Growing Our Future: Commemorating 100 Years of the Chinese Immigration Act

The Chong family farm operated from 1920 to 1966 at the northeast corner of Eglinton Avenue West and Jane Street.

If you opened the Shing Wah Daily News between 1957 and 1964, you would almost certainly have seen an advertisement for Charlie Chong Farm. Owned by Charlie and Henry Chong, it was one of the first Chinese-owned agricultural businesses in Toronto.

The farm was known for its bok choy, gai choy, choy sum, gai lon, lo bok, Chinese squash, and melons. However, when Charlie and Henry first started farming in Toronto in 1919, the farm grew lettuce, celery, carrots, and other vegetables considered “western.” The farm’s decision to grow Chinese vegetables in the 1950s may seem small, but it hints at a much larger story about Chinese immigration in Canada.

Chinese Canadians and their labour were essential to Canada’s food chain, but their stories were largely undocumented.

Chinese Canadians first turned to farming in British Columbia in the 1800s. According to sociologist Natalie Gibb, 90 per cent of B.C.’s vegetables were produced by Chinese farmers in 1921. However, due to the province’s Act to Prevent Chinese From Acquiring Crown Lands (1884), Chinese Canadians were not allowed to purchase farmland, which were forcefully taken by European settlers from the indigenous community to start with. To find employment with limited opportunities, most Chinese Canadians became seasonal, tenant farmers for Caucasian farm owners. As temporary workers unable to buy property, Chinese Canadians became almost invisible in the historical record.

Coming to Canada in the early 1900s, the Chong family faced many difficulties.

The Chong family farm was one of the first Chinese-owned agricultural businesses in Toronto. The Chinese community in Ontario faced similar restrictions to those in British Columbia: They could not vote or hold public office and they had limited access to employment and housing. Henry Chong (Jong Kee Chuck) arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1909 from Guangdong province, China. He was only 11. Four years later, his cousin Charlie Chong (Yuet Jong Chung) followed. Under the Chinese Immigration Act (1885), both paid a $500 head tax (about $12,549 in 2023) to enter Canada. 

The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, known also as the Chinese Exclusion Act, banned virtually all Chinese immigrants for 24 years.

The Act to Prevent Chinese From Acquiring Crown Lands (1884) in B.C. and the federal Chinese Immigration Act (1885) reflected a growing anti-Chinese movement in Canada. After completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, Chinese labour was no longer considered desirable. A popular phrase among politicians and the media, Liberals and Conservatives alike, was “White Canada forever.” As a result, a $50 tax was imposed on Chinese immigrants in 1885, later raised to $100, then $500 — the equivalent of two years wages for a labourer. Though the head tax discouraged many from coming to Canada, 82,000 Chinese arrived in Canada during the 38 years it was in place, including Henry and Charlie Chong. The head tax raised nearly $23 million in revenue but didn’t completely ban Chinese immigrants from entering. To further prevent Chinese immigration to Canada, on July 1, 1923, the 58th anniversary of the Dominion of Canada, the government passed a new Chinese Immigration Act that  banned all Chinese immigrants from entering Canada.

Even after the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, the Chinese Canadian community still faced discrimination and limited opportunity to thrive.

Canada’s first Chinese Canadian lawyer K. Dock Yip helped bring down the Chinese Exclusion Act. Hostility against Chinese Canadians had lessened during the Second World War while China and Canada  were allies. With help from fellow lawyer Irving Himel and community leaders across Canada, the discriminative law was removed in 1947.  However, exclusion didn’t end here. Entrance for Chinese immigrants was limited to only spouses and children (under the age of 18) of Canadian citizens, which only applied to 8 per cent of the Chinese population in Canada. It wasn’t until 1967 that all restrictions were removed and families were able to reunite after nearly 50 years. For that reason, the Chinese community in Toronto remained small during the early 20th century and there was a limited market for Chinese products.

Despite challenges, the Chong family farm provided food for the expanding Chinese community in Toronto.

With the Exclusion Act repealed and the Chinese community in Toronto expanding, the Chong Family farm started to grow Chinese vegetables. During the period 1950-1964, the farm invested in new equipment, including an International Super A tractor, and started placing advertisements in the Shing Wah Daily News, a publication that served the Chinese Canadian community in Toronto. During the summer harvest months, the Chong farm offered  overnight deliveries by train or bus to customers in Ontario and Quebec. They also became an important supplier for the Chinese restaurants in Toronto’s Chinatown, providing familiar flavours  for the growing community in their new home. 

In 1963, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority expropriated the Chong family farm  due to its location on the Humber River floodplain. Charlie retired and returned to Hong Kong after selling the farm to the TRCA. Henry’s son Harry and Charlie’s son, Kai-Yam Cheung, split the proceeds to found their own farms in Peel and Halton regions, respectively. 

Ontario is the top destination for recent Chinese immigrant farmers. More Chinese Canadian farmers are making their own history following the footsteps of the Chong family.

Despite many challenges — the Head Tax, language barriers, prejudice, lack of social support, and the hardship of establishing a new life in a new city — the Chongs supplied food for Torontonians for over 40 years. They hired new Canadians (including non-Chinese people) and the farm was also a friendly gathering place for the city’s burgeoning Chinese community. 

In 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized on behalf of the Canadian government for the Head Tax. 2023 is the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act and events nationwide will commemorate and reflect on Canada’s decision to close its doors to Chinese people.  

Today, Chinese Canadians continue to be an important part of Canada’s agricultural industry. According to Statistics Canada, Ontario is the main province where Chinese farm operators are settled. However, they still face a significant disadvantage compared with farm operators from the United States, who own 628.6 acres of farm on average in 2016. In comparison, Farm operators from China only own 360.2 acres on average. There is still a long way to go to offer the Chinese community equal opportunity and resources, but stories from the past give us hope that Chinese farmers will continue to grow their future in Canada.