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In Vancouver, Hongkongers relocating to Canada find familiarity and novelty
Surge in migration fuelled by turmoil and uncertainty calls to mind anxious run-up to 1997 when Beijing took over the former British colony.
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- Surge in migration fuelled by turmoil and uncertainty calls to mind anxious run-up to 1997 when Beijing took over the former British colony
- Permanent residency tied to education lures newest emigrees from Hong Kong to city where one in four residents is of Chinese origin
Outings like this rafting trip in Squamish, British Columbia in August have helped Hong Kong immigrants to Canada acclimate to their new home. Photo: Colin Liu
Vancouver, no stranger to Cantonese customs, is seeing a steady uptick in its dim sum gatherings, barbecues, picnics and hiking excursions to welcome hundreds of new Hong Kong emigrees streaming into the Canadian city.
Hosted by church groups and NGOs among other support networks, the outings target transplanted families who have children of all ages as well as single adults in their 20s and 30s eager to chart a new life in the west coast seaport.
The surge in migration calls to mind the wave of Hongkongers who relocated to Vancouver and other destinations in the run-up to 1997, when Beijing formally took over the former British colony. Eventually population figures in the bustling entrepot stabilised. But that rapidly changed in recent years.
From August last year to this year, some 113,000 residents have left Hong Kong. The sudden outflow marks the largest population decline since the city’s Census and Statistics Department began keeping records 60 years ago.
Emigration accelerated after widespread and largely peaceful demonstrations across the city in 2019 turned more disruptive and at times violent.
Sparked by an extradition bill proposing that Hong Kong residents come under mainland China’s criminal justice system, the unrest escalated as protesters tried to press their demands upon city officials.
In response, Beijing promulgated a national security law in 2020 that has led to some 200 people in Hong Kong being detained and arrested, including pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung and media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.
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The clampdown has also precipitated the shuttering of several Hong Kong media publications critical of the government, including Lai’s Apple Daily newspaper.
A protest in Hong Kong on July 1 2020 against the introduction of the national security law. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong authorities maintain that the national security law restored order to the city after more than a year of street protests.
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And while officials have not acknowledged them, Hong Kong’s Covid-19 rules, among the most restrictive in the world for much of the coronavirus pandemic, have been cited by many expats in the city as motivating their departures.
But last month, Huang Liuquan, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said it was “inappropriate” to attribute the city’s population decline to emigration. Huang instead claimed various factors were at play and that no official statistics were kept on those who move abroad.
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In any case, as Hongkongers look elsewhere for a future, Canada and its new pathways for permanent residency have proved popular for embarking on a fresh start.
An audience member of a screening of the documentary film “Revolution of Our Times” affixes a message of support for the Hong Kong protest movement at a cinema in Vancouver in February. Photo: CanMen
“No question there’s definitely an uptick this year in people coming in from Hong Kong,” said Ken Wong Tin-lok, a Vancouver-based Canadian immigration consultant.
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Vancouver in particular has been a desired destination for immigrants from southern China for the better part of two centuries. More than a quarter of its population is of Chinese origin, making it an appealing landing point for those seeking cultural familiarity as they settle in Canada.
Since June last year, the Canadian government has offered two pathways for Hongkongers to become permanent residents.
Stream A is for those who come to pursue a two-year diploma or degree from a recognised Canadian institution, while those in Stream B need to have graduated from a recognised postsecondary institution within five years and then have worked in Canada for a year. The pathways are due to stay in place through to August 2026.
“The temporary policy is a giveaway of permanent residency where you can come and secure a work permit,” Wong said.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the government body responsible for processing the influx, 1,260 people were admitted under the scheme as permanent residents through July this year.
Of this total, 1,165 belong to Stream A. They account for a portion of the more than 6,000 Hong Kong residents who have emigrated to Canada through other existing programmes over the last three years.
One Stream B beneficiary is Paul Lau Chun-por. Lau, 47, came to Vancouver more than six months ago with his wife and two children, aged eight and 10.
Paul Lau, a former secondary schoolteacher in Hong Kong, moved his family to Vancouver this year for his children’s education. Photo: Paul Lau
Previously a secondary schoolteacher for 18 years, Lau graduated last year with a master’s in education and took advantage of Canada’s new policy for Hongkongers.
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“We came here mainly for my children,” said Lau. “I want them to have a Canadian education. I never thought about going to the UK. Canada is more multicultural.”
