Print

Mail

wiki links

Vancouver shines as one of the most multi-cultural cities

When Tung Chan immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, from Hong Kong in 1974 most people spoke English, there was one Chinese-language newspaper, and historic "Chinatown" was considered exotic.

Waves of immigration from Asia have since turned this West Coast metropolis into an Asian-flavored, multicultural entrepot, with newcomers -- including growing numbers of mixed-race couples -- resident on virtually every street.

English and French are Canada's official languages. But Chinese and other languages have made steep gains in recent years, according to the latest census, released this week.

News here is now delivered in 22 different languages through more than 144 different media outlets. Shops and bank machines post signs in English, Chinese, Punjabi and Farsi.

Former "ethnic" goods are rarely differentiated, with grocery stores selling Bok Choy next to spinach, lemon grass alongside parsley and Indian chutneys in the ketchup and mustard aisle.

Even Vancouver's city hall provides basic information about municipal services in Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese.

"Vancouver has changed dramatically," Chan said. "We're really very lucky -- this is a microcosm of the world."

In 150 short years Vancouver shot from being a largely Aboriginal community, to becoming a resource-extraction outpost for mostly Britons and other Europeans, to one of the world's most multicultural destinations today for immigrants who speak a dizzying variety of languages.

Chan came here at age 22, and eventually became a successful banker, member of the city council, and now a philanthropist and the head of an agency to help new immigrants.

He said old and new residents here mostly get along well, and Canadians, especially in Vancouver, "should be very, very proud of ourselves in terms of how we integrate people."

"The mentality here is integration rather than confrontation," said Eleanor Yuen, a Hong Kong native who now heads the Asian Library at the University of British Columbia. "Most of the people who come here don't come with a strong ideology that they want to fight and die for."

Canada has one of the world's highest immigration levels compared to its population.
This story has been viewed 1093 times.