Digital Collections of Chinese Canadian and Japanese Canadian Communities

These records show relations with Chinese Canadians and Japanese Canadians that predate the formation of the United Church, beginning with Methodist Church outreach to Chinese Canadians in the 1880s and 1890s.

Missionaries who created many of these records acted in the context of their colonial society, which was racially segregated and shaped by anti-Asian sentiment. Their activities in many cases contributed to loss of heritage, culture, and language.

This harmful legacy exists as part of a complex web of relations between Asian Canadians and the United Church, including nuanced experiences of community, both positive and negative. The church provided social services and supports with a goal of helping Asian people assimilate into a White, Christian Canadian society. These services most sought to assist children, women, and people newly arrived in Canada.

The early work of White missionaries laid a foundation for Chinese Canadians to engage in their own organizing, creating vibrant community spaces and enduring relations with the church. Japanese Canadian Christians also received support in early years from the Methodist Church as missionaries in their community as they established and grew their congregations into self-supporting ones.

Visitors will note that descriptions found on this website may include outdated cultural references, stereotypes, or problematic wording that is no longer used or considered appropriate. These terms do not reflect the views of the United Church of Canada and their commitment to equity. Rather, they are used here because they are part of an official name or designation at the time the records were created, and provide evidence of the attitudes and usage of that period.