Anti-Asian Racism
Anti-Asian racism was a virulent force in British Columbia and in Greater Vancouver, fuelled by fears of competition for jobs, jealousy regarding economic gains by Chinese and Japanese communities, and xenophobic beliefs in white supremacy. Immigration laws drastically restricted the ability for Chinese families and women to enter Canada. Anti-Asian sentiment was a plank of organized labour throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, although by the 1930s and 1940s there were individuals and organizations such as the Communist Party and CCF who spoke out against racism. The HREU hired a Chinese organizer in 1938 after years of excluding Chinese workers. Efforts to ban white women working in Chinese owned restaurants in Vancouver’s Chinatown were successful despite resistance by the non-unionized women waitresses.
