Chinatowns: Towns Within Cities in Canada

382 Pages·1988·36.477 MB·English

by  David Chuenyan Lai

Chinatowns
This book is a definitive history of Chinatowns in Canada. From instant
Chinatowns in gold- and coal-mining communities to new Chinatowns which
have sprung up in city neighbourhoods and suburbs since World War n, it
portrays the changing landscapes and images of Chinatowns from the late
nineteenth century to the present. It also includes a detailed case study of
Victoria's Chinatown, the earliest such settlement in Canada.
David Chuenyan Lai begins by outlining the history of Chinese immigra-
tion to Canada and provides an overview of the demographic changes of Can-
ada's population of ethnic Chinese, including regional origins, from the pe-
riod of free entry (1858-84) to the period of selective entry (1948 and on).
He then classifies Chinatowns into four groups—Old, New, Replaced, and
Reconstructed Historic Chinatowns—and analyses their origins, locations,
viability, and socio-economic and image changes.
Focusing on Victoria's Chinatown as a typical example of a Historic
Chinatown, Lai employs a stage-development model consisting of four
phases (budding, blooming, withering, dying or reviving) which can be used
to study Chinatowns across North America. He also describes a public in-
volvement model of community planning which is responsible for the suc-
cessful rehabilitation project in Victoria—one which has received interna-
tional recognition and in which Lai has been extensively involved.
The culmination of twenty years of research which has included detailed
surveys of over fifty Chinatowns in North America and interviews with nu-
merous community leaders and city planners in all major Chinatowns in Can-
ada, this book explains why Historic Chinatowns are seen as important by
Chinese today and why they may survive despite the competing attractions of
New Chinatowns. It also sheds new light on the characteristics of these com-
munities and provides useful insights for geographers, historians,
sociologists, and anthropologists.
DAVID CHUENYAN LAI is an associate professor of geography at the Uni-
versity of Victoria. In 1983 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada
(CM) in recognition of his work on Victoria's Chinatown.
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Chinatowns
TOWNS WITHIN CITIES IN CANADA
David Chuenyan Lai
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA PRESS
VANCOUVER 1988
© The University of British Columbia Press 1988
All rights reserved
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Lai, Chuen-yan David, 1937-
Chinatowns
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-7748-0309-6
1. Chinese - Canada - History. 2. Chinese
Canadians - History. 3. Chinatown (Victoria, B.C.)
- History. 4. Chinese - British Columbia - Victoria
- History. 5. Chinese Canadians - British Columbia
- Victoria - History. I. Title.
FC106.C5L34 1988 971'.004951 C88--91555-2
F1035.C5L34 1988
This book has been published with the help of grants from the
Social Science Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada;
from the B.C. Heritage Trust; and from the Canada Council.
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-7748-0309-6
To Man Yuk, Jim Yuan, and Joan Man
for their encouragement, understanding, and assistance
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Figures ix
Tables xi
Plates xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
1 Introduction 3
PART ONE: CANADIAN CHINATOWNS
2 Entry without Restriction 15
3 Chinatowns in British Columbia 34
4 From Restriction to Exclusion 52
5 Vicissitudes of Old Chinatowns 68
6 Postwar Arrival of New Immigrants 102
7 Postwar Chinatowns 120
PART TWO: VICTORIA'S CHINATOWN
8 The Budding Period, 1858-1870s 183
9 The Blooming Period, 1880s-1910s 198
10 The Withering Period, 1920s-1970s 231
11 The Reviving Period, 1980s 252
PART THREE: CONCLUSION
12 Retrospect and Prospect 273
viii Contents
Appendices 287
1 Chinese Canadians Elected to Public Office, 1957-June 1988
2 Chinese Canadians Appointed to the Order of Canada,
1976-July 1988
3 Chinese Canadians Awarded Honorary Citizenship, City of
Victoria, 1971-June 1988
Notes 291
Bibliography 317
Index 337
Figures
1 Chinatown Stage-Development Model: Life Cycle 5
2 Chinatown Stage-Development Model: Morphological Patterns 6
3 Stage-Development of Selected Old Chinatowns 10
4 Source Areas of Chinese Immigrants, 1880s 18
5 Migration Routes of Chinese Immigrants during the Gold Rushes 22
6 Nanaimo and Its Chinatowns, 1880s 38
7 Distribution of Chinese in British Columbia, 1884 42
8 Annual Arrival and Departure of Chinese, 1886-1947 57
9 Geographical Shift of Chinese Population in Canada, 1901, 1941 64
10 Distribution of Chinese by Cities or Towns, 1941 65
11 Cumberland's Chinatown, 1900s 74
12 Nanaimo's Chinatown, 1910s 76
13 New Westminster's Chinatown, 1921 78
14 Vancouver's Chinatown, 1889 82
15 Vancouver's Chinatown, 1927 86
16 Calgary's Chinatown, 1900s 88
17 Lethbridge's Chinatown, 1912 91
18 Edmonton's Chinatown, 1911 93
19 Winnipeg's Chinatown, 1911, 1921 96
20 Toronto's Chinatown, 1910, 1923 98
21 Montreal's Chinatown, 1921 100
22 Geographical Shift of Chinese Population in Canada, 1951, 1981 115
23 Distribution of Major Chinese Communities in Canada, 1981 117
24 Vancouver's Chinatown and Strathcona District, 1950s-70s 127
25 Calgary's Chinatown, 1986 137
26 Edmonton's Replaced Chinatown, 1987 139
27 Lethbridge's Chinatown, 1986 142
28 Winnipeg's Chinatown, 1986 145
29 Toronto's Old Chinatown, 1954, 1984 147
30 Montreal's Chinatown, 1986 150