Politics

Chinese community organizations have mainly been involved in matters that affected the daily life of the Chinese in Canada, but on a number of occasions political developments in the homeland created divisions in the community. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, China faced both internal problems of poverty and overpopulation and external pressures of foreign domination. It became increasingly evident to Chinese patriots and intellectuals that change was inevitable. Two political movements emerged in this period. One was the reform movement led by Kang Youwei (K’ang Yu-wei) to modernize China within the framework of an enlightened emperor. The other was the revolutionary force led by Sun Yat-sen, who considered the Qing government beyond redemption and sought to overthrow it.

Kang visited Canada in 1899 after his reform attempt with the emperor was overturned by the dowager empress Cixi (Tz’u-hsi). During his visit he established a China Reform Association in Victoria to advocate his political program. Within five or six years there were eleven branches of the organization in different parts of the country. It received its major backing from prosperous Chinese merchants and leaders of clan associations in Canada. For a few years it also had the support of the Zhi Gong Tang. But after 1905 the Zhi Gong Tang allied with the Tongmeng Hui (T’ung-meng Hui), or United League, which Sun Yat-sen had founded in Victoria and Vancouver during his visits to Canada. He came to this country in 1897 and 1911, and these visits were greatly facilitated by the Zhi Gong Tang, which provided a forum for his revolutionary cause. By the time of his second visit the Zhi Gong Tang and the Tongmeng Hui were cooperating together.

The Chinese in Canada provided considerable financial support for a number of uprisings in China that led to the eventual overthrow of the imperial Qing government in October 1911. After that, the Zhi Gong Tang split with the United League, now called the Chinese Nationalist League (Zhong Guo Guomindang), and operated as a branch of the Guomindang (Kuomintang), or Nationalist Party, in China. Between 1911 and 1919 the Zhi Gong Tang and the Chinese Nationalist League competed, along with clan and locality associations, for control of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. The struggle resulted in part from differences in political ideology and allegiances originating in China.

On rare occasions, political developments in Canada or China altered the alliance of the Chinese associations and linked them together in a united front, if only temporarily. One such event was the introduction of the Chinese Immigration Act in 1923. A national federation of Chinese organizations, called the Chinese Association of Canada, was established in Toronto to fight the legislation. In Vancouver, Chinese associations formed joint committees and launched fund-raising efforts to oppose it. A number of unions, such as the Chinese Shingle Workers Federation and the Chinese Produce Sellers Group, issued joint statements arguing for a modification of the act. These efforts brought unity within the Chinese community, but they were of no avail in stopping the act from becoming law. Another demonstration of unity was prompted by the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937. To raise money for the war, the Chinese government issued bonds and asked overseas Chinese to support the appeal. In response, the Chinese in Canada formed the Chinese Liberty Fund Association to promote the bonds, and in Victoria alone, $69,000 was raised within sixteen months in 1938–39. In total, twenty-three Chinese associations and 2,579 individuals purchased bonds.

With the growth of the community in the post-war years and the appearance of a new middle class made up of immigrants and second-generation Chinese Canadians, there has been an increase in the participation by the community in politics. In 1957 Douglas Jung of Vancouver became the first Canadian of Chinese origin elected to the House of Commons. More recently, political participation has taken two main forms: the appointment or election of Chinese Canadians to prominent positions and the emergence of protest movements in the community to fight for equality.

Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, Chinese Canadians have occupied key political positions not historically held by citizens of Chinese origin. For example, David See-Chai Lam, an immigrant from Hong Kong who came to Canada in 1967, was appointed lieutenant governor of British Columbia in 1988. Bob Wong, a second-generation Chinese Canadian, became the first member of the community to serve as a cabinet minister when he was appointed by the Liberal government of David Peterson in Ontario. Susan Eng, a Toronto lawyer whose family in Canada can be traced back to her grandfather, chaired the Police Services Board of the city of Toronto from 1991 to 1994. The constituency of Richmond in British Columbia elected Raymond Chan, an immigrant from Hong Kong, as its member of Parliament in 1993; shortly after, he was appointed secretary of state in charge of Asian-Pacific affairs and as such became a member of the federal cabinet. Chinese Canadians have also held elected office in municipal councils and school boards in the major cities.