Lau and his wife deliberated about leaving for Canada for a year before proceeding. He was worried about giving up “a good stable job” in Hong Kong. Initially Lau thought he could just send their children to university in Canada when they got older.
“But we were thinking, if the children go over, then we will miss out on them growing up, the experience of being together with them,” Lau explained. “We wanted to try to come together as a whole family.”
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At first they stayed in an Airbnb, then moved to a rental arrangement containing second-hand furniture donated by friends living in Vancouver. These friends have also helped drive the Lau family around their new hometown.“I adjusted quite quickly,” said Lau of his life in Vancouver. “We have gotten to know the city, going to different parks, trails, hiking, cycling and camping.”
New as he is to the city, Lau until recently played an active role in helping fellow newcomers, working for Chinese Christian Mission. The organisation, founded in Detroit in 1961, operates in Hong Kong and Canada as well as Australia, Costa Rica and Singapore.
Working in family ministry, Lau organised activities helping new immigrants get acquainted and took part in practical classes offered by the group: learning “Canadian English”, how to open a bank account, how to answer questions on a driving test, and how to do simple home repairs.
Dragon dancers perform during the Fire Dragon Festival in Vancouver’s Chinatown last month. Photo: Xinhua
By Lau’s estimate, he has personally helped about 20 families get settled in Vancouver, and he and his colleagues have helped more than 100 families in the last five months.
The Chinese Christian Mission is one of several groups dispensing much-needed help to newcomers, although not all of the immigrants start smoothly.
“Hongkongers get a lot of information from social media groups before they arrive,” said Lau. “Some join WhatsApp or Signal groups and make friends there before they arrive.”
Yet no matter how much information immigrants to Canada gather to prepare for the move, Lau said, the reality of their experience is different.
“Some rent places based on pictures online, and then they come and discover the location is not as convenient, not as advertised, or it’s noisy because it’s next to a construction site.”
A condo development under construction last month in North Vancouver. Finding a satisfactory housing arrangement in Canada can be a challenge for some Hong Kong immigrants. Photo: Bloomberg
Lau preaches calm. “We tell them not to be so anxious to find a place to live,” he said. “Hongkongers want things done fast, but when you immigrate on your own or with your family, housing is a big issue. You need to be here to see where everything is.”
Like Lau, Bobo Wong Ching-tsz initially felt reluctant about immigrating but has now become enthusiastic about her new life.
Wong, 28, arrived last December and secured a job interview soon after, having laid the groundwork by applying for work while in Hong Kong.
Previously working with children, Wong is now employed by an elderly care home in Vancouver’s Chinatown, organising activities for its residents.
“I couldn’t see a future in Hong Kong, even though I didn’t want to leave,” said Wong, whose arrival in Canada was memorably marked by snowfall, her first time experiencing it. Still she believed there was no need to be scared of coming to Vancouver.
Bobo Wong kayaking in Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, British Columbia. Photo: Bobo Wong
“There are many opportunities here, though the salary is lower than in Hong Kong,” Wong said. “But you can try many different things, like hiking and kayaking. When winter comes, I want to learn how to ski.”
For Colin Liu Ho-yin, 28, the adventure of settling into Vancouver has gone relatively smoothly, helped by his past familiarity with the city and a family connection.
Liu visited Canada eight years before arriving in Vancouver as an immigrant nearly three months ago. He was preceded in his move by his younger sister, who had persuaded him to join her and her husband in relocating.
Eager to hit the ground running, Liu began applying for jobs in Vancouver before his arrival. A month ago he started working in the human resources department of a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
“I have a really good supervisor who values my experience and helped me translate my work experience in Canada,” said Liu, who praised what he called “Canadian inclusiveness”.
“During lunchtime we all sit together outside and colleagues share some home-made food like ice cream and carrot cake.”
Liu recently earned a master’s in human resources management, and after he obtained a Canadian work permit, he had two months to pack up and bid farewell to his friends in Hong Kong.
Wong, the immigration consultant, said the Canadian government was using education as a way to entice young people. The idea is to help fill some of the job sectors that are understaffed at the moment, especially in food and drink, retail, IT and media.
“Hongkongers are coming here and start working and paying taxes,” said Wong, who noted a contrast with earlier immigrants who arrived in the 1980s and 1990s.
“For Canada these are tangible benefits instead of just having wealthy migrants investing in real estate or businesses.”
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