Canada passed the Chinese Exclusion Act 100 years ago. A culmination of racist anti-Chinese policies, it effectively banned Chinese immigrants from settling in Canada for the next quarter-century.
Although this legally sanctioned racial discrimination eventually ended in 1947, the systemic racism directed at people of Asian origin in Canada continued to simmer.
Past economic and health crises (2003 SARS outbreak), have shown how anti-Asian racism is cyclically recast to fit with current events.
Then COVID-19 ignited a full-throttled resurgence, revealing its deep roots.
Now as geopolitical tension between China and Canada grows, hate is emerging from that simmer once again.
In response, a diverse group of Asian Canadian community leaders have come together to confront and combat anti-Asian racism, creating the Coalition Against anti-Asian Racism Canada (CAAARC). With the support of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF), the group will work to advance public education on anti-Asian racism and promote racial equality.
Joint research by the Angus Reid Institute and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF), found the severity of violence of hate incidents against Chinese Canadians has increased significantly over the past two years. Nine per cent of Chinese Canadian respondents reported physical attacks by strangers in 2023 , that’s up from three per cent in 2021.
The research also found that the percentage of Chinese Canadians who received personal intimidation or threats and those who have been called names or worse doubled in 2023 compared to two years ago. Meanwhile, at least one-quarter of all South Asians and Southeast Asians say that they have faced discrimination or harassment over the past year.
The national, Pan-Asian coalition is a first. It’s mandate is to address both current and historical forms of anti-Asian racism through policy recommendations, increased education, building local capacity and advocating nationally on common concerns.
By identifying, understanding, preventing and responding to anti-Asian racism, the coalition will also confront the model minority myth — that Asian Canadians are academically successful, well-adjusted, and economically prosperous. This stereotype has resulted in hate against Asian Canadians frequently being dismissed or overlooked, leading many Asian Canadians to internalize racist experiences in order not to “cause trouble.” This gives the false impression that anti-Asian racism has waned, when in fact, it has simply been normalized.
The coalition will bridge Asian Canadian communities and regions of the country, sharing knowledge, and amplifying and advocating nationally on common concerns.
Some of the policy recommendations proposed to the government include support for the implementation and adoption of the National Action Plan on Combating Hate, as well as a renewed Anti-Racism Strategy led by the federal government to curb racially motivated hate crimes against Asian Canadians. The coalition wants more concrete solutions to address anti-Asian racism, such as delivering sustainable funding to community organizations to expand their capacity to address anti-Asian racism locally.
The goal is to encourage people to report any anti-Asian racism through channels they can trust.
A coalition survey revealed that 61 per cent of Canadians and three-quarters of Asian Canadians agree that anti-Asian racism is a persistent problem, but still many remain unaware of the issue.
Earlier this year, Statistics Canada released data indicating that hate crimes targeting East or Southeast Asians rose by 16 per cent and South Asians by 21 per cent in 2021, since 2020.
Just one year later, the 2022 Chinese Canadian National Council report found that hate crimes reported by South Asian and Southeast Asian people increased by 318 per cent and 121 per cent, respectively. This glaring disparity between police-reported hate crimes and community-collected third party-reported hate crimes, is a reminder of the gap in our data collection system, as well as trust that the justice system will respond adequately.
To understand the full scope of anti-Asian racism, we must uncover hidden hate and racism that are difficult to quantify through reported data. The coalition will work to do this by increasing awareness of what defines anti-Asian racism, and by building the capacity of local organizations to identify and respond to anti-Asian racism, to encourage Asian Canadians to report hate and racism through channels they trust.
Xenophobic and racist narratives about Asian Canadians continue to abound. It’s time to take action and turn a new page in our history.
Manju Varma and Teresa Woo-Paw, Co-Chairs of the Coalition Against anti-Asian Racism Canada (CAAARC).
