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141-909: The pageant replaced the Miss Vancouver Chinatown Pageant, which selected Vancouver's representatives to the Miss Chinese International Pageant from 1988 to 1995. It is one of the most recognized beauty pageants among Chinese Canadian diaspora, alongside its Toronto counterpart . In 2020, the Miss Chinese (Vancouver) Pageant was rebranded as the Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant. The pageant began in 1995. Contestants must be of at least partial Chinese descent and have resided in Canada for continuous period of 6 months on

282-633: A humid continental climate with widely variable precipitation. For example, the average daily low in Prince George (roughly in the middle of the province) in January is −12 °C (10 °F). Small towns in the southern interior with high elevation such as Princeton are typically colder and snowier than cities in the valleys. Heavy snowfall occurs in all elevated mountainous terrain providing bases for skiers in both south and central British Columbia. Annual snowfall on highway mountain passes in

423-649: A child, but who may not speak it regularly or do not use it as their main language at home. Some varieties may be underreported due to respondents simply responding "Chinese" rather than specifying: As of 2001, almost 75% of the Chinese population in Canada lived in either Vancouver or Toronto . The Chinese population was 17% in Vancouver and 9% in Toronto. More than 50% of the Chinese immigrants who just arrived in 2000/2001 reported that their reason for settling in

564-430: A conversational knowledge of at least one official language, while 15% reported that they could speak neither English nor French. Of those who could not speak an official language, 50% immigrated to Canada in the 1990s, while 22% immigrated in the 1980s. These immigrants tended to be in the older age groups. Of prime working-age Chinese immigrants, 89% reported knowing at least one official language. In 2001, collectively,

705-490: A forum for politics became very important in Chinese-Canadian communities. Linking together all of the voluntary associations were Benevolent Associations that in effect ran the various Chinatowns in Canada , mediating disputes within the communities and providing for leaders who negotiated with Canadian politicians. As many Chinese immigrants knew little or no English, and most white Canadians did not welcome them,

846-418: A given region was because their family and friends already lived there. The economic growth of mainland China since the turn of the 21st century has sparked even greater emigration opportunities for mainland Chinese. A 2011 survey showed that 60% of Chinese millionaires planned to emigrate, where 37% of the respondents wanted to emigrate to Canada. The main reasons Chinese businesspeople wanted to move abroad

987-457: A greater opportunity for investment. The main reasons Chinese businesspeople want to move abroad was for some educational opportunities for their children, advanced medical treatment, worsening pollution back home (especially urban air quality) and food safety concerns. The Canadian Federal Investor Immigrant Program (FIIP) as a cash-for-visa scheme allows many powerful Chinese to seek for a Canadian citizenship, and recent reports show that 697 of

1128-591: A lesser extent, Regina (1.9%), the capital of the province. The Riversdale neighbourhood of Saskatoon has a historical Chinese settlement dating back to the early 1900s, where Chinese immigrants were employed by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway , and established businesses within this district. Riversdale is currently home to many Chinese restaurants and stores. Chinese are the largest visible minority group in Saskatchewan. According to

1269-416: A meeting place, hall and leisure club. Even today, over 30 churches in Toronto continue to hold Chinese congregations. Christianity reached its peak of popularity in the early 1960s, with the 1961 census still reporting that 60% of the Chinese declared themselves Christians. Over the following 40 years Christianity has been steadily declining both among Canadian-born Chinese and new immigrants. Religiousy,

1410-461: A message of redress in the House of Commons, calling it a "grave injustice". Some educated Chinese arrived in Canada during the war as refugees. Since the mid-20th century, most new Chinese Canadians come from university-educated families, who of still consider quality education an essential value. These newcomers are a major part of the " brain gain ", the inverse of the infamous " brain drain ", i.e.,

1551-400: A more permanent nature, after the dust of the handover was settled and fears of a "Communist takeover" turned out to be unnecessary. Starting in the late 20th century, Chinese Canadians have become active in the cultural scene in Canada, with the writers such Larissa Lai , Evelyn Lau ,   Denise Chong , Wayson Choy , Paul Yee , Jim Wong-Chu , and Vincent Lam all winning acclaim. In

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1692-523: A public pool." The contributions of Chinese Canadians toward the eventual allied victory did not spell an end to discrimination for them in Canada, although these attitudes did eventually start to dissipate. According to Chinese-Canadian veteran George Chow, after being treated "like a second-class citizen" in youth, during his service he was treated "just like an equal", elaborating on his service as such: "you have your uniform, you're in it together; you eat together and you sleep together." Catherine Clement,

1833-581: A second-class citizen despite his war services. Wong stated his reasons for enlisting were: "I decided maybe if I joined the armed forces, after the war they would give me the right to vote". Peggy Lee of Toronto by contrast stated her reasons for enlisting in 1942 with the Women's Ambulance Corps was "do my bit" for Canada. Roy Mah who served with the SOE behind Japanese lines in Burma stated: "We thought that serving in

1974-528: A series of devastating epidemics of diseases the people had no immunity to. The population dramatically collapsed, culminating in the 1862 smallpox outbreak in Victoria that spread throughout the coast. European settlement did not bode well for the remaining native population of British Columbia. Colonial officials deemed colonists could make better use of the land than the First Nations people, and thus

2115-586: A settlement-immigration plan for workers from the British Isles, but Canadian politicians and investors said it would be too expensive). Chinese communities in Canada in the 19th and well into the 20th centuries were organized around the traditional kinship systems linking people belonging to the same clans together. As not everyone in the Chinese communities necessarily belonged to the same clans, "voluntary" associations that functioned in many ways like guilds that provided social welfare, community events and

2256-838: A small island off the coast of Haida Gwaii . Many healthy populations of fish are present, including salmonids such as several species of salmon , trout , steelhead , and char . Besides salmon and trout, sport-fishers in BC also catch halibut , bass , and sturgeon . On the coast, harbour seals and river otters are common. Cetacean species native to the coast include the orca , humpback whale , grey whale , harbour porpoise , Dall's porpoise , Pacific white-sided dolphin and minke whale . Some endangered species in British Columbia are: Vancouver Island marmot , spotted owl , American white pelican , and badgers. White spruce or Engelmann spruce and their hybrids occur in 12 of

2397-432: A subgroup of East Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of Asian Canadians . Demographic research tends to include immigrants from Mainland China , Taiwan , Hong Kong , and Macau , as well as overseas Chinese who have immigrated from Southeast Asia and South America into the broadly defined Chinese Canadian category. Canadians who identify themselves as being of Chinese ethnic origin make up about 5.1% of

