Present-Day Challenges

The Chinese Canadian community has undergone a tremendous transformation since the first migrants arrived 150 years ago. From a group that numbered barely 17,000 in 1901, they are now the largest visible minority in Canada with a population of over one million. Chinese is also the third most widely-spoken language in Canada, after English and French. [67]

Aside from their growing numbers, today’s Chinese Canadians have a vastly different socio-economic profile than their predecessors. This is partly due to the influx of highly-educated immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China over the last two decades as well as significant headway made by those who were born in Canada. [68] Despite this optimistic picture, the consequences of six decades of legalized racism continue to affect the Chinese Canadian community.

“A policy like the Exclusion Act has an impact on the development of a community for generations,” says Teresa Woo-Paw, founding member and Chair of the Ethno Cultural Council of Calgary and board member of the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre. “It affects integration and the way a community relates to the rest of society.”[69] For this reason, it is vital to look at some of the ways policies designed to subjugate Chinese Canadians continue to play out today.

Lack of Chinese Canadians in Politics
Historically, Chinese Canadians have been excluded from political participation in Canadian society. It was only with the repeal of theChinese Exclusion Act in 1947 that they were given the right to become Canadian citizens, vote in federal elections and practice previously barred occupations such as law, pharmacy, teaching and politics.

Since that time several Chinese Canadians have held important political offices. For example, Douglas Jung became the first Chinese Canadian Member of Parliament in 1957. George Ho Lem became the first person of Chinese descent in Calgary to win a municipal election in 1959. Over the past ten years, Adrienne Clarkson, David Lam and Normie Kwong have been appointed to represent the Queen at the federal and/or provincial levels.

Despite the community’s political victories and growing influence, however, Chinese Canadians remain virtually invisible at all senior levels of government and in most corporate institutions. Some argue this trend is understandable given the troubled history of Chinese immigration to Canada. “The long lasting scar of racism is left on the heart of manylo-wah-kew (the old Chinese immigrants) who have stayed away from politics to avoid the label of trouble makers,” says Avvy Go, Director of the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. [70]

Woo-Paw attributes this lack of power to a combination of factors. Due to deep-seated feelings of inferiority and alienation, some Chinese Canadian parents discourage their children from going into politics or law, thinking, “It’s not for us.” Lack of role models also undermines the community’s confidence. “You’ve been in a system for so long and you don’t see your parents participating. After a while you don’t see that anyone who looks like you has contributed anything to the political arena,” she says. [71]

Chinese Canadians Seen as “Foreigners”
Decades of exclusionary policies have also contributed to the tendency of some Chinese Canadians to self-identify as “foreigners.” This tendency, in turn, has been internalized and reinforced by some segments of the dominate culture. Professor of Sociology at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Peter S. Li, points out that the “historical image of the Chinese as culturally distinct and racially foreign has become a deep-seated cultural stereotype in Canada.” Consequently, there’s a sense that Chinese Canadians are “not genuine Canadians.” [72]

Although a fifth-generation Canadian, Janet Yee says she is still seen as a foreigner at times. “They call you names and tell you to go back where you came from,” she says. Other times, strangers might ask, “Where are you from? You’re not from this place, right?” [73]

Periodically, the Canadian media also depicts Chinese Canadians as foreigners. Perhaps the best known example is from the 1979 CTV-W5 program called “Campus Giveaway.” The program alleged that foreign students were squeezing Canadian students out of universities. Every time the narrator mentioned foreign students, the camera zoomed in on crowds of Chinese. In fact all the Chinese students shown in the documentary were Canadian-born or naturalized citizens. The message was clear as Li states: “Chinese” equals “foreigner.” [74]

Li also notes that whenever Chinese Canadians become too populous or excel socially or economically, their legitimacy is questioned, often on the grounds that their values and customs are incompatible with mainstream Canadian culture and that they undermine the “economic security of traditional Canada.” [75]

Subtle Racism more Prevalent Today
Although Canada is a diverse country with an official policy of multiculturalism, several research findings highlight that racism is still a real experience for Chinese Canadians. This trend is not surprising given Canada’s long tradition of discrimination. A 2004 study by Calgary professor Dr. Daniel Lai, for example, shows that racism is experienced by the majority of Chinese-Calgarians and more than two-thirds think it is “at least a bit serious.” Significantly, almost 30 per cent of respondents reported experiencing racism in terms of employment, while just over 27 per cent reported experiencing racism in public places. Lai notes that these findings probably reflect both the subtle and explicit nature of racism. [76]

Likewise, research by Calgary professors Dr. Lloyd and Carol Wong shows that a significant proportion of Chinese engineers, who responded to a 2003 survey, perceive and experience a “glass ceiling” in some Canadian firms, limiting their earnings and access to higher-paid managerial positions as well as diminishing their job satisfaction, job performance and organizational commitment. [77]

A 2001 study by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation backs up these findings, noting that many times racism is hidden in the workplace environment. This takes the form of being passed over for promotions, assigned unpleasant tasks and being excluded from the “inner circle” of the workplace. [78]

Racism hurts all Visible Minorities
Of course, racism is not confined to the Chinese Canadian community; it is experienced by many racialized groups. The 2003 the Ethnic Diversity Survey indicated that 20 per cent of Canada’s visible minorities had sometimes or often experienced discrimination or unfair treatment in the previous five years due to their ethnicity, culture, race, skin colour, language, accent or religion.[79] Meanwhile a recent survey by the Canadian Race Relations Foundations shows that one in four Canadians has been the victim of discrimination based on their race or ethnicity.[80] In Alberta, the Calgary Foundation’s Vital Signs gives Calgary failing grades in terms of valuing diversity, reducing hate crimes and promoting diversity in positions of influence. [81]

Given that nearly one in five Canadians was born on foreign soil and that Canada’s foreign-born population grew by almost 14 per cent between 2001 and 2006, four times higher than the Canadian-born population during the same period, these trends are alarming. [82]

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