Manitoba Museum Shows "The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act": Hundreds of Chinese Identity Certificates Recall the 1923 to 1947 Exclusion Years in Canada
The Manitoba Museum is showing "The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act." The museum says the exhibition takes an unflinching look at Canada's exclusion years, focusing on the human impact and personal cost the law inflicted on Chinese people in Canada. The museum stands at 190 Rupert Avenue in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the exhibition was open on November 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Curated by community historian Catherine Clement, the exhibition first opened on July 1, 2023, at the new Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver, marking 100 years since the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, known as the Chinese Exclusion Act.
According to the Chinese Canadian Museum, the exhibition features hundreds of certificates of identity (C.I. certificates), the most ever publicly displayed. During the act's years in force, Chinese immigrants and Canadian-born Chinese people were required to carry these certificates. The material was contributed by families of Chinese descent across Canada, and the exhibition was presented in partnership with the Chinese Canadian Military Museum.
Canada's exclusion period ran from 1923 to 1947, alongside the head tax and immigration certificate regime that prevented Chinese immigrants from entering Canada. A version of the exhibition is scheduled to follow at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in spring 2027.
(Source: Manitoba Museum)
Source: Manitoba Museum
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加拿大《中国移民法》时期的华人身份证书历史文件。温哥华公共图书馆历史照片藏品，无版权限制，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A Chinese identity certificate from Canada's Chinese Immigration Act era. Vancouver Public Library Historical Photographs, no restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons.
