The Chinese in Toronto from 1878. Arlene Chan
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the CHINESE in TORONTO from 1878
the CHINESE in TORONTO from 1878
From Outside to Inside the Circle
ARLENE CHAN
DUNDURN
NATURAL HERITAGE
TORONTO
Copyright © Arlene Chan, 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.
Editor: Jennifer McKnight
Copy Editor: Matt Baker
Design: Jesse Hooper
Printer: Webcom
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Chan, Arlene
The Chinese in Toronto from 1878 : from outside to inside the circle / Arlene Chan.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Also issued in electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-55488-979-2
1. Chinese Canadians--Ontario--Toronto--History. 2. Chinese Canadians--Ontario--Toronto--Biography. I. Title.
FC3097.9.C5C53 2011 971.3'541004951 C2011-903812-9
1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and Livres Canada Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.
J. Kirk Howard, President
Front Cover: Chinatown’s gateway, a symbol of the acceptance of the Chinese in Toronto. Photo by Jens Ronneberger.
BC (Back Cover) 1: The Nanking Restaurant. Harry Tang Collection.
BC 2: Patrick Chan, fourth consecutive national champion, 2011 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. Photo by Gerard Chataigneau.
Printed and bound in Canada.
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To my parents, Doyle and Jean Lumb, who, in their own lifetimes, witnessed and participated in the movement of the Chinese in Toronto from outside to inside the circle of Canadian life.
CONTENTS
ONE…The Gold Rush and the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1858–1885
TWO…The Birth of Toronto’s Chinatown, 1885–1922
THREE…Early Organizations and the Great War, 1885–1922
FOUR…The Bachelor Society and the War Years, 1923–1947
FIVE…Saving Chinatown, 1947–1966
SIX…The Changing Face of Chinatown from 1967
EIGHT…Diversity in the 1990s and 2000s
Chinese Canadians (Greater Toronto Area) Appointed to the Order of Canada, 1976–2010
Chinese Canadians (Greater Toronto Area) Appointed to the Order of Ontario, 1991–2010
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to so many individuals who took time to tell me their stories of life in Chinatown and to share their memories and photographs from precious family albums. Many thanks to Nelson Wong, Wendall Chin, Victor Wong, Mavis Garland, Gordon Chong, Albert Lee, Harry Tang, Shirley Hune, Bernice Hune, Doug Hum, Linda Chan, Monica Ssutu, Alfie Yip, Lin Yip, Roberta Lau, Keira Loughran, Stephen Siu, Harry Chong, and Susan Chong. My gratitude also extends to Ruth Lor Malloy, Lou Manning, and Matthew Law, who granted permission to include their photographs, but especially to Jens Ronneberger and Tam Kam Chiu, who brought my wish list to life with their cameras. Valerie Mah’s landmark works on the early Chinese in Toronto were invaluable. The incredible resources of the Toronto Public Library — particularly the Urban Affairs Library and Toronto Reference Library — and the Toronto Archives helped my research immensely. The Multicultural History Society of Ontario was accessible and I thank Carl Thorpe, Dora Nipp, and Emily Beliveau for their advice, diligence, and patience. I am grateful to the scholars, researchers, historians, and journalists who have written about the Chinese diaspora, providing me with rich resources to tell the story of the Chinese in Toronto.