Federal government pledges $5M to Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver

Photo: The Canadian Press

Federal International Trade and Economic Development Minister Mary Ng, left, and Grace Wong, board chair of the Chinese Canadian Museum arrive for an announcement at the museum, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. The museum, which is scheduled to open to the public on July 1, has received more than $5 million from the federal government for its building and space renewal at their new permanent location in Vancouver's Chinatown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver has received about $5 million in new federal funding ahead of its opening on July 1.

Federal International Trade and Economic Development Minister Mary Ng said the new funding will go toward renewal of the museum's permanent space at the Wing Sang Building in Vancouver's Chinatown, as well as supporting the facility's first exhibit.

The museum will feature an exhibition titled "The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act," with the July 1 opening date coinciding with the centennial of the passing of the act which effectively halted all immigration from China.

"I think it's about one of the most important stories that this museum is going to tell," Ng told a news conference Tuesday. "And the inaugural exhibit of this particular story, on this particular year... is so important."

The Wing Sam building is the oldest remaining building in Vancouver's Chinatown, with parts of the building dating back in 1889.

Grace Wong, chairwoman for the board of the Chinese Canadian Museum, said the funding comes "just in time" and will provide critical and essential support for the Museum as it goes through final preparations for its opening roughly one month away, she said.

The museum gives the sacrifices and hardships undertaken by Canada's earlier Chinese settlers a physical presence to today's society, providing important insights to Canadian history and how it relates to society today, Wong said.

"It's a thread that ties and binds Chinese Canadians from coast to coast to coast," she said. "The Chinese Canadian Museum creates a permanent home for these legacies, and we will share this history, culture and living heritage of these generations of Chinese in Canada - past, present and future."

The funding announcement comes on the sidelines of the U.S.-Canada Chinatown Cultural Preservation and Revitalization Conference, which is hosting representatives from 18 Chinatowns from across North America.

Ng said efforts like the museum and the conference are key to keeping a crucial part of North American history alive and to allow people to "appreciate the diversity of our society."

The Chinatown conference takes place Tuesday and Wednesday in Vancouver, gathering representatives from other Canadian cities including Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, as well as U.S. cities including San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York.