement was amended further to include women and children in the count of 150.
March 1, 1941
Everyone of Japanese descent over 16 years old was required by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to register.
Dec. 7, 1941
Immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, 38 Japanese Canadians were arrested as subversives. Twelve weeks after the attack, the federal government used the War Measures Act to order the removal of all Japanese Canadians residing within 160 km of the Pacific Coast. About 21,000 Japanese Canadians in BC, more than 75 percent of whom were Canadian citizens, were fingerprinted, issued identification cards and removed from their homes. More than 8,000 were moved to a temporary detention camp (where women and children were held in a livestock building) at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver.
Jan. 1, 1943
Between 1943 and 1946, the federal government sold all Japanese Canadian-owned property - homes, farms, fishing boats, businesses and personal property - and deducted from the proceeds any social assistance received by the owner while confined and unemployed in a detention camp.
March 14, 1944
Ontario was the first province to respond to social change when it passed the Racial Discrimination Act of 1944. This landmark legislation effectively prohibited the publication and display of any symbol, sign, or notice that expressed ethnic, racial, or religious discrimination. It was followed by other sweeping legislation.
Jan. 1, 1946
In 1946, after the war was over, the government attempted to deport 10,000 Japanese Canadians to Japan but was stopped by a massive public protest from all parts of Canada. Nevertheless, 4,000 Japanese Canadians, more than half of whom were Canadian citizens, were deported to Japan.
Jan. 1, 1947
The Citizenship Act extended the right to vote federally and provincially to Chinese Canadian and South Asian Canadian men and women. However, ignored Indigenous peoples and Japanese Canadians.
Oct. 1, 1967
Prior to 1967, the immigration system relied largely on immigration officers' judgment to determine who should be eligible to enter Canada. Deputy Minister of Immigration Tom Kent established a points system, which assigned points in nine categories, to determine eligibility.
April 30, 1975
The Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, to Communist forces. In the years that followed, many refugees risked their lives to escape the turbulent political context, human rights violations and rapidly deteriorating living conditions in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. By 1985, Canada had admitted more than 98,000 refugees from these countries.
Since 2015, 30 April has been designated Journey to Freedom Day in commemoration of the perilous journey undertaken by Vietnamese refugees.
Jan. 1, 1978
In 1978, Canada enacted a new Immigration Act that affirmed Canada's commitment to the resettlement of refugees from oppression. Refugees would no longer be admitted to Canada as an exception to immigration regulations. Admission of refugees was now part of Canadian immigration law and regulations.
Nov. 1, 1978
In 1978, Canada accepted 604 refugees from the freighter Hai Hong. The situation of the "boat" people and of Lao, Khmer and Vietnamese "land people" who fled to Thailand grew increasingly severe, and in response, Canada took in 59,970 refugee and designated-class immigrants during the next two years.
Jan. 1, 1980
The first major refugee resettlement program under the new immigration legislation of 1978 came during the early 1980s when Canada led the Western world in its welcome to Southeast Asian refugees and particularly those from Vietnam, often referred to as the "boat people." Many had escaped Vietnam in tiny boats and found themselves confined to refugee camps in Thailand or Hong Kong, awaiting permanent homes.
April 4, 1985
In the Singh Case, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded that a refugee has the right not to "be removed from Canada to a country where his life or his freedom would be threatened."
Aug. 11, 1986
Canadian fishing boats rescued over 150 Sri Lankan refugees off St. Shott’s, NL. The refugees were left in international waters by a smuggler. Without water, food or fuel, the refugees drifted for three days before being spotted. The rescue sparked a debate over how Canada approaches refugees, with some accusing the group of making false claims. In response to a string of similar events, the Mulroney government initiated a reform of the refugee system in 1988.
