Mercantile Mobility: Chinese Merchants in Western Canada

This exhibition takes us on a journey through time, from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, to explore what happened to Chinese immigrant workers after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which they helped to build. It offers a new perspective on the history and contributions of Chinese immigrants in Canada by profiling those workers who became merchants. Showcasing materials from Peel's Chinese Experience in Canada Collection, the curator examines the distinctive socio-economic landscape where this dynamic group carved out their own niche and quietly propelled the Western Canadian economy. Their business ventures are explored through rare archival documents and images collected over a decade by the curator through a community-based process and through the ongoing acquisition efforts of the Peel library. Group tours of this exhibition will be offered in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English by Helen Cheung, Jeff Papineau, and Michaela Morrow.

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