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British Columbia had there very first trade union in the Workingmen's Protective Association.The Protective Association was formed in 1878.
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In 1879, the Anti-Chinese Association was formed
by Noah Shakespeare, who would later become Mayor of Victoria and a member of the
legislative assembly. -
It was in this hostile climate that the Canadian Pacific
Railway (CPR) was incorporated.The western portion of the railway (Built in 1881-1885). -
Only a few months after work on the CPR began, Onderdonk was forced to recruit
Chinese labourers from San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. Most of them were hired
using the services of the Lian Chang Co. -
More Caucasian than Chinese
people worked on the Canadian
Pacific Railway, but the project
could not have been completed
without Chinese labour. Several
sections of the CPR were
contracted entirely to the Chinese,
including the 90 miles from Port
Moody to Yale and the 70 miles
from Lytton to Savona’s Ferry.