Chinese-Canadians: Profiles from a Community
Project Overview
The goal of this wiki-based project is to create a portrait of the early Chinese-Canadian community in Canada by collecting and sharing the stories of individuals who were born in Canada to parents of Chinese origin before the year 1901.
The wiki reflects the long history of the Chinese community in Canada which dates back at least as far as the late 1850s, when the first Chinese migrants arrived in B.C. by way of California, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Fraser River. Among them was Won Ling Sing, the father of Won Alexander Cumyow, who was the first baby of Chinese origin born in Canada. He was born on March 17, 1861 in Port Douglas, B.C.
In 1885, the federal government imposed a head tax on Chinese immigrants, the amount of which was raised in 1900 and again in 1903, creating a major financial obstacle to would-be immigrants from China. The head tax was followed in 1923 by comprehensive legislation designed to exclude Chinese people from entering the country and regulate those already living there. Under Section 18 of the Chinese Immigration Act, all Chinese in Canada were required to register, including those born in Canada to parents of Chinese origin.
As a result of this registration, a listing of Canadian-born Chinese was produced. The Chinese Immigration List forms the basis of this wiki. The core is separate profiles corresponding to each of the first 461 individuals listed in the Chinese Immigration List. All of these individuals were born in Canada prior to 1901. The profiles are designed to capture basic details concerning the lives of these individuals and to provide space in which, using these basic details as building blocks, the stories of their lives can be told. In many cases, little is yet known. Even basic details are scarce. For this reason, the wiki also provides resources for those who would like to help search for the stories of these early Chinese-Canadians in both online and offline sources. As information is gleaned from these various sources, it can be added to individual wiki entries, gradually building stories over time.
Explore the wiki now by browsing entries in the Chinese Immigration List and learning how you can participate in developing this unique record of the late 19th-century Chinese community in Canada.