2538-573: A trend where Chinese Canadians cease to depend upon the Benevolent Associations to negotiate with the politicians and instead Chinese Canadians became politically active themselves. After many years of organized calls for an official Canadian government public apology and redress to the historic Head tax , the minority Conservative government of Stephen Harper announced, as part of their pre-election campaign, an official apology. On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered

2679-660: A very wide range of birds, has long been popular. Bears ( grizzly , black —including the Kermode bear or spirit bear) live here, as do deer , elk , moose , caribou , big-horn sheep , mountain goats , marmots , beavers , muskrats , coyotes , wolves , mustelids (such as wolverines , badgers and fishers ), cougars , eagles , ospreys , herons , Canada geese , swans , loons , hawks , owls , ravens , harlequin ducks , and many other sorts of ducks. Smaller birds ( robins , jays , grosbeaks , chickadees , and so on) also abound. Murrelets are known from Frederick Island,

2820-455: A wholly unorganized area of British North America under the de facto jurisdiction of HBC administrators; however, unlike Rupert's Land to the north and east, the territory was not a concession to the company. Rather, it was simply granted a monopoly to trade with the First Nations inhabitants. All that was changed with the westward extension of American exploration and the concomitant overlapping claims of territorial sovereignty, especially in

2961-411: A younger age structure. During the 2011 census in Canada, it was estimated that 1,324,700 individuals of pure Chinese origin resided in Canada. This number increased to 1,487,000 individuals, when including those of both pure Chinese origin and people of partial Chinese ancestry (meaning, individuals with both Chinese and some other racial and ethnic origin) during the 2011 census in Canada. Most of

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3102-485: Is Vancouver . Vancouver and its suburbs together make up the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada , with the 2021 census recording 2.6   million people in Metro Vancouver . British Columbia is Canada's third-largest province in terms of total area, after Quebec and Ontario . The first known human inhabitants of the area settled in British Columbia at least 10,000 years ago. Such groups include

3243-546: Is a diverse and cosmopolitan province, drawing on a plethora of cultural influences from its British Canadian , European , and Asian diasporas , as well as the Indigenous population . Though the province's ethnic majority originates from the British Isles , many British Columbians also trace their ancestors to continental Europe , East Asia , and South Asia . Indigenous Canadians constitute about 6 percent of

3384-596: Is a significant centre for maritime trade : the Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the most diversified port in North America . Although less than 5 percent of the province's territory is arable land , significant agriculture exists in the Fraser Valley and Okanagan due to the warmer climate. British Columbia is home to 45% of all publicly listed companies in Canada. The province's name

3525-450: Is a trend that Chinese move toward small towns and rural areas for agricultural and agri-food operations in recent years. Chinese who immigrated to Canada in the 1990s and were of prime working-age in 2001 had an employment rate of 61%, which was lower than the national average of 80%. Many reported that the recognition of foreign qualifications was a major issue. However, the employment rate for Canadian-born Chinese men of prime working-age

3666-531: Is currently an actress. She was succeeded by Shirley Zhou in 2002. Linda Chung and Leanne Li then both won the Miss Chinese International 2004 and 2005 titles, represectively. Vancouver has produced 7 winners and including two back-to-back wins (2001 and 2002; 2004 and 2005), a record no other city has yet to break. Note: The winners from 1987 to 1994 (competing at Miss Chinese International 1988 to 1995) are Miss Vancouver Chinatown ,

3807-561: Is generally in the subarctic climate zone, but even there, milder air can penetrate far inland. The coldest temperature in British Columbia was recorded in Smith River , where it dropped to −58.9 °C (−74.0 °F) on January 31, 1947, one of the coldest readings recorded anywhere in North America. Atlin in the province's far northwest, along with the adjoining Southern Lakes region of Yukon , get midwinter thaws caused by

3948-485: Is home to First Nations groups that have a deep history with a significant number of indigenous languages. There are more than 200 First Nations in BC. Prior to contact (with non-Aboriginal people), human history is known from oral histories, archaeological investigations, and from early records from explorers encountering societies early in the period. The arrival of Paleoindians from Beringia took place between 20,000 and 12,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherer families were

4089-406: Is home to at least 34 distinct Indigenous languages . Major sectors of British Columbia's economy include forestry , mining , filmmaking and video production , tourism , real estate , construction , wholesale , and retail . Its main exports include lumber and timber , pulp and paper products, copper , coal , and natural gas . British Columbia exhibits high property values and

4230-543: Is now the United States include Vancouver, Washington ( Fort Vancouver ), formerly the "capital" of Hudson's Bay operations in the Columbia District, Colville, Washington and Walla Walla, Washington (old Fort Nez Percés ). With the amalgamation of the two fur trading companies in 1821, modern-day British Columbia existed in three fur trading departments. The bulk of the central and northern interior

4371-469: Is the only province in Canada that borders the Pacific Ocean. British Columbia's highest mountain is Mount Fairweather ; the highest mountain entirely within the province is Mount Waddington . British Columbia's capital is Victoria , located at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island . Only a narrow strip of Vancouver Island, from Campbell River to Victoria, is significantly populated. Much of

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4512-586: The Asian Canadian population. Most Canadians of Chinese descent are concentrated within the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia . The first record of Chinese in what is known as Canada today can be dated back to 1788. The British fur trader John Meares hired a group of roughly 70 Chinese carpenters from Macau and employed them to build a ship, the North West America , at Nootka Sound , Vancouver Island , British Columbia . This

4653-448: The British Isles to provide this railway labour, but Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald , betrayed the wishes of his constituency ( Victoria ) by insisting the project cut costs by employing Chinese immigrants to build the railway, and summarized the situation this way to Parliament in 1882: "It is simply a question of alternatives: either you must have this labour or you can't have the railway." (British Columbian politicians had wanted

4794-1059: The Chinook effect, which is also common (and much warmer) in more southerly parts of the Interior. During winter on the coast, rainfall , sometimes relentless heavy rain, dominates because of consistent barrages of cyclonic low-pressure systems from the North Pacific. Average snowfall on the coast during a normal winter is between 25 and 50 centimetres (10 and 20 in), but on occasion (and not every winter) heavy snowfalls with more than 20 centimetres (8 in) and well below freezing temperatures arrive when modified arctic air reaches coastal areas, typically for short periods, and can take temperatures below −10 °C (14 °F), even at sea level. Arctic outflow winds can occasionally result in wind chill temperatures at or even below −17.8 °C (0.0 °F). While winters are very wet, coastal areas are generally milder and dry during summer under

4935-599: The Coast Salish , Tsilhqotʼin , and Haida peoples, among many others. One of the earliest British settlements in the area was Fort Victoria , established in 1843, which gave rise to the city of Victoria, the capital of the Colony of Vancouver Island . The Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) was subsequently founded by Richard Clement Moody , and by the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment , in response to

