In this interview, Helen Chan discusses her life in Canada through the eyes of motherhood, the Chinese community and her sons.
Helen was born in Hong Kong in 1940, and immigrated to Canada in 1966 to join her husband. They settled in Ottawa, Ontario where her husband was studying and she started a career in social work. Her husband relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1972 for work.
During their time apart, Helen stayed in Ottawa to raise their two young sons. Although she did not have the help of her husband with family responsibilities, Helen had hired help as well as in-laws that frequently visited.
In 1973, she moved to join her husband in Vancouver. She left her job as a social worker and became a real estate agent. Outside her role as a mother and career woman, Helen was also extremely active in her community. She was chairman of a Chinese non-profit group that aimed to help Chinese immigrants adjust to life in Canada.
Helen admitted that she did not really enjoy the company of her children until they were teenagers, when she started being able to relate to them on an intellectual level. She never missed an opportunity to educate them on their Chinese heritage, including teaching them to read, write and speak Chinese.
The greatest challenge for her was to raise her sons with both Chinese and Canadian values. She wanted them to keep their heritage without alienating themselves from Canadian society. The cultural clash was evident in the way that her sons would question her expectations of them, for example the level of independence they had compared to their Canadian friends.
Although Helen felt that she could have achieved more professionally in Hong Kong, she does not regret coming to Canada. She found many her experiences ultimately rewarding.
6 of 6 
