History & Pioneers
Chinese-Canadian Pioneer Stories Online
Information about the following prominent members of the Chinese-Canadian community is available online:
Chang Toy (Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online)
Chang Toy came to Canada in 1874. After working in a fish cannery and sawmill, he went on to become a successful businessman and active member of the Chinese community.
Chinese Canadian Women, 1923-1967
Online exhibit with over thirty oral history interviews and over 1,000 historical photographs and records chronicling the experiences of Chinese Canadian women.
Chow Dong Hoy (Canadian Museum of Civilization)
C.D. Hoy came to Canada around 1902 and established a drygoods store and photography business in Quesnel, B.C.
Chu Lai (Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online)
Chu Lai arrived in British Columbia in the 1860s, and eventually became one of the province's wealthiest Chinese merchants.
David Hung Chang Lew (a.k.a. Lew Hung Chang / Liao Hungxian)
(Dictionary of Candian Biography Online)
David Lew was 13 or 14 when he arrived in Canada sometime around 1900. Son of a prominent merchant, he learned the English language and Canadian customs in British Columbia public schools. As an interpreter and legal adviser, David was sometimes at the centre of controversy until his untimely murder in 1924.
Lee Mong Kow (Lee Genealogy)
Lee Mong Kow emigrated to Canada in 1882 where he settled in Victoria and married Seto Chang Ann with whom he had 17 children. Lee Mong Kow Way in Victoria is dedicated to his memory.
Lem Wong (A Scattering of Seeds: The Creation of Canada)
Lem Wong came to Canada at the turn of the the twentieth century. Fifty years later he was working behind the cash register of his own restaurant in London, Ontario.
Li Hong
Li Hong came to Canada in 1916, where he joined his uncles in Montreal, working in their laundry business.
Ng Mon Hing (Wen Wuqing)
(Dictionary of Canadian biography Online)
Ng Mon Hing served the Chinese communities of western and eastern Canada as lay missionary, teacher, and Presbyterian minister.
Ruth Lor Malloy (Chinese Canadian Women, 1923-1967)
Digitized typescript of the biography of Ruth Lor Malloy, whose mother was born in North Bay, Ontario in 1910.
Stories of Chinese-Canadian Workers
The Ties That Bind is an online virtual exhibit exploring the history of the Chinese in Canada from before Confederation, during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and beyond. The exhibit uses archival research and documents along with the testimony of Chinese-Canadian descendants.
Wong Family (generasian.ca)
David Wong shares the story of his family's 100 years in Canada in this personal website. The site also contains a wealth of information on particular Chinese villages such as Wing On Le (Yong'an Le) and Hing Lim Le, regions such as the Guangdong province and general information for the Wong (Huang) surname.
Yip Sang (Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online)
Yip Sang worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Later, he started a business in Chinatown and became one of Vancouver's most successful merchants in the early 1900s. See also:
A Chinese-Canadian Story: The Yip Sang Family (Canada's Digital Collections)
The Yip Sang Correspondence Project (City of Vancouver Archives)
Photo banner: Detail from VPL Historical Photograph 1746