5076-690: The Columbia in the name Columbia Rediviva came from the name Columbia for the New World or parts thereof , a reference to Christopher Columbus . The governments of Canada and British Columbia recognize Colombie-Britannique as the French name for the province. British Columbia is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean and the American state of Alaska , to the north by Yukon and

5217-646: The Dakelh (Carrier) and the Tsilhqotʼin . The inlets and valleys of the British Columbia coast shelter large, distinctive populations, such as the Haida , Kwakwakaʼwakw and Nuu-chah-nulth , sustained by the region's abundant salmon and shellfish. These peoples developed complex cultures dependent on the western red cedar that included wooden houses, seagoing whaling and war canoes and elaborately carved potlatch items and totem poles . Contact with Europeans brought

5358-597: The Fraser Canyon , close to the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson rivers, where the terrain is rugged and covered with desert-type flora. Semi-desert grassland is found in large areas of the Interior Plateau , with land uses ranging from ranching at lower altitudes to forestry at higher ones. The northern, mostly mountainous, two-thirds of the province is largely unpopulated and undeveloped, except for

5499-577: The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush . Moody selected the site for and founded the mainland colony's capital New Westminster . The colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were incorporated in 1866, subsequent to which Victoria became the united colony's capital. In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as the sixth province of Canada, in enactment of the British Columbia Terms of Union . British Columbia

5640-467: The Inside Passage 's many inlets provide some of British Columbia's renowned and spectacular scenery, which forms the backdrop and context for a growing outdoor adventure and ecotourism industry. 75 percent of the province is mountainous (more than 1,000 m [3,300 ft] above sea level ); 60 percent is forested; and only about 5 percent is arable. The province's mainland away from

5781-661: The Kuomintang had been formed to resist Japanese aggression, which was soon put to the test when Japan invaded China in July 1937. Within the Chinese Canadian communities, a "United Front" atmosphere prevailed from the summer of 1937 on as various community leaders put aside their differences to focus on supporting China. Starting in 1937, a boycott was organized of Japanese goods, and Canadian businesses that sold war materials to Japan were subject of demonstrations. One of

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5922-531: The North Coast just south of Southeast Alaska . The exception to British Columbia's wet and cloudy winters is during the El Niño phase. During El Niño events, the jet stream is much farther south across North America, making the province's winters milder and drier than normal. Winters are much wetter and cooler during the opposite phase, La Niña . There are 14 designations of parks and protected areas in

6063-694: The North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), effectively established a permanent British presence in the region. The Columbia District was broadly defined as being south of 54°40 north latitude, (the southern limit of Russian America ), north of Mexican-controlled California, and west of the Rocky Mountains . It was, by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 , under the "joint occupancy and use" of citizens of

6204-658: The Northwest Territories , to the east by the province of Alberta , and to the south by the American states of Washington , Idaho , and Montana . The southern border of British Columbia was established by the 1846 Oregon Treaty, although its history is tied with lands as far south as California . British Columbia's land area is 944,735 square kilometres (364,800 sq mi). British Columbia's rugged coastline stretches for more than 27,000 kilometres (17,000 mi), and includes deep, mountainous fjords and about 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited. It

6345-581: The Oroville–Osoyoos Border Crossing , is one of several wine and cider -producing regions in Canada. Other wine regions in British Columbia include the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island and the Fraser Valley . The Southern Interior cities of Kamloops and Penticton have some of the warmest and longest summer climates in Canada (while higher elevations are cold and snowy), although their temperatures are often exceeded north of

6486-580: The Vancouver Convention Centre for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. Vancouver has generally been fairly successful at the Miss Chinese International Pageant (MCI) despite not placing in the top 3 until 1993, when Miss Vancouver Chinatown 1992, Elaine Barbara Der finished as 2nd runner up. In 2001, Miss Chinese Vancouver produced Vancouver's first MCI winner, Bernice Liu. Liu later joined TVB and

6627-628: The fur trade , rather than political considerations. In 1794, by the third of a series of agreements known as the Nootka Conventions , Spain conceded its claims of exclusivity in the Pacific. This opened the way for formal claims and colonization by other powers, including Britain, but because of the Napoleonic Wars , there was little British action on its claims in the region until later. The establishment of trading posts by

6768-613: The government of Chiang Kai-shek asked for the overseas Chinese communities to support the homeland. From 1937 onward, the Chinese Canadian community regularly organized fund-raising events to raise money for China. By 1945, the Chinese Canadians had contributed $ 5 million Canadian dollars to China. Following the Xi'an Incident of December 1936, a "United Front" bringing together the Chinese Communist Party and

6909-786: The varieties of Chinese are the third-most common reported mother tongue, after English and French. 3% of the Canadian population, or 872,000 people, reported the Chinese language as their mother tongue—the language that they learned as a child and still understand. The most common Chinese mother tongue is Cantonese . Of these people, 44% were born in Hong Kong, 27% were born in Guangdong Province in China, and 18% were Canadian-born. The second-most common reported Chinese mother tongue

7050-1101: The 14 biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia . Common types of trees present in BC's forests include western redcedar , yellow-cedar , Rocky Mountain juniper , lodgepole pine , ponderosa or yellow pine , whitebark pine , limber pine , western white pine , western larch , tamarack , alpine larch , white spruce , Engelmann spruce , Sitka spruce , black spruce , grand fir , Amabilis fir , subalpine fir , western hemlock , mountain hemlock , Douglas-fir , western yew , Pacific dogwood , bigleaf maple , Douglas maple , vine maple , arbutus , black hawthorn , cascara , Garry oak , Pacific crab apple , choke cherry , pin cherry , bitter cherry , red alder , mountain alder , paper birch , water birch , black cottonwood , balsam poplar , trembling aspen . First Nations peoples of British Columbia used plants for food, and to produce material goods like fuel and building products. Plant foods included berries, and roots like camas . Environment Canada subdivides British Columbia into six ecozones : The area now known as British Columbia

7191-582: The 14 different designations that includes over 800 distinct areas. British Columbia contains seven of Canada's national parks and National Park Reserves: British Columbia contains a large number of provincial parks , run by BC Parks under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment. British Columbia's provincial parks system is the second largest parks system in Canada, the largest being Canada's National Parks system. Another tier of parks in British Columbia are regional parks , which are maintained and run by

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7332-559: The 2001 census reported that over a quarter of Chinese Canadians had a university degree. As it was the Liberal government of Lester Pearson that liberalized the immigration system in 1967, Chinese Canadians tended to vote for the Liberals in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In 1993, Raymond Chan became the first Chinese Canadian cabinet minister, and in 1999, Adrienne Clarkson became the first Chinese Canadian governor general. In

