Internet resources for Chinese-Canadians

The Cheekungtong (also known as Chinese Freemasons)
of Victoria, British Columbia, was founded in 1876
and functioned as an unofficial organization to
maintain order in the Chinese communities.

This digitized collection consists of records that
reflect the functions of the Chinese Freemasons of
Canada, especially in Victoria and Vancouver; their
activities supporting the Chinese communities in
Canada; the lives and concerns of their members in
British Columbia; and their ties with China, spanning
approximately from 1876 to 1956. The textual records
primarily consist of old style Chinese games,
manuscript and printed Chinese medical texts,
correspondence, donation books, publications,
solicitations of donations for members in need,
receipts, and election ballots of the Dart Coon Club.

Languages of the material are approximately 90%
Chinese and 10% English.

These records provide a glimpse into the workings of
a Chinese-Canadian organization over an extended
period of time. In addition, items such as the
Chinese herbal medicine texts and Chinese games
retain significant cultural value to Chinese-
Canadians

Published by the Chinese Publicity Bureau in
Vancouver, British Columbia, the Chinatown News
was an English-language biweekly magazine that
represented the interests of the English-speaking
Chinese-Canadians in Vancouver. Topic wise, the
newspaper had an international scope and was
inclusive of all people of the Chinese heritage.
The publicatoin was constant in its effort to
construct a distinct Chinese-Canadian identity and
was a principle instrument of reclaiming a culture
for Chinese-Canadians. It was tarted in 1953 as
\Chinatown\; the title was changed to \Chinatown
News\ in 1956.

This online portal is created by the Multicultural
History Society of Ontario (MHSO) to bring
together over 1,000 historical photographs, 33
oral history interviews and numerous other
archival materials about Chinese Canadian women to
address their life experiences,
challenges and accomplishments. The years between
1923 and 1967 in Canada were marked by
discriminatory immigration policy. During this
period of time, severe restrictions on Chinese
immigration, coupled with prior patterns of
Chinese migration, led to disproportionately few
women within the Chinese Canadian population. In
spite of this, Chinese Canadian women were able to
make a significant impact on their communities and
the country that they called home.

The Chinese Express 快報 was a Chinese newspaper
publishing daily from 1971 to 1989. It served as a
source of general news, covering world events and
Canadian politics, as well as that of specific
interest to the Chinese community. Its entire run has
been digitized and will be released in the
Multicultural Canada website.

Although it developed later than the British Columbia
community, Chinese immigration to Ontario was already
a significant force in the 1950s. After changes to
immigration policy in 1967 opened the doors to
skilled workers, large Chinese communities began to
form in Toronto, Ottawa, and other Canadian cities.
As a result, the size and internal diversity of
Ontario’s Chinese communities increased dramatically
in the 1970s and 1980s. This increased presence led
to community activism around issues such as
education, language maintenance, and city
development, as well as the formation of the Chinese
Canadian National Council for Equality (CCNC), based
in Toronto. The Chinese Express rode this wave and
was the witness to the expansion of the Chinese
Canadian community in Toronto.

The digitized collections of Multicultural Canada provide
free access to historical collections of Canada's minority
groups to promote research into the country's multi-ethnic
communities. Included in the project are an extensive
range
of collections, with the majority of them in a language
other than English, that include historic newspapers,
books,
manuscript documents, photographs, and audio files. A
significant number of the collections is related to Asian
Canadians, especially Chinese Canadians.

The Chinatown of Victoria, British Columbia, is a
major historical gateway to the Chinese in Canada. It
was once the major entry port for Asian immigration
to British North America, and later to Canada. From
the late 1850s to the 1860s, it was the primary
springboard for several thousand Chinese gold miners
heading to the Fraser River valley and the Cariboo;
and, in the 1880s it was the main entry point for the
estimated 15,000 Chinese builders of the Canadian
Pacific Railway. It is the oldest Chinatown in
Canadian history, and the earliest settlement of
Chinese people in the Canadian “land of promises.”

The website is created and maintained by the
University of Victor as a major gateway to the past
and present of Chinese Canadians. It features
selected photos, maps, archives, family documents,
oral histories and other data for researchers and
interested members of the public alike.