Oct. 6, 1986
The United Nations awards the people of Canada the Nansen Refugee Award "in recognition of their essential and constant contribution to the cause of refugees within their country and around the world.” Between 1979 and 1981, Canada had accepted more than 60,000 refugees from Vietnam, Cambodge and Laos, many of whom were sponsored by Canadian families and private organizations. It was the first and only time the award was presented to an entire nation.
Sept. 22, 1988
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney acknowledged the wartime wrongs committed against Japanese Canadians and announced compensation for each individual who had been expelled from the coast, was born before 1 April 1949 and was alive at the time of the signing of the agreement. The compensation also provided a community fund to rebuild the infrastructure of the destroyed communities, pardons for those wrongfully convicted of disobeying orders under the War Measures Act, Canadian citizenship for those wrongfully deported to Japan and their descendants and funding for a Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
Nov. 8, 1988
Author Michael Ondaatje was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada. The Sri Lankan-born highly acclaimed author emigrated from Sri Lanka and came to Canada through England in 1962. He became a Canadian citizen in 1965. Perhaps his most well-known work, The English Patient (1992) was awarded the Governor General's Award for fiction in 1992, and earned Ondaatje a share of the prestigious Booker Prize, the first ever awarded to a Canadian. A 1996 film version of the novel won nine Academy Awards.
Sept. 17, 1998
Vivienne Poy became the first Canadian of Asian descent appointed to the Senate. A historian, entrepreneur, and fashion designer, Poy sponsored the Famous Five monument in Calgary and was instrumental in designation May as Asian Heritage Month.
Oct. 7, 1999
Adrienne Clarkson took office as Canada’s governor general. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s appointment of Clarkson marked several "firsts" in the selection of Canada's governor general: she was the first without a military background and the first non-white Canadian to be appointed to the vice-regal position.
Jan. 1, 2005
Filmmaker Deepa Mehta released the final film of her elements trilogy with 2005’s Water. The story of socially marginalized widows who are ostracized in conservative parts of India went through a series of delays as violent protesters threatened Mehta's life and destroyed film sets in the holy city of Varanasi, where "widow houses" can still be found.
Jan. 20, 2005
Norman Kwong succeeded Lois Hole as Alberta's 16th lieutenant governor, the first Chinese Canadian to hold the position in Alberta.
June 22, 2006
Under much community pressure, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered an apology to the Chinese community for the implementation of the head tax, which had been originally introduced in 1885. An official directive made in Parliament ordered compensation for the head tax of approximately $20,000 to be paid to survivors or their spouses.
April 23, 2015
The Parliament of Canada passed the Journey to Freedom Day Act, establishing 30 April as a national day of commemoration of the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and their acceptance in Canada after the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War.
May 18, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized for the Komagata Maru incident before the House of Commons. In 1914, a chartered ship carrying Punjabis who sought a better life in Canada was denied entry at the Port of Vancouver. A dramatic challenge to Canada’s former practice of excluding immigrants from India ensued. The passengers were finally turned away after a long legal ordeal, only to face a deadly conflict with police upon their return to India.
In 2016, Asian countries accounted for seven of the top ten countries of birth of recent immigrants: the Philippines, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Syria and South Korea.
Asia has remained the top source continent for immigrants in recent years. From 2017 to 2019, 63.5% of newcomers to Canada were born in Asia (including the Middle East).
Sources
Asian Ethnic Groups
Three of the most reported Asian origins in the whole Canadian population were Chinese (close to 1.8 million), East Indian (approximately 1.4 million) and Filipino (837,130). These three were especially common Asian origins for first and second-generation Canadians. Chinese, Lebanese, and Japanese were the most common Asian origins.
- Central Asians - Afghani, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Georgians, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Mongolian, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek
- East Asians - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Tibetan
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders - Carolinian, Chamorro, Chuukese, Fijian, Guamanian, Hawaiian, Kosraean, Marshallese, Native Hawaiian, Niuean, Palauan, Pohnpeian, Papua New Guinean, Samoan, Tokelauan, Tongan, Yapese
- Southeast Asians - Bruneian, Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Indonesian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Timorese, Thai, Vietnamese
- South Asians - Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivians, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan
- West Asians - Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey (straddles Europe and Asia), United Arab Emirates and Yemen - Most people from this region do not self-identify as West Asians but rather the Middle East.