7473-620: The 2006 census reveals that approximately 70% of Chinese Canadians reside in the Greater Vancouver or Greater Toronto areas. On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a message of redress in the House of Commons , offering an apology in Cantonese and compensation for the head tax once paid by Chinese immigrants. Survivors or their spouses will be paid approximately $ 20,000 CAD in compensation. In December 2008,

7614-524: The 2011 census by Statistics Canada, the Chinese Canadian population was approximately 1.4 million. In the 2016 census, individuals identifying as of Chinese ethnic origin comprised approximately 4.6% of the Canadian population, totaling to around 1.57 million people. By the 2021 Canadian census , the Chinese Canadian community increased to 1.71 million. Data from this section from Statistics Canada, 2021. Canadian metropolitan areas with large Chinese populations: In 2001, 87% of Chinese reported having

7755-447: The 21st century, Chinese immigration from Hong Kong has dropped sharply and the largest source of Chinese immigration are now from the mainland China . A smaller number have arrived from Taiwan and very small numbers from Fiji , French Polynesia , and New Zealand . Today, mainland China has taken over from Hong Kong and Taiwan as the largest source of Chinese immigration. The PRC has also taken over from all countries and regions as

7896-491: The 700 (99.6%) of the applicants to this visa in 2011 were mainland Chinese. However, Canada—along with other English-speaking countries such as the United States and Australia—has increased its immigration requirements, forcing Chinese millionaires to seek permanent residency elsewhere. The COVID-19 pandemic beginning in March 2020 led to a sharp increase in anti-Chinese sentiment worldwide, with Chinese people wrongly blamed for

8037-628: The Army and the Navy were forced to follow suit. The RCAF was the service most open to Chinese Canadians because of the heavy losses taken in the bombing offensive against Germany. For RCAF, a 5% loss ratio was considered crippling and between March 5 – June 24, 1943, the 6th Group of the RCAF lost 100 bombers in air raids over Germany, suffering a 7% loss ratio; altogether, 9,980 Canadians were killed in bombing raids against German cities between 1940 and 1945, making

8178-483: The Canadian military were given officers' commissions. All three services were reluctant to have Chinese Canadians given officers' commissions as having Asian men serving as officers giving orders to white men challenged the racial hierarchy. However, all those serving as airmen in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) were officers, and once Chinese Canadian airmen received officers' commissions, both

8319-400: The Canadian population, or about 1.77 million people according to the 2016 census. While other Asian groups are growing rapidly in the country, the Chinese Canadian community fell slightly to 1.71 million, or 4.63% of the Canadian population, in the 2021 Canadian census . The Chinese Canadian community is the second largest ethnic group of Asian Canadians, constituting approximately 30% of

8460-523: The Chinatowns tended to be cut off from the wider Canadian communities, functioning as "islands". The Canadian media in the late 19th and early 20th centuries depicted the Chinatowns in lurid and sensationalist terms as centres of "filth"; using the very poverty of the Chinese against them, Canadian newspapers frequently claimed that the Chinese immigrants were an innately dirty people who carried infectious diseases and were prone to criminality. Reflecting

8601-655: The Chinese Canadian community is concentrated within the provinces of British Columbia and Ontario . The five metropolitan areas with the largest Chinese-Canadian populations are the Greater Toronto Area (631,050), Metro Vancouver (474,655), Greater Montreal (89,400), Calgary Region (89,675) and the Edmonton Metropolitan Region (60,200). The Chinese are the largest visible minority group in Alberta and British Columbia, and are

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8742-466: The Chinese Canadians. The film-maker Melinda Friedman stated about her interviews with Chinese Canadian veterans of World War II: "The thing that was the most shocking to me was hearing from the veterans ... describe what life was like in Vancouver as late as 1940, with the Ku Klux Klan living in Vancouver who were targeting, quite often, the Chinese community." In 1937, when Japan attacked China,

8883-563: The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited any additional immigration from China, the Chinese men who had arrived earlier had to face these hardships alone, without the companionship of their wives and children. Census data from 1931 shows that there were 1,240 men to every 100 women in Chinese Canadian communities. To protest the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese Canadians closed their businesses and boycotted Dominion Day celebrations every July 1, which became known as "Humiliation Day" by

9024-436: The Chinese population stood at 1,094,700 accounted for 3.5% of Canada's total population. By 2006 the population stood at 1,346,510 comprising 4.3% of the Canadian population. StatsCan projects by 2031, the Chinese Canadian population is projected to reach between 2.4 and 3.0 million, constituting approximately 6 percent of the Canadian population. Much of the growth will be bolstered by sustained immigration as well as creating

9165-404: The Chinese to begin to be admitted under the same criteria as any other applicants. In the 1957 election, the Second World War veteran Douglas Jung was elected as a Progressive Conservative for the riding of Vancouver Centre, becoming the first Chinese Canadian elected to the House of Commons. Jung's election, which proved that white voters would vote for a Chinese Canadian, marked the beginning of

9306-444: The Chinese-Canadian community is different from the broader Canadian population in that about half of Chinese Canadians reportedly practise Chinese folk religion . In 2001, 56% of Chinese Canadians aged 15 and over said that they did not have any religious affiliation, compared with the national average of 17%. As a result, Chinese Canadians make up 13% of all Canadians who did not report a religious affiliation despite making up 4% of

9447-440: The Exclusion Act: "Down in Chinatown, we celebrated because we were Canadians! We were able to bring our families from China. It was quite the jubilation." Arguing that it was unjust to discriminate against veterans, professions such as the law, medicine and engineering were opened for Chinese Canadians for the first time after 1945. However, it took another 20 years, until the points system was adopted for selecting immigrants, for

9588-551: The Interior during mid-summer, with the record high of 49.6 °C (121.3 °F) being held in Lytton on June 29, 2021, during a record-breaking heat wave that year . The extended summer dryness often creates conditions that spark forest fires, from dry-lightning or man-made causes. Many areas of the province are often covered by a blanket of heavy cloud and low fog during the winter months, in contrast to abundant summer sunshine. Annual sunshine hours vary from 2200 near Cranbrook and Victoria to less than 1300 in Prince Rupert , on

9729-409: The Japanese as it was known that any SOE agent captured by the Japanese would be tortured and killed. Another Chinese Canadian, Bill Chong , served with the British Army Aid Group in Hong Kong and southern China, smuggling out POWs to Free China (i.e. not occupied by the Japanese) and delivering aid to resistance groups. The willingness of Chinese Canadians to fight and if necessary die for Canada in

