Chiu, May
May Chiu was born in Hong Kong in 1965 and immigrated to Canada when she was 6 years old. Her family settled in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, where they ran a restaurant. In her youth, May coped with violence in her home life in addition to the usual challenges of settlement and integration. During university, she started working a front-line job at Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal, a job she returned to on her breaks from school before ultimately becoming Executive Director. In this role, she helped many Chinese women access social services, including those who immigrated before 1967. Throughout her career, May has used her position as an attorney and community activist to champion issues of concern to Chinese Canadians, such as head-tax redress. During the 2006 federal election, she gained national attention for running in the LaSalle-émard riding as a Bloc Québécois candidate against the Liberal incumbent, Prime Minister Paul Martin.
‘I'll always, always be grateful to my community. For someone, a juk sing like me who could barely speak Chinese, they gave me my first job opportunity. … I'll always be grateful for that.’
May Chiu recounts how she started working for Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal. She appreciates being given an opportunity to work in the Chinese community of Montreal despite having limited speaking ability in Cantonese.
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