Source
Sikh Studies Program | UCalgary
UCalgary’s partnership with the Sikh students and faculty in kickstarting the Sikh Studies program at the university results from strong collaborative efforts to promote the traditions in academia. These initiatives are among several opportunities for UCalgary’s community to acknowledge and reflect on the unique challenges Asians face in Canada.
East Asian Language Studies | UCalgary
East Asian Language Studies scholars ask questions such as: Can the Chinese writing system of Hanzi/Kanji become the universal written language? Now that Japan and China are both superpowers, how are the two countries influencing one another in terms of culture? How do East Asian language learners achieve the desired proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing?
Chinese Language and Culture Programs | UCalgary
Mandarin is spoken by over a billion people, or roughly one-fifth of the world population, making it the most widely spoken language. Focus your studies in one of our two majors, complete a minor, or take one of our Chinese culture, film, linguistics, or literature courses.
Filipino Students' Association | University of Calgary
The University of Calgary Filipino Students’ Association (UCFSA) is a social club sanctioned by the Student’s Union (U of C) in 1992. Our goal is to provide its members and the community with a taste of Filipino culture. Our motto is, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makarating sa paroroonan,” which means He who does not look back to his roots will not reach his destination.
With this in mind, the UCFSA strives to help its members realize the best aspects of being Filipino-Canadians while engaging various people and reaching out to the community. With many active members and alumni throughout the community, the UCFSA is the perfect way to meet new people and have fun in a welcoming environment while learning more about Filipino culture.
Chinese Students and Scholars Association
In Calgary, Alberta, UCCSSA has closely collaborated with local and international companies. We also collaborate with the University of Calgary’s International Department, community groups, and other student organizations.
Our association is active year-round; however, the majority of activities will take place from September to April, which is the fall and winter academic semesters. Our executives meet weekly to organize events and meet with our student community.
U of C CSSA aims to enhance the overall university experience for students and introduce the modern and traditional Chinese culture to other communities in and around Calgary. We also work towards developing acquaintanceships and fellowships through hosting events and providing prolonged support to our students and the local communities.
Hong Kong Students' Association
The Hong Kong Students’ Association (HKSA) was established in 1993. We are open to all students and community members. The goal of HKSA is to promote cultural diversity and understanding both at the university and in the community. We also aim to provide academic aid, services for students, and volunteer opportunities and raise Hong Kong and Chinese cultural awareness for the students at the University of Calgary. To achieve this, HKSA holds various group functions throughout the year.
Featured Publications
Vivek Shraya is a seven-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, a Pride Toronto Grand Marshal and has been a brand ambassador for MAC Cosmetics and Pantene. She is a director on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation, an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Calgary, and is currently adapting her debut play, How to Fail as a Popstar, for television with the support of CBC.
Source - vivekshraya.com
Pallavi Banerjee is an Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Calgary. She directs the Critical Gender, Intersectionality and Migration Research Group at the University of Calgary, and her research is supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Source - NYU Press
Larissa Lai holds a Canada Research Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Calgary, where she directs the Insurgent Architects' House for Creative Writings and is the author of three novels, The Tiger Flu (Lambda Literary Award winner), Salt Fish Girl, and When Fox is a Thousand, and three poetry books, Sybil Unrest (with Rita Wong), Automaton Biographies (shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize), and Iron Goddess of Mercy. She is also the winner of Lambda Literary's Jim Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists Prize and an Astraea Foundation Award. Her latest novel, The Lost Century, will be published in 2022.
Source - larissalai.com
Abdolmohammad Kazemipur is a Professor of Sociology and the Chair of Ethnic Studies at the University of Calgary. In Sacred as Secular, Abdolmohammad Kazemipur attempts to debunk the flawed notions of Muslim exceptionalism by looking at religious trends in Iran since 1979.