9870-457: The King government to end the exclusion of Chinese Canadians from the franchise. Friedman stated about Chinese-Canadian enfranchisement: "Canada has this great spot on the world stage—as just, fair and level-headed country—but the reason it is that way is because Chinese residents forced that issue and made it more just." One Second World War veteran, Ronald Lee, remembered when he learned that Chinese Canadians could now vote together with repeal of

10011-492: The Liberal Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier appointed a Royal Commission on Chinese and Japanese Immigration, whose report stated that the Asians were "unfit for full citizenship ... obnoxious to a free community and dangerous to the state." Following the Royal Commission's report, Parliament voted to increase the Chinese head tax to $ 500, which temporarily caused Chinese immigration to Canada to stop. However, those Chinese wishing to go to Canada began to save up money to pay

10152-544: The Pacific Ocean, inscribing a stone marking his accomplishment on the shoreline of Dean Channel near Bella Coola . His expedition theoretically established British sovereignty inland, and a succession of other fur company explorers charted the maze of rivers and mountain ranges between the Canadian Prairies and the Pacific. Mackenzie and other explorers—notably John Finlay , Simon Fraser , Samuel Black , and David Thompson —were primarily concerned with extending

10293-680: The Philippines passed China as Canada's leading source of immigrants. In 2010, when Mainland China became the second largest economy in the world after the United States , its economic growth sparked even greater immigration opportunities to mainland Chinese. A 2011 survey shown that 60% of Chinese millionaires plan to immigrate, where 37% of the respondents wanted to immigrate to Canada. Many foreign countries such as Canada hold very large attraction for rich Chinese, because of their better social welfare system, higher quality of education and

10434-517: The RCAF was killed in early 1945 when his bomber was shot down over Germany. As Louie came from one of the more wealthier families of Vancouver's Chinatown, his death in action attracted much attention in Vancouver, and with it commentary he was not allowed to vote or hold office. A number of Chinese Canadians were recruited by the SOE to serve in Japanese-occupied regions of China and Southeast Asia. About 150 Chinese Canadians served with

10575-580: The Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Northwestern Europe in 1944–1945 recalled that his service with the Army was the first time he had been treated as an equal, stating: "They treated me just like an equal. You have your uniform, you're in it together; you eat together and you sleep together.". Like other Chinese Canadian veterans, Wong argued for equality of treatment, asking why he should be treated as

10716-666: The SOE Force 136 behind Japanese lines in Burma. Douglas Jung , who later become the first Chinese-Canadian MP, served as a SOE agent in Japanese-occupied Malaya in 1944–45, which was highly dangerous work as the Kenpeitai , the much feared Japanese military police, would give no mercy to any Allied agent whom they captured. Those serving with the Force 136 were given cyanide pills to take if faced with capture by

10857-797: The United States and subjects of Britain (which is to say, the fur companies). This co-occupancy was ended with the Oregon Treaty of 1846. The major supply route was the York Factory Express between Hudson Bay and Fort Vancouver . Some of the early outposts grew into settlements, communities, and cities. Among the places in British Columbia that began as fur trading posts are Fort St. John (established 1794); Hudson's Hope (1805); Fort Nelson (1805); Fort St. James (1806); Prince George (1807); Kamloops (1812); Fort Langley (1827); Fort Victoria (1843); Yale (1848); and Nanaimo (1853). Fur company posts that became cities in what

10998-852: The area east of the Rockies , where the Peace River Country contains BC's portion of the Canadian Prairies , centred at the city of Dawson Creek . British Columbia is considered part of the Pacific Northwest and the Cascadia bioregion , along with the American states of Alaska, Idaho, (western) Montana, Oregon , Washington, and (northern) California . Because of the many mountain ranges and rugged coastline, British Columbia's climate varies dramatically across

11139-690: The armed forces would be an opportunity for us to prove to the general public that we are loyal Canadians, that in time of need, they would see that we have no hesitation to don the King's uniform and go overseas to fight for our country, fight to preserve democracy." The Canadian historian Henry Yu stated about the efforts of Chinese-Canadian veterans: "They had to accept that they had fought this war—a good war in everyone's estimation—and they were still coming back to places built around white supremacy. So for some of them, they began vocally to argue: Why can't we vote still?" Many Chinese Canadians argued that if Canada

11280-699: The basis of race. (This was formalised in 1911 by Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier who in Sub-section (c) of Section 38 of the Immigration Act called blacks "unsuitable" for Canada.) During the next 25 years, more and more laws against the Chinese were passed. Most jobs were closed to Chinese men and women. Many Chinese opened their own restaurants and laundry businesses. In British Columbia , Saskatchewan and Ontario , Chinese employers were not allowed to hire white females. Ernest Chewant Mark, an immigrant who arrived in Canada in 1908, emerged as one of

11421-604: The blocking presence of successive mountain ranges, the climate of some of the interior valleys of the province (such as the Thompson, parts of the Fraser Canyon, the southern Cariboo and parts of the Okanagan) is semi-arid with certain locations receiving less than 250 millimetres (10 in) in annual precipitation. The annual mean temperature in the most populated areas of the province is up to 12 °C (54 °F),

11562-500: The cities, such as Dupont Street (now East Pender) in Vancouver, which had been the focus of the early city's red-light district until Chinese merchants took over the area from the 1890s onwards. During the Great Depression, life was even tougher for the Chinese than it was for other Canadians. In Alberta , for example, Chinese Canadians received relief payments of less than half the amount paid to other Canadians. And because

11703-601: The coast in 1775. In doing so, Pérez and Quadra reasserted the Spanish claim for the Pacific coast , first made by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513. The explorations of James Cook in 1778 and George Vancouver in 1792 and 1793 established British jurisdiction over the coastal area north and west of the Columbia River. In 1793, Sir Alexander Mackenzie was the first European to journey across North America overland to

11844-548: The coastal regions is somewhat moderated by the Pacific Ocean. Terrain ranges from dry inland forests and semi-arid valleys, to the range and canyon districts of the Central and Southern Interior , to boreal forest and subarctic prairie in the Northern Interior. High mountain regions both north and south have subalpine flora and subalpine climate . The Okanagan wine area , extending from Vernon to Osoyoos at

11985-545: The community navigates these challenges. As of September 2021, statistics from Project 1907 revealed a concerning 2,265 incidents of anti-Asian racism within Canada, surpassing the United States on a per capita basis by over 100%. This alarming trend, largely fueled by misplaced blame on the Asian community for the COVID-19 pandemic, has highlighted the urgent need for systemic change. In response to this challenging environment,

