Our family’s history in Canada began over a hundred years ago with the arrival of my father, 黃勤衍 Dan (On Lee) Wong, in June 1922. Dan paid the $500 head tax required of Chinese immigrants at the time. Dan worked first in a CPR camp in Brooks, Alberta and subsequently toiled in Chinese owned restaurants in Saskatchewan and Manitoba before settling in Queenstown, Alberta in 1927 where he opened a restaurant. In October 1933, Dan returned to China and married our mother 馬女妹 (Mah See). He returned to Canada alone in August 1934 leaving behind his new wife and a son who was born in October that year.

After returning to Canada, Dan converted his Queenstown business to a general store. In 1947, the Canadian government repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act. Dan was finally able to be reunited with his wife and met his 15-year-old son for the first time in the fall of 1949. Dan and Mah See had four more children from 1951 to 1955. The Wong family remained in Queenstown until 1963 when we moved to the Bowness neighbourhood of Calgary. Dan, with the help of family, operated Parkway Store in Bowness until his passing in 2000. He was predeceased by Mah See in 1993. (Please see the Bowness Beacon link for a full family story).

Like most Chinese people who arrived in Canada in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, our family story was affected by the discriminatory Head Tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act. My parents’ story is one of loneliness, uncertainty, separation, hard work and perseverance. However, I have come to realize that we were more fortunate than some Chinese families, particularly when considering the many “bachelor” men who died alone. My parents and oldest brother were reunited, and my siblings and I, who were born in Canada, were afforded greater opportunities.

Fred Wong