Beyond the railway narrative : exclusion and agency in Chinese Canadian history before 1947

Abstract

This thesis examines the role of Chinese in Canadian history by looking beyond the popular railway narrative that reinforces a stereotype of docile cheap labour and a reductive lens of racism. The research will look at what brought Chinese sojourners to Canada and the economic and legislation restraints and discriminatory labour practices by the government and employers. It will look at how Chinese people began to resist the prohibitive social, economic, and political policies through protests, Chinese unions, and collaborative efforts of Chinese and white Canadians. The railway narrative rendered Chinese women invisible within Canadian history as it focuses on the racial discrimination of Chinese men. The research will show Chinese women were impacted economically and socially by their lack of visibility within society due to gender and cultural discrimination by both white and Chinese communities. Finally, without acknowledgement and education the perpetuation of racial stereotypes will continue.