Drawing on a wide range of data and sources, including national social attitudes surveys collected since the 1970s, he examines developments in the spheres of politics and governance, schools and seminaries, contemporary philosophy, and the self-expressed beliefs and behaviours of Iranian men, women, and youth.
Source - McGill-Queen's University Press
Teresa Wong is a Canadian Writer-in-Residence Teresa Wong at the University of Calgary. Dear Scarlet: The Story of my Postpartum Depression (2019)is her first book and is an unflinchingly honest graphic memoir, a breakout success which became a finalist for the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize while being longlisted for CBC Canada Reads 2020 and reviewed enthusiastically in the New York Times and the Paris Review.
Source - Arsenal Pulp Press
Asian Communities in Canada
Take a quiz to test your knowledge about the immigration history, traditions and key figures of Asian cultures that are part of Canada.
This quiz is made available by The Canadian Encyclopedia | Historica Canada
Asian Heritage Foundation Background
As the largest pan-Asian organization in Alberta, the Asian Heritage Foundation supports and develops the community through two key objectives:
- Fostering awareness of the participation and contributions of Asian Canadians
- Raising awareness and addressing issues impacting Asian communities through advocacy, mainstreaming initiatives, policy, and education.
AHF will continue to promote unity and cooperation among Asian communities and between the broader citizenry of Calgary to develop relationships that will lead and drive future initiatives - learn more!
Source - Asian Heritage Foundation
Influential Canadians of Asian Background
A few of the remarkable Asian Canadians who helped shape our country - and continue to influence and inspire us today.
Kew Dock Yip (1906-2001)
Kew Dock Yip was the first Chinese-Canadian lawyer and an activist who fought to repeal the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act, which barred nearly all Chinese immigrants from entering Canada. Thanks to the efforts of Kim, Jewish civil rights lawyer Irving Himel and other activists, the legislation was successfully repealed in 1947.
Yip was highly active in Toronto’s Chinese-Canadian community, working out of his Chinatown office for almost 50 years before retiring in 1992. For years, he was the only Chinese-speaking lawyer in the area and made legal aid more accessible to Chinese residents. He received the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1998, a prestigious award given annually to lawyers who make noteworthy contributions in their field.
William Lore (1909-2012)
William K. L. Lore, born in Victoria, B.C., became the first Chinese-Canadian civil servant in the country, starting as a wireless operator in the Department of Transport. After being denied three times because of his race, Lore finally joined the Royal Canadian Navy and became an officer, making him the first Chinese-Canadian in the Royal Canadian Navy and the first person of Chinese heritage to serve in any British Commonwealth navy. At the end of World War II, Lore helped free Canadian, British and Hong Kong prisoners of war in Hong Kong.
Adrienne Clarkson (b. 1939)
Adrienne Clarkson, who is of Chinese origin, served as Canada’s 26th Governor-General from 1999 to 2005. She was the first member of a minority group to host a national television show. She constituted the Governor General’s Northern Medal to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to recognizing the North. Her engagement in Aboriginal cultures was noteworthy, and she brought the issue of indigenous communities to the forefront of a national conversation.
The Blood Tribe of Alberta valued her talent and declared her an honorary chief. She is honoured to be known as the “Grandmother of Many Nations.”
Payam Akhaven
Payam Akhavan left Iran as a child to avoid government persecution. He became the United Nations’ youngest war crimes prosecutor in history at 26 years old and founded the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre. He currently teaches international law and human rights at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He earned his Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) from Harvard Law School and was a senior researcher at Yale Law School. He is a representative of the UK Child Sexual Abuse People’s Tribunal and has attributed to the efforts of various non-governmental associations and grassroots survivors’ movements.
