Chan, Shirley
Shirley Chan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her mother, Mary Lee Chan (née Lee Wo Soon), was also born in Vancouver but migrated to China as a child in the 1920s with her family. Mary’s refusal to enter into an arranged marriage with a Chinese Canadian businessman angered her father, causing him to stop sending remittances to the family. This determination helped Mary survive war-torn China and long bouts of separation from her husband, Wah Goh (Walter) Chan, whom she met while teaching in China. Pregnant with her second child, Shirley, Mary set out alone for Canada in 1947 with her Canadian birth certificate in hand. She began to work in factories immediately upon her arrival, saving up enough money to bring over her husband in 1949 followed by her first daughter, Jane, in 1951. Mary was an outgoing, vocal presence in Vancouver’s Chinese community; Shirley says she challenged gender and cultural stereotypes.
When planners and politicians threatened to bulldoze Vancouver’s Chinatown and the nearby Strathcona neighbourhood, which had already been partially redeveloped, Mary took matters into her own hands. She went door-to-door to alert her neighbours with her teenaged daughter, Shirley, in tow. When Shirley was in university in the late 1960s, the two became instrumental in forming the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association (SPOTA), which successfully halted the city’s plans. Since then, Shirley has continued her work with communities in various capacities: in social service organizations, in government agencies, and in politics. In 2007, Shirley became the CEO of Better Opportunities for Business, a non-profit organization that supports local business development and job creation in inner-city Vancouver.
In this interview, Shirley Chan reminisces about her childhood in Vancouver, British Columbia’s Chinatown, details the growth of her political consciousness as she fought for various social causes, and outlines her career path. Shirley feels that both racial and sexual discrimination are very real, even at the time of the interview. She actively works to promote better cultural understanding and is an advocate for community rights.
Shirley’s parents, Walter Chan and Mary Lee Chan, were married in China, where they had one daughter, Jane. When Mary arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1947, she was six months pregnant with Shirley. She immediately began working to fund Walter’s immigration to Canada. Walter arrived two years later. Together, Mary and Walter bought a house near Vancouver’s Chinatown. Within a few years, Shirley had a younger sister and brother. Though Shirley’s oldest sister Jane immigrated to Canada from China, the large age gap between them meant that Shirley took on the role of the eldest sister.
Growing up in Chinatown, Shirley felt sheltered from racism. Her parents’ decision to live close to the Chinese community meant she was surrounded by the culture and language. Her mother and father were both busy working in a factory and running a family store, but her father took the time to teach Shirley Chinese. Shirley saved enough money to go to University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
Shirley became involved with politics very early in her life. One of her first projects involved rallying people in her community to lobby against an urban renewal project that would destroy houses in her neighbourhood. From there, she took on many roles including working on a governmental task force in Ottawa and as a Multiculturalism Director. She notes that her career is always tied to her social goals: promoting cultural diversity and making sure all communities are equally represented.
Shirley also comments about marriage, gender expectations in society, and balancing career and family life.
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