Chinese Experience in Canada
This collection offers an expansive view of the experiences of Chinese immigrants to Canada, particularly in the Prairie Provinces. While many narratives of Chinese immigration to Canada focus on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), the emphasis here is on the numerous and diverse roles that Chinese immigrants played in Canada’s history. This collection explores the Chinese experience through immigration, entrepreneurship, schooling, and other elements of daily life. Among other things, it is made up of photographs, business documents, personal correspondence, and immigration records. A great deal of credit is due to University of Alberta alumna Helen Kwan Yee Cheung, who encouraged donations from the local Chinese community thus helping to build a uniquely community-based collection.
Getting started: Most student researchers will want to employ a series of keyword searches in the University of Alberta Library catalogue in order to find relevant print and digital materials in all U of A library locations and collections, including the Peel library. Researchers can identify materials that might be of interest using the collection’s finding aid. For more information about research in the Peel library, see Finding and Requesting Peel Library Materials.
Further resources: Bruce Peel Special Collections has mounted some major exhibitions and published accompanying books/catalogues (two of which were award winners) to showcase this collection: The Other Side of the Gold Mountain (2010), exploring the challenges faced by the first Chinese settlers, Painted Faces on the Prairies (2014), highlighting the place of Cantonese opera in the cultural history of Edmonton, and Mercantile Mobility: Chinese Merchants in Western Canada (2023-24), revealing the contributions of Chinese merchants to the economy of Western Canada over many years. See "New U of A Library Exhibition Honours Chinese Immigrant Contributions" by Taylor Downing in The Quad (25 May 2023).
Collection Formats: 19th Century, 20th Century, 21st Century, Correspondence, Newspapers, Photographs -- click to see other collections with this format
Certificate of registration issued by the Consulate General of the Republic of China at Vancouver, 1943 (FC 106 C5 H93 1943).
Edmonton Chinese Dramatic Club 90th anniversary performance program, 2007 (FC 106 C5 C46 Box 1, File 5).
Dominion of Canada "Head Tax" certificate for Wong Bing Yee, 22 July 1913 (FC 106 C5 C46 Box 9, File 39).
Grocery store in Edmonton, 1950s (FC 106 C5 C46 Box 4, File 19, Image 31).