Senator Vivienne Poy (b. 1941)
Before becoming the first Canadian of Asian origin appointed to the Senate of Canada, Senator Vivienne Poy was renowned as a fashion designer and entrepreneur. In her early years, Poy studied in Hong Kong and England. She moved to Canada in 1959 and earned a PhD in history from the University of Toronto. In 1998, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Poy to the Senate, where she sat with the Liberal caucus and represented Toronto.
In the Senate, Poy was outspoken about Asian-Canadian rights and created a successful motion to designate May as Asian Heritage Month, which the government formally declared in 2002. She served as chancellor of the University of Toronto from 2003 to 2006 and is the author of five books, including a biography of her father, who was a businessman in Hong Kong.
Deepa Mehta (b. 1950)
Director, producer and screenwriter Deepa Mehta’s films are revered for exploring social justice and human rights issues with gripping honesty. This includes her well-known Elements trilogy, released throughout the late ’90s and early 2000s and sparked controversy in India, where Mehta was born and raised and where the films were set.
Fire questions the power imbalances found within marriages, Earth depicts the forced migration spawned from the creation of Pakistan, and the Oscar-nominated Water follows a child bride and the ostracization she faces after the death of her husband. In 2012, Mehta received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime artistic achievement and the Order of Canada and Order of Ontario in 2013.
Rupi Kaur (b. 1992)
Rupi Kaur’s simple and profound poetry addresses the immigrant perspective and sexual trauma. Born in Punjab, India, and raised in Brampton, Ontario. She developed a huge following on Instagram after uploading animated visuals of her personal poetry.
In March 2015, as a part of her university photography project, Kaur posted a series of photographs on Instagram depicting herself with menstrual blood stains on her clothing and bedsheets. Instagram removed the image, in response to which Kaur wrote a viral critique of the company's actions. As a result of the incident, Kaur's poetry gained more traction and her initially self-published debut collection, Milk and Honey (2014), was reprinted to widespread commercial success.
Gilmore Junio (b. 1990)
Long-track speed skater Gilmore Junio is a two-time World Cup gold medalist, but he’s perhaps best known for someone else’s win. In the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Junio decided to give up his spot in the 1,000-metre race to teammate Denny Morrison, who didn’t qualify for that event after falling during the Canadian trials. When the team realized they weren’t getting the results they wanted at Sochi, Junio’s coach turned to him and asked if he would consider giving his spot to Morrison.
Morrison won a silver medal and celebrated it with Junio. For his generosity and display of sportsmanship, Junio received a commemorative crowd-funded award started by a Toronto design firm. Earlier in the Olympics, Junio was the top Canadian in the 500-metre speed skating race.
Shyam Selvadurai (b. 1965)
For novelist Shyam Selvadurai, politics has always found a way to intersect with his personal life. When he was 19, he and his family immigrated to Canada following the 1983 riots in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is of mixed Tamil and Sinhala heritage, two ethnic groups that did not live harmoniously back in his home nation. Selvadurai’s first novel, Funny Boy, published in 1994, follows the coming-of-age story of a young boy navigating both queer and Tamil - identities that were discriminated against in Sri Lanka. Funny Boy would later be adapted by Deepa Mehta in the 2020 film of the same name.
In 1998, Selvadurai published Cinnamon Gardens, another work of fiction that touches on being marginalized, before writing about his personal experience as a queer Sri Lankan man in a 2003 essay titled “Coming Out.” On top of numerous awards for his literary work, Selvadurai also has a spider named after him: the Brignolia shyami, discovered in Sri Lanka and named by a Sri Lankan research institute in 2016.
Baljit Sethi (b. 1943)
Baljit Sethi dedicates her work to advocating for immigrants and ensuring that they can thrive within Canadian society. An immigrant herself, Sethi moved to Canada from India in 1972. Shortly after, Sethi worked at the Immigrant Services Society of British Columbia, first as a family counsellor and then a settlement counsellor.