12126-590: The conclusion of the Second World War, the Canadian government had to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act, which contravened the UN Charter. The same year, 1947, Chinese Canadians were finally granted the right to vote in federal elections. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was opposed to granting the franchise to Chinese Canadians, but Chinese-Canadian veterans led a coalition of churches, unions, civic groups and veterans' associations into pressuring

12267-484: The country sending the most immigrants to Canada. The 2002 report from Citizenship and Immigration Canada indicates that since 2000, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has been the largest source of Canadian immigrants. On average, over 30,000 immigrants from China have arrived annually, accounting for about 15% of all immigrants to Canada. This pattern continued to rise, reaching a peak of over 40,000 in 2005. Data from

12408-564: The curator of Chinese Canadian Military Museum in Vancouver stated: "It's called a double victory because they not only helped Canada win the war, but they also helped propel the civil rights movement for the Chinese-Canadians." Canada was slow to lift the restrictions against the Chinese Canadians and grant them full rights as Canadian citizens. Because Canada signed the United Nations Charter of Human Rights at

12549-587: The day the application form is signed. The age requirement is 17-27 (expanded in 2011). The contestants must have never been married or pregnant or committed a crime. The pageant is held at the Vancouver Convention Centre in December of every year. However, in 2009 the location was moved to the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia due to the media currently taking place at

12690-463: The federal public service saw the formation of the Network of Asian Federal Employees (NAFE), an initiative aimed at addressing these issues and promote inclusivity. At the turn of the 20th century, the Chinese population in Canada was 17,312. From the years 1988 to 1993, 166,487 Hong Kong immigrants had settled in Canada. In 2001, 25% of Chinese in Canada were Canadian-born. During the same year,

12831-441: The gold rushes. These workers accepted the terms offered by the Chinese labour contractors who were engaged by the railway construction company to hire them—low pay, long hours, lower wages than non-Chinese workers and dangerous working conditions, in order to support their families that stayed in China. Their willingness to endure hardship for low wages enraged fellow non-Chinese workers who thought they were unnecessarily complicating

12972-480: The head tax, which led to agitation, especially in British Columbia for the Dominion government to ban Asian immigration. Between September 7–9, 1907, an anti-Asian pogrom took place in Vancouver . The Asiatic Exclusion League organized attacks against homes and businesses owned by Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian immigrants under the slogan "White Canada Forever!"; though no one was killed, much property damage

13113-481: The influence of stable anti-cyclonic high pressure. Southern Interior valleys are hot in summer; for example, in Osoyoos , the July maximum temperature averages 31.7 °C (89.1 °F), making it the hottest month of any location in Canada; this hot weather sometimes spreads towards the coast or to the far north of the province. Temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in the lower elevations of valleys in

13254-640: The islands of southern Alaska and northern British Columbia. The Na-Dene language group is believed to be linked to the Yeniseian languages of Siberia: the Dene of the western Arctic may represent a distinct wave of migration from Asia to North America. The Interior of British Columbia is home to the Salishan language groups such as the Shuswap (Secwepemc) , Okanagan and Athabaskan language groups, primarily

13395-478: The labour market situations. Most of the Chinese immigrants in the 19th century spoke Cantonese and their term for Canada was Gum San ( Chinese : 金山 ; Jyutping : gam1 saan1 ; Cantonese Yale : gām sāan ; lit. 'golden mountain'). The name Gum San , which concerned a supposed gigantic mountain made of pure gold located somewhere in the Rockies, was not taken literally, but instead

13536-486: The land should be owned by the colonists. To ensure colonists would be able to settle properly and make use of the land, First Nations were forcibly relocated onto reserves , which were often too small to support their way of life. By the 1930s, British Columbia had over 1500 reserves. Lands now known as British Columbia were added to the British Empire during the 19th century. Colonies originally begun with

13677-486: The late 1980s, an influx of Taiwanese people immigrated to Canada forming a group of Taiwanese Canadians . They settled in areas such as Vancouver , British Columbia and to the adjacent cities of Burnaby , Richmond and Coquitlam . There was a significant influx of wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs from Hong Kong in the early and mid-1990s before the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Canada

13818-490: The leading critics of the 1923 Exclusion Act, and worked closely with Senator William Proudfoot , a Presbyterian minister, into seeking to pressure the government to repeal the act. Some of those Chinese-Canadian workers settled in Canada after the railway was constructed. Most could not bring the rest of their families, including immediate relatives, due to government restrictions and enormous processing fees. They established Chinatowns and societies in undesirable sections of

13959-567: The main slogans used at the demonstrations was "Don't Kill Babies", a reference to the Imperial Japanese Army's habit of using Chinese infants for "bayonet practice". The Second World War became the turning point in history of Chinese Canadians. To show support for the war, fund-raising events were held from September 1939 to raise money for the Canadian war effort, and by 1945, Chinese Canadians had purchased some $ 10 million worth of Victory Bonds. The Chinese community of Victoria

14100-559: The main social structure from 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. The nomadic population lived in non-permanent structures foraging for nuts, berries and edible roots while hunting and trapping larger and small game for food and furs. Around 5,000 years ago individual groups started to focus on resources available to them locally. Coast Salish peoples had complex land management practices linked to ecosystem health and resilience. Forest gardens on Canada's northwest coast included crabapple, hazelnut, cranberry, wild plum, and wild cherry species. Thus with

14241-673: The mildest anywhere in Canada. The valleys of the Southern Interior have short winters with only brief bouts of cold or infrequent heavy snow, while those in the Cariboo , in the Central Interior , are colder because of increased altitude and latitude, but without the intensity or duration experienced at similar latitudes elsewhere in Canada. Outside of the driest valleys, the Southern and Central Interior generally have

14382-784: The military as he knew that veterans would demand the right to vote just as Chinese Canadian veterans had done after World War I, but strong pressure from the British Special Operations Executive , which needed Asian Canadians to work as agents who could go undercover in Japanese-occupied Asia, forced his hand. Unlike in the First World War, where about 300 Chinese Canadians had served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, this time Chinese Canadians serving in

14523-478: The native population of what became British Columbia. The arrival of Europeans began around the mid-18th century, as fur traders entered the area to harvest sea otters . While it is thought Sir Francis Drake may have explored the British Columbian coast in 1579, it was Juan Pérez who completed the first documented voyage, which took place in 1774. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra explored

14664-705: The new Confederation. Chinese railway workers made up the labour force for construction of two one-hundred mile sections of the Canadian Pacific Railway from the Pacific to Craigellachie in the Eagle Pass in British Columbia. When British Columbia agreed to join Confederation in 1871, one of the conditions was that the Dominion government build a railway linking B.C. with eastern Canada within 10 years. British Columbian politicians and their electorate agitated for an immigration program from

