by Charity Brugger
This monument, located at the Brandon Municipal Cemetery, was created by Peter Sawatzky and unveiled on 26 June 2011. It commemorates Chinese immigrants’ experiences on the prairies.
Chinese immigrants came to Canada to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Soon after the CPR was completed, federal authorities passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. A “head tax” of $50 applied to all Chinese people wishing to migrate to Canada.
Despite heavy discrimination, Chinese people persevered and thrived. Many opened businesses, including restaurants and laundries.
Many Chinese immigrants were male bachelors who lived without their families until they made enough money to pay the head tax. Some, however, were never able to do so. The bachelor societies they established helped to sustain them in the face of hardships the Chinese Head Tax and other forces of discrimination imposed.