In 1976 she founded what’s now known as the Immigrant & Multicultural Services Society in Prince George, B.C., which provides newcomers with multicultural and anti-racism programs. Sethi is a recipient of the Order of British Columbia and the Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism in the lifetime achievement category.
Kim Thúy (b. 1968)
Award-winning author Kim Thúy’s debut novel, Ru, published in 2009, is heavily inspired by her own journey, having fled Vietnam to a Malaysian refugee camp in 1978 and then arriving in Quebec by boat. Before starting her writing career with a novel that would win the Governor General’s Literary Award for French fiction and the Grand Prix littéraire Archambault in 2011, Thúy worked as a lawyer, a seamstress and an interpreter. She was also the owner of a Vietnamese restaurant in Montreal for five years.
After closing her restaurant, one of her former patrons reached out and asked if he could submit her unfinished manuscript to his friend, who would ultimately become her publisher. Ru became a bestseller and was translated into 15 languages. Thúy’s latest novel, Em, was shortlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Raymond Moriyama (b. 1929)
Raymond Moriyama is one of the most respected architects in Canada - the same country where, during World War II, he was placed in an internment camp along with his family simply because of his Japanese heritage. In 1958, Moriyama founded his design firm and later joined architect Ted Teshima and formed Moriyama & Teshima Architects in 1970.
Today, Moriyama’s work is internationally acclaimed and includes some of Canada’s most iconic structures, including the Toronto Reference Library, the Ontario Science Centre, the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian embassy in Tokyo.
Moriyama has honourary degrees from ten universities and is a Gold Medal recipient from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the institute’s highest honour. He is also a member of the Order of Ontario, the Order of Canada and Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun, recognizing Moriyama’s efforts to promote relations between Canada and Japan.
Dr. Theresa Tam (b. 1965)
Dr. Theresa Tam has been chosen as one of Canadian Immigrant’s 2021 Immigrant Women of Inspiration. She is a hero who has continued to work with courage, confidence and dedication every day of this pandemic, making vital contributions to improving people's lives in Canada. A fierce public health advocate, she has been a key voice in guiding Canadians during this pandemic.
Hong Kong-born Dr. Tam moved to the UK with her family when she was in primary school and obtained her medical degree from the University of Nottingham in the U.K. Like all internationally trained medical professionals, Tam went through the re-qualification process and completed her pediatrics residency program at the University of Alberta before pursuing further sub-specialty training as a pediatric infectious disease fellow at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Theresa Tam was named Canada's Chief Public Health Officer on June 26, 2017. Dr. Tam has served as an international expert on several World Health Organization committees and has participated in multiple international missions related to SARS, pandemic influenza and polio eradication.
The Honourable Avvy Yao-Yao Go (b.1963)
Justice Avvy Yao-Yao Go received her B.A. from the University of Waterloo, her LL.B. from the University of Toronto, and her LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1991.
Madam Justice Go has 30 years of advocacy and litigation experience for low-income racialized clients, mostly through her role as Clinic Director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. As a first-generation Canadian, she has devoted her entire legal career to breaking down barriers for marginalized groups. She served as a Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario for 14 years and sat on the LSO’s Access to Justice Committee, Equity and Aboriginal Issues Committee, and Human Rights Monitoring Group.
For her contributions to disadvantaged communities and to the legal profession, Justice Go has received many awards, including the Order of Ontario (2014), the FACL Lawyer of Distinction Award (2012), the City of Toronto’s William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations (2008), and the Women’s Law Association of Ontario President’s Award (2002). Justice Go became the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Federal Court and ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal on August 4, 2021.
The Honourable Norman L. Kwong (1929-2016)
Norman Kwong became Alberta’s first Lieutenant Governor of Asian heritage in January 2005. However, many people know him as the first Canadian of Chinese heritage to play in the Canadian Football League. He was born in Calgary after his parents immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s from Canton, China, despite having to pay the $500 head tax.