14805-558: The occurrence of many Canadians leaving to the United States , of which Chinese have also been a part. From 1947 to the early 1970s, Chinese immigrants to Canada came mostly from Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Southeast Asia. Chinese from the mainland who were eligible in the family reunification program had to visit the Canadian High Commission in Hong Kong, since Canada and the PRC did not have diplomatic relations until 1970. From

14946-528: The pageant that was replaced by MCV. Age at the time of the Miss Chinese International pageant Note: This chart only reflects Miss Chinese International Pageant contestants that were winners of Miss Chinese (Vancouver) Pageant, not of Miss Vancouver Chinatown Pageant, which is a separate pageant altogether. Chinese Canadians Chinese Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Han Chinese ancestry, which includes both naturalized Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese. They comprise

15087-484: The passage of the Chinese Immigration Act in 1885, the Canadian government began to charge a substantial head tax for each Chinese person trying to immigrate to Canada. The Chinese were the only ethnic group that had to pay such a tax. Owing to the fear of the " Yellow Peril ", in 1895 the government of Mackenzie Bowell passed an act forbidding any Asian-Canadian to vote or hold office. In 1902,

15228-584: The passage of time there is a pattern of increasing regional generalization with a more sedentary lifestyle . These indigenous populations evolved over the next 5,000 years across a large area into many groups with shared traditions and customs. To the northwest of the province are the peoples of the Na-Dene languages , which include the Athapaskan-speaking peoples and the Tlingit , who live on

15369-420: The popularity of " Yellow Peril " stereotypes, the media blamed Chinese immigrants for all the crime in Canada, depicting the Chinese as luring innocent white Canadians into gambling, prostitution and drug addiction. Many workers from Guangdong Province (mainly Taishanese people and Pearl River Delta peoples) arrived to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 19th century as did Chinese veterans of

15510-537: The population. Among Chinese Canadians, 14% were Buddhist , 14% were Catholic and 9% belonged to a Protestant denomination. British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC ) is the westernmost province of Canada . Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains , the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains. British Columbia borders

15651-468: The problems of drug addiction among white Canadians. In 1923, the federal Liberal government of William Lyon Mackenzie King banned Chinese immigration with the passage of the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 , although numerous exemptions for businessmen, clergy, students and others did not end immigration entirely. With this act, the Chinese received similar legal treatment to blacks before them who Canada also had specifically excluded from immigration on

15792-405: The province of Alberta to the east; the territories of Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north; the U.S. states of Washington , Idaho and Montana to the south, and Alaska to the northwest. With an estimated population of over 5.6   million as of 2024, it is Canada's third-most populous province . The capital of British Columbia is Victoria , while the province's largest city

15933-401: The province that reflect the different administration and creation of these areas in a modern context. There are 141 ecological reserves, 35 provincial marine parks, 7 provincial heritage sites, 6 National Historic Sites of Canada , 4 national parks and 3 national park reserves. 12.5 percent of the province's area (114,000 km or 44,000 sq mi) is considered protected under one of

16074-536: The province's regional districts . The Ministry of Forests operates forest recreation sites. In addition to these areas, over 47,000 square kilometres (18,000 sq mi) of arable land are protected by the Agricultural Land Reserve . Much of the province is undeveloped, so populations of many mammalian species that have become rare in much of the United States still flourish in British Columbia. Watching animals of various sorts, including

16215-558: The province's total population. Christianity is the largest religion in the region, though the majority of the population is non-religious. English is the common language of the province, although Punjabi , Mandarin Chinese , and Cantonese also have a large presence in the Metro Vancouver region. The Franco-Columbian community is an officially recognized linguistic minority, and around one percent of British Columbians claim French as their mother tongue . British Columbia

16356-561: The province. Coastal southern British Columbia has a mild and rainy climate influenced by the North Pacific Current . Most of the region is classified as oceanic , though pockets of warm-summer Mediterranean climate also exist in the far-southern parts of the coast. Precipitation averages above 1,000 mm (39 in) in almost all of the coastal region, and Hucuktlis Lake on Vancouver Island receives an average of 6,903 mm (271.8 in) of rain annually. Due to

16497-517: The provincial nominee program, which requires immigrants to invest in a business in the province in which they settle. In 2001, 31% of Chinese in Canada, both foreign-born and Canadian-born, had a university education, compared with the national average of 18%. Of prime working-age Chinese in Canada, about 20% were in sales and services; 20% in business, finance, and administration; 16% in natural and applied sciences; 13% in management; and 11% in processing, manufacturing, and utilities. However, there

16638-459: The second largest in Ontario. The highest concentration of Chinese Canadians is in Vancouver and Richmond (British Columbia), where they constitute the largest ethnic group by country, and one in five residents are Chinese. The province of Saskatchewan has a growing Chinese community, at over one percent as of 2006, mainly in the city of Saskatoon (2.1%), the province's largest city, and to

16779-441: The slogan of "double victory" was taken up by Asian-American groups as well. The same slogan of "double victory" came to be embraced by Chinese Canadians. Despite not being allowed to vote or hold office, about 600 Chinese Canadians enlisted as "active" members to fight overseas (until late 1944 all Canadians serving abroad were volunteers). The prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King , did not want Chinese Canadians to serve in

16920-536: The southern Columbia Basin (within present day Washington and Oregon ). In 1846, the Oregon Treaty divided the territory along the 49th parallel to the Strait of Georgia , with the area south of this boundary (excluding Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands ) transferred to sole American sovereignty. The Colony of Vancouver Island was created in 1849, with Victoria designated as the capital. New Caledonia, as

17061-404: The southern interior rivals some of the snowiest cities in Canada, and freezing rain and fog are sometimes present on such roads as well. This can result in hazardous driving conditions, as people are usually travelling between warmer areas such as Vancouver or Kamloops , and may be unaware that the conditions may be slippery and cold. Winters are generally severe in the Northern Interior which

17202-603: The strategic bombing offensive one of the most costly operations for Canada in World War II. In 1943, William Lore was commissioned as a lieutenant commander in the Royal Canadian Navy, becoming the first person of Chinese descent to be given an officer's commission in any of the Commonwealth navies. Lore was the first Allied officer to land in Hong Kong on August 30, 1945, and it he who announced to

17343-557: The support of the Hudson's Bay Company (Vancouver Island, the mainland) were amalgamated, then entered Confederation as British Columbia in 1871 as part of the Dominion of Canada. During the 1770s, smallpox killed at least 30 percent of the Pacific Northwest First Nations . This devastating epidemic was the first in a series; the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic killed about half to two-thirds of

