The first recorded immigrants from China arrived as far back as the late 1700’s. Many more began arriving during the Gold Rush almost a century later, with some even striking it rich. In the late 1800’s, thousands of Chinese laborers were brought to Canada to help build the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The first record of Asians in what is known as Canada today can be dated back to the late 18th century. In 1788, renegade British Captain John Meares hired a group of Chinese carpenters from Macau and employed them to build a ship at Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

The Jazz Age: The 1920s is also referred to as “the Jazz Age”, when jazz, as a revolutionary form of music, became extremely popular in Canada.

Shawn Mendes. Here’s a pop-rock superstar in the making.

Canadians of South Asian descent Immigration from South Asia to Canada began in the late 19th century when a number of Sikhs from Punjab, India came to British Columbia to work in the lumber, mining, and railway industries, and later in agriculture.

The 1920s were an exciting time in Canada because of the economic prosperity, technological, social and cultural revolutions and growing political responsibility and change in policy that country experienced. First of all, Canada was very roaring economically in the 20s because of strong economic growth and prosperity.

Developed in New York in the early 1940s and first documented on commercial recordings in 1944, this harmonically advanced, rhythmically freer and assertively virtuosic style of jazz made its way to Canada by the late 1940s, as recordings by Moe Koffman and Oscar Peterson attest.

The four metropolitan areas with the largest Chinese Canadian populations are the Greater Toronto Area (631,050), Metro Vancouver (474,655), Greater Montreal (89,400), and the Calgary Region (89,675)….Demographics.

During the mid-1980s and early 1990s, Canada’s recession and growth of the Chinese economy resulted in a shift in Chinese migration in Canada. Attracted by the employment opportunities back home, some newer immigrants moved back, with many retaining their Canadian citizenship.

1 Kaveh Nabatian – trumpeter 2 Bif Naked – punk/pop singer 3 Nardwuar the Human Serviette 4 Nancy Nash – blues and pop singer 5 Narcy – rapper 6 Nash the Slash – multi-instrumental rock musician ( FM) 7 Nav – rapper 8 Haydain Neale – soul, R&B, jazz singer-songwriter 9 Laurence Nerbonne – pop singer

It became a crusade song of the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr., and is frequently performed by choirs worldwide. Women played an increasingly important part in Canadian musical life in the 1960s.

Women played an increasingly important part in Canadian musical life in the 1960s. Composers including Violet Archer, Barbara Pentland, and Ann Southam held key university posts and received commissions from major institutions across the country.

Since the late-1700s, people of Asian descent have made important contributions to Canada’s history and identity. Each year, as part of its annual Asian Heritage Month campaign, the Government of Canada encourages Canadians to learn about how Canadians of Asian descent have and continue to help shape Canada as we know it today.