He completed his secondary schooling at Western Canada High School, where he discovered his football talent. In 1948, at the age of 18, he joined the Calgary Stampeders Football Club as a halfback, one year after Canadians of Chinese heritage gained the right to vote. That year, he became the first Chinese Canadian to play in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the youngest to win a Grey Cup., Known as the “China Clipper,” he played for the Calgary Stampeders for three years before joining the Edmonton Eskimos. He was chosen to receive the “All-Canadian Fullback” award five times and won the Schenley Award as the Most Outstanding Canadian in 1955 and 1956. In 1955 he was also selected as Canada’s Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year.
Kwong was awarded the Order of Canada in 1998 in recognition of his football career.
Noteworthy Canadians of Asian heritage
The Government of Canada's Heritage Canada has even more short biographies highlighting some of the many valuable contributions made by Canadians of Asian heritage. They reflect historical and cultural milestones that help define the rich and significant history of communities of Asian heritage in Canada.
Curated Selection of Films
This selection highlights many of the accomplishments of Canadians of Asian descent who, throughout Canadian history, have made a rich and diverse nation.
Everything Will Be
Directed by Julia Kwan
2014 | 1 h 25 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Under the Willow Tree: Pioneer Chinese Women in Canada
Directed by Dora Nipp
1997 | 51 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Becoming Labrador
Directed by Rohan Fernando, Tamara Segura and Justin Simms
2018 | 1 h 10 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Quo Vadis, Mrs. Lumb?
Directed by Ron Kelly
1965 | 27 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Highway to Heaven
Directed by Sandra Ignagni
2019 | 16 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Have You Eaten?
Directed by Lina Li
2020 | 5 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Between: Living in the Hyphen
Directed by Anne Marie Nakagawa
2005 | 43 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Pieces of a Dream: A Story of Gambling
Directed by Michelle Wong
2003 | 48 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Far from Bashar
Directed by Pascal Sanchez
2020 | 1 h 13 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Jia
Directed by Weiye Su
2020 | 10 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Bird of Passage
Directed by Martin Defalco
1966 | 10 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
The Zoo
Directed by Julia Kwan
2018 | 11 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Sandra Oh, Inspiration
Directed by Karen Lam
2019 | 4 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Winds of Spring
Directed by Keyu Chen
2017 | 6 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Because We Are Girls
Directed by Baljit Sangra
2019 | 1 h 25 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Return Home
Directed by Michelle Wong
1992 | 29 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Minor Keys
Directed by Mieko Ouchi
2004 | 53 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
The Third Heaven
Directed by Georges Payrastre
1998 | 48 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Minoru: Memory of Exile
Directed by Michael Fukushima
1992 | 18 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Earth to Mouth
Directed by Yung Chang
2002 | 41 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Some Kind of Arrangement
Directed by Ali Kazimi
1998 | 45 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Namrata
Directed by Shazia Javed
2009 | 9 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
In the Shadow of Gold Mountain
Directed by Karen Cho
2004 | 43 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story
Directed by Jari Osborne
2003 | 50 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Shepherd's Pie and Sushi
Directed by Craig Anderl & Mieko Ouchi
1998 | 45 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Mr. Mergler's Gift
Directed by Beverly Shaffer
2004 | 30 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
From Harling Point
Directed by Ling Chiu
2003 | 40 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
My Name Is Susan Yee
Directed by Beverly Shaffer
1975 | 12 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
The Friends of Kwan Ming
Directed by Christine Amber Tang
2002 | 7 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Screen Test
Directed by Linda Lee
2004 | 6 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square
Directed by Shui-Bo Wang
1998 | 29 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Roses Sing on New Snow
Directed by Yuan Zhang
2002 | 7 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Lights for Gita
Directed by Michel Vo
2001 | 7 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Western Eyes
Directed by Ann Shin
2000 | 39 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Unwanted Soldiers
Directed by Jari Osborne
1999 | 48 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
A Song for Tibet
Directed by Anne Henderson
1991 | 56 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Gurdeep Singh Bains
Directed by Beverly Shaffer
1977 | 11 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam
Directed by Ann Marie Fleming
2003 | 1 h 28 min
2022 National Film Board of Canada
Curated Selection of Authors
A select list of new, popular and acclaimed titles by Canadian writers of Asian descent.