17484-533: The surviving Canadian POWs, who had been held in barbaric conditions by the Japanese since surrendering on Christmas Day in 1941, being reduced down to "human skeletons", that they were now free men. Kam Hem Douglas Sam of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who had been serving on a Halifax bomber was shot down over France on June 28, 1944, and joined the French resistance, being awarded the Croix de Guerre from France after

17625-519: The virus. This resulted in widespread prejudice, evidenced by derogatory terms and hashtags in various countries. In Canada, a significant number of Chinese Canadians faced disrespect and harassment, with over 60% reporting disrespectful treatment and more than 30% experiencing threats or harassment. This rise in racism has also increased mental health concerns in the community. In response, Chinese Canadian groups have been actively working to track and combat this discrimination, providing ongoing support as

17766-527: The war changed public perceptions, and for the first time newspapers began to call for the repeal of the 1895 law which forbade all Asian Canadians to vote or hold offices. The Canadian historian Brereton Greenhous wrote of the efforts of the men of Force 136: "Several of them were decorated for their actions, and their service was a major factor in influencing the Canadian government to grant Chinese and Japanese Canadians full rights as Canadian citizens several years later". Frank Wong of Vancouver who served with

17907-582: The war for his work with the resistance. Sam, who came from Victoria and could remember some French from high school, was able to pass himself off as a Vietnamese student in Reims. Sam first served with as a liaison with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to organize landings of arms to the resistance from Britain. Sam later fought with the resistance, ambushing German troops on their way to Normandy. Flying Officer Quan Jil Louie of

18048-561: The western part of Vancouver Island and the rest of the coast is covered by temperate rainforest . The province's most populous city is Vancouver, which is at the confluence of the Fraser River and Georgia Strait , in the mainland's southwest corner (an area often called the Lower Mainland ). By land area, Abbotsford is the largest city. Vanderhoof is near the geographic centre of the province. The Coast Mountains and

18189-470: The world of film-making, Christina Wong, William Dere, Colleen Leung, Richard Fung, Dora Nipp, Tony Chan, Yung Chang Julia Kwan, Karin Lee, Mina Shum, Michelle Wong, Paul Wong, and Keith Lock have worked as directors and/or as script writers. The Confucian tradition emphasizing hard work, scholarship, self-discipline and learning has meant the Chinese Canadians families have strongly aspired for higher education and

18330-520: Was Mandarin . Of these people, 85% were born in either Mainland China or Taiwan , 7% were Canadian-born, and 2% were born in Malaysia . However, only about 790,500 people reported speaking Chinese at home on a regular basis, 81,900 fewer than those who reported having a Chinese mother tongue. This suggests some language loss has occurred, mainly among the Canadian-born who learned Chinese as

18471-404: Was 86%, the same as the national average. The employment rate for Canadian-born Chinese women of prime working-age was 83%, which was higher than the national average of 76%. Generational differences are also evident regarding religious practice and affiliation within this population group. Among Toronto's early Chinese immigrants especially, the church body was an important structure serving as

18612-504: Was a metaphor for the hopes of Chinese immigrants for greater wealth in Canada. Almost all of the Chinese immigrants in the 19th century were young men, with women staying behind in China with the hope of marrying a "Gold mountain guest" as those who made money in Canada usually returned to China. Unable to marry white women, many Chinese men in Canada married First Nations women as the Indian peoples were more willingly to accept them. From

18753-410: Was a preferred location, in part because investment visas were significantly easier to obtain than visas to the United States. Vancouver , Richmond and Toronto were the major destinations of these Chinese. During those years, immigrants from Hong Kong alone made up to 46% of all Chinese immigrants to Canada. After 1997, a significant portion of Chinese immigrants chose to move back to Hong Kong, some of

18894-682: Was chosen by Queen Victoria , when the Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) , i.e., "the Mainland", became a British colony in 1858. It refers to the Columbia District , the British name for the territory drained by the Columbia River , in southeastern British Columbia, which was the namesake of the pre- Oregon Treaty Columbia Department of the Hudson's Bay Company . Queen Victoria chose British Columbia to distinguish what

19035-408: Was done and numerous Asian-Canadians were beaten. The 1907 pogrom was merely the most dramatic expression of the continuous agitation in Canada, especially in western Canada and among the working class, for the total exclusion of Asian immigration to Canada. In 1922, the feminist Emily Murphy published her best-selling book The Black Candle blaming Chinese and black immigrants for allegedly causing

19176-470: Was fighting against not only Nazi Germany but her racist ideologies such as the Völkisch movement , then it was hypocritical for so many white Canadians to support attitudes of white supremacy back home. Chinese-Canadian veteran Frank Wong described the situation as being unable to "live outside Chinatown, and professional jobs were not available to [Chinese Canadians]. I wasn't even allowed to go swimming in

19317-478: Was for greater educational opportunities for their children, advanced medical treatment, worsening pollution back home (especially urban air quality), concerns of political instability and food safety concerns. The Canadian Immigrant Investor Program (CANIIP) allows many powerful Chinese to qualify for Canadian citizenship: among the 700 applicants to this program in 2011, 697 (99.6%) were mainland Chinese. In addition, many Chinese immigrants to Canada apply through

19458-817: Was organized into the New Caledonia district, administered from Fort St. James. The interior south of the Thompson River watershed and north of the Columbia was organized into the Columbia District, administered from Fort Vancouver on the lower Columbia River. The northeast corner of the province east of the Rockies, known as the Peace River Block, was attached to the much larger Athabasca District , headquartered in Fort Chipewyan , in present-day Alberta. Until 1849, these districts were

19599-535: Was praised in a parliamentary resolution for being especially active in holding events to encourage people to buy Victory Bonds. In December 1941, Canada declared war on Japan, and from time onward, China was an ally, which helped to change white Canadian views. The African American newspaper The Pittsburgh Courier called for the "double victory" or " Double V campaign " in a 1942 editorial, urging black Americans to work for victory over fascism abroad and racism at home. Though originally intended for black Americans,

19740-404: Was the British sector of the Columbia District from the United States' ("American Columbia" or "Southern Columbia"), which became the Oregon Territory on August 8, 1848, as a result of the treaty. Ultimately, the Columbia in the name British Columbia is derived from the name of the Columbia Rediviva , an American ship which lent its name to the Columbia River and later the wider region;

19881-451: Was then an increasingly important but disputed European outpost on the Pacific coast, which, after Spanish seizure, was abandoned by Meares, leaving the eventual whereabouts of the carpenters largely unknown. Before 1885 and the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), access to British Columbia from other parts of Canada was difficult. The creation of a better transportation system was essential to integration of British Columbia into

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