Please Hold while We Connect You to Montréal’s Chinatown

Photo Credit: Frank Zhang on Unsplash

February 20, 2023 | Montréal, Québec

Coming off the back of an extended winter break in Vancouver, I’m already making plans to visit Québec’s first T&T. T&T is a popular Asian grocery chain that originated in Vancouver, but has since been bought by Loblaws, and now has locations across the country. I was raised in Vancouver and grew up doing weekly shopping at T&T and other big Asian grocery stores, stores where the produce section is filled with bok choy, gai lan, winter melon and persimmons. The shelves are full of soy sauces from all over Asia, the bakery section has egg tarts and milk bread, and somewhere in the store, there’s a tiny section with Western foods – peanut butter, pasta sauce, mayo, and cereal.

I’ve often lamented the lack of Chinese culture in Montréal. There’s no place that does good dim sum, there’s no T&T, and so on. I think what I truly miss, though, is the connection to my family and cultural heritage that feels so easy in Vancouver. Of course, it is. My Popo and GongGong live only a 2 minute walk away and I often return home with some of my favourite foods – lo bak go, cheung fun, and congee. My brother, my mom, and my aunt have universally agreed on the best dim sum, and I never visit home without spending a Sunday morning at Western Lake. I visited my cousin in Victoria, and we laughed about how we forgot to take showers the day before Chinese New Year and ended up with greasy hair (since it's bad luck to wash your hair on New Year’s).

When I complain about Montréal, I’m talking about how much I miss my family. How I miss my mom arguing with my Popo in Cantonese. When I say I love T&T, I mean that I love how my mom doesn’t leave without something for my grandparents – an orchid, mandarin oranges, nian gao. I miss how my brother invites me out to a Hong Kong café for milk tea and noodles. I miss getting together with friends over bubble tea and shaved ice. Food isn’t the only part of Chinese culture, but as a third generation Canadian that doesn’t speak Cantonese, it’s one of the ways I connect to my culture when I miss home. I may not remember the name of a dish, but meals I’ve shared with my family are seared in my memory.

“When I flew into Montréal, I didn’t know that many Chinese railroad workers had also moved to Québec from BC in the late 19th century.”

My experience reflects recent research indicating the importance of culture for the positive development of First Nations youth. Culture has important impacts on mental health and cultural connection can ease the stress of adapting to a new culture, combat isolation, offer community support networks, and combat isolation (whose harms are self-evident after the pandemic).

What I didn’t know before sitting down to write, was that Montréal has a rich Chinese history as well. When I flew into Montréal, I didn’t know that many Chinese railroad workers had also moved to Québec from BC in the late 19th century. When I complained about how small Chinatown was, I didn’t know that the Hydro Québec and the Desjardins buildings downtown expropriated historic parts of Chinatown. I didn’t know that a growing Chinatown declined after Chinese people were effectively excluded from immigrating to Canada in 1923. I didn’t know about how the cultural centre was impacted by World War II, and religious and clan divisions within the Chinese Canadian community. I didn’t know that after 1986, investors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China developed areas outside of Chinatown, creating cultural centres in Brossard and St. Catherine’s Ouest.

Photo Credit: Archives de la Ville de Montréal, 1966 on Flickr

“So, Montréal. Consider this my formal apology for ragging on your lack of Chinese culture.”

I loved looking through historic photos of Montréal’s Chinatown. I love one of the parade on V-J Day in 1945. I recognize a circular cutting board that looks just like my GongGong’s and I laughed when I saw the kids miserable in Chinese school (I guess some things don’t change). I hope I can also share something new about Montréal’s history and Chinese community to you.

Photo Credit: Archives de la Ville de Montréal, 1966 on Flickr

Photo Credit: Conrad Poirier, March 3, 1940 on BAnQ numérique

Photo Credit: Archives de la Ville de Montréal, 1966 on Flickr

So, Montréal. Consider this my formal apology for ragging on your lack of Chinese culture. It’s not that you have no culture, but that I was feeling isolated from my own. So, I still have plans to check out the biggest T&T in the country. I’m excited to stock up on all my favourites with my roommate. At the same time, I’m making plans to call my grandparents. I’m reminding myself to finish that show so I can text my brother about it and wish my friend good luck for her exchange semester in Italy. And yes, I have a new appreciation for Montréal’s Chinese community. After all, I’m part of it now.

Author
Chloe Merritt
Community Liaison Lead
for Y4Y Québec