Curated Asian Canadian Podcasts
Below are various podcasts across the spectrum from hosts and guests with a wide breadth of experience about Canada from Asian communities.
Asia Pacific Conversations
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada President & CEO Jeff Nankivell discusses emergent issues and ideas with thought-leaders from across the Asia Pacific in this ongoing podcast series. Asia Pacific Conversations is where conversation meets innovation at the intersection of Canada-Asia relations.
Asia Watch: Beyond the Headlines
Asia Watch: Beyond the Headlines takes a deeper dive into the issues, topics, and trends covered by APF Canada's research analysts in the Foundation's twice-weekly newsletter, Asia Watch.
Featuring interviews with our writers and external subject matter experts, the podcast series explores current developments in Asia of interest and impact on Canadians.
The Youth Element
The Youth Element is a podcast produced by youth representing youth. Instead of trying to understand 'East Asian youth' as a singular category of analysis, APF Canada's Justin and Linda put the microphone directly into the hands of their millennial counterparts to make sense of the bigger questions around society, culture, politics, economics, national defence, and even geopolitics – and all through the narrated stories of youth and their everyday realities, challenges, and motivations living as citizens in their respective communities.
Backstory
Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival presents “Backstory the Reel Asian podcast,” a podcast that highlights artists and issues relating to the Asian and Asian Canadian media landscape. Hosted by Aram Collier and Kelly Lui, the Reel Asian programming team is here to talk film, shop, and tea. Uploaded monthly. Except when it isn’t. The Backstory is written and hosted by Aram Collier and Kelly Lui and is produced by Seungwoo Baek.
ADHD Diversified
Hosted by a Canadian-born Asian with ADHD | Sharing perspectives & experiences of having ADHD through storytelling, keeping it fun and light with a bit of humour | Bringing awareness & advocating for ADHD brains from ALL backgrounds and communities because we know ADHD is not defined by skin colour, ethnic background, or where we are on the globe.
The Second Generation
A space to discuss issues and experiences unique to second-generation millennials living in North America. I want to tell untold stories that often are not documented and, through this, insert the perspectives of this unique demographic into the “mainstream” narratives about life, work, community, family, politics, culture…and everything else in between. I offer a perspective of a South Asian (Canadian-Pakistani) millennial living and working in Toronto, Canada.
Angry Pandas
Made by Asians for you! A cheat sheet to culture, bond over trauma, and inspire. Topics, issues, and myths explained and dispelled. A fresh perspective from creative people sharing experiences and covering culture in a safe corner of the internet.
Nameless Collective
The Nameless Collective Podcast is hosted by Milan Singh, Naveen Girn & Paneet Singh - a trio of historians, researchers and explorers who travel to the archive to rediscover history, solve mysteries and provide a space for the untold histories of Vancouver's South Asian community. A South Asian History and Vancouver History Podcast produced by Manjot Bains and Jugnistyle.com.
made in
A podcast about Asian-diaspora stories (and beyond) told by Evy & Jas. In each episode we discuss the latest pop-culture moments and current events through our lens. Find more at immadein.com
Global Frequencies
This Podcast is a new initiative for the Association for New Canadians (ANC). Global Frequencies is a podcast devoted to embracing cultural diversity and ensuring newcomer inclusion in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
This Program is a partnership between ANC (Association for New Canadians and CHMR FM with funding from the Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC) - Atlantic Canada's Opportunities Agency, and the Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism.
Colour Code
If there’s one thing Canadians avoid, it’s talking about race. This podcast is here to change that. Join hosts Denise Balkissoon and Hannah Sung for a new conversation on race in Canada. We won’t have all the answers, but we do ask bold questions.