Anti-Asian Racism After The Pandemic By Eric Truong

By: Eric Truong 

For: Terriann Walling's blog post on 01/20/23 at 11:37

Picture drawn and taken by Eric Truong

This editorial is going to be on the topic of racism; however, it is going to focus on racial discrimination towards the Chinese and Asian communities.

There has been a deep-rooted history of racism in Canada. During the creation of Canada and the Canadian Pacific Railway, Chinese labourers were used as cheap and expendable labour. They were exploited and worked to death, and many were buried under the tracks they built. After the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 was passed, a legislative effort to limit the number of Chinese people entering Canada, it was the first time an ethnic group was prohibited from entering Canada. This was just one of the many racist policies created in Canada. In present-day Canada, racism towards Chinese and other Asian communities and xenophobia drastically increased during and after the outbreak of the Covid19. 

The Covid19 pandemic has led to the emergence of several racist stereotypes that have fueled and reinforced anti-Asian racism and hatred. In a study by the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter (CCNCTC) and Project 1907, “Anti-Asian Racism Across Canada Two Years Into The Pandemic”, there was:

• A total of 943 reported incidents of anti-Asian racism in 2021, which was a 47% increase from 2020.
• Reported incidents among Southeast Asians and South Asians increased by 121% and 318%, respectively.
• Children and adolescents (18yrs and Under) reported cases went up 286%, and young adults (19yrs - 35yrs) went up 43%.
• Reports of assault (ex. being coughed/spat on) went up by 42%.
• Online harassment toward the Asian community increased by 132% in 2021, but the highest amount of incidents happened in public spaces (48% of the reported incidents).

These were only reported incidents, imagine all the people who did not report incidents or did not know about this study. These numbers could be much higher than those listed.

However, the challenges facing racism and xenophobia as a whole are not just solved by one person, everybody needs to do their part if we want to get rid of these diseases plaguing our society. There are many ways we can do to fight against racism.

• You can educate and inform yourself about the different identities, cultures, and religions of the world.
• You can challenge the stereotypes that are rooted in Canada’s history and society.
• You can practice the inclusion of anybody, no matter their race, history, immigration status, religion, culture, etc.

Today Canada is described as a mosaic of different ethnicities, cultures, and languages. Therefore, xenophobia and racism against any ethnic group should not be a part of our society or country.

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Works Cited

Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, Another Year, 2022, Online source, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U2ki5j-h9y229pAwx-KkqjK0HmAIo9h9/view

Diamond, Yao. “Anti-Asian Racism in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2021, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/anti-asian-racism-in-canada.

Heritage, Canadian. “Addressing Anti-Asian Racism.” Canada.ca, / Gouvernement Du Canada, 11 May 2022,https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month/anti-asian-racism.html. 

Project 1907, Another Year, 2022, Online source, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U2ki5j-h9y229pAwx-KkqjK0HmAIo9h9/view