It is #AsianHeritageMonth and this is the story of Victoria's Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in Canada

The story of Chinatown in Victoria, B.C. begins with the mass influx of miners from California during the Fraser Gold Rush. One third of those who arrived were Chinese

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Within a year of the start of the gold rush, many Chinese started to arrive from China directly to find a better life than they had in their home country.
Initially, Chinatown was a collection of wooden huts but slowly it began to evolve.

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Before long there were schools, movie theatres, schools, churches, a hospital and many businesses.
Chinatown hit its peak in 1911 when it covered six city blocks and housed 3,158 people, more than was found in downtown Victoria.

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A period of decline started in the 1920s, lasting to the 1970s.
A revitalization began and today it is a popular and historical place to visit, including Fan Tan Alley. In 1995, it was made a National Historic Site of Canada.

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More from @CraigBaird

May 16
Each province and territory in Canada, represented by a Muppet who lives there. Generated by AI.

1. British Columbia Image
2. Alberta Image
3. Saskatchewan Image
Read 13 tweets
May 16
Charles Melville Hays was born today in 1856, and met an untimely end in 1912.

Born in Rock Island, Illinois, he began working in the railroad as a clerk when he was 17.
As the years went on, he rose to become the general manager of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada.

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When he took over the GTR, it was near bankruptcy. He reorganized the company and helped turn things around.
He left the GTR in 1901, but returned in 1902.
Hays began planning to build a new transcontinental railway from Moncton, NB to Prince Rupert, BC.

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Construction on the Grand Trunk Pacific line began in 1905. As it was built, it established many towns along the way like Melville, SK, which was named for Hays.
In 1912, with funds running low, Hays went to London to get financial support for his railroad.

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Read 4 tweets
May 16
It is #AsianHeritageMonth and this is the story of the Anti-Asiatic Riots of 1907.

By the early 20th century, there were 16,000 Chinese-Canadians living in British Columbia, as well as 8,000 Japanese-Canadians and 5,000 South Asian-Canadians.

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Many white residents saw the Asian residents as taking their jobs. The Asian Exclusion League in Vancouver campaigned for the elimination of Asian immigration to Canada.
On Sept. 7, 1907, the AEL began a parade through Vancouver to protest Asian immigration.

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Over 10,000 people marched in the anti-Asian immigration parade, eventually going into the Chinese and Japanese neighbourhoods of Vancouver.
They began smashing glass & attempted to destroy Chinese and Japanese stores and homes.

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Read 4 tweets
May 15
I wanted to see how AI saw each party in the 2023 Alberta election.

So, I asked Midjourney to generate an image based on some of the parties in the election. I used no prompts beyond "Alberta [Party Name] MLA"

#abpoli #abvotes #abelection

1. United Conservative Party MLA Image
2. Alberta New Democratic Party MLA Image
3. Alberta Party MLA Image
Read 7 tweets
May 15
I wanted to see how AI saw each party in Canada's House of Commons, as well as the People's Party of Canada
So, I asked Midjourney to generate an image based on each party in Parliament. I used no prompts beyond "[Party Name] Member of Parliament"

1. Liberal Member of Parliament Image
2. Conservative Party Member of Parliament Image
3. New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Image
Read 6 tweets
May 15
It is #JewishHeritageMonth and this is the story of Lea Roback!

Born in Montreal on Nov. 3, 1903 to Polish Jewish immigrants, Roback spoke Yiddish at home, French with locals & English in school.
In 1926, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.

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A polygot, she could speak several languages by the time she was an adult.
In 1932, she joined the Communist Party of Canada and used her language skills to help immigrants to Canada get settled.
In 1935, she established the first Marxist bookshop in Montreal.

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In 1936, she began working with Therese Casgrain to gain women the vote in Quebec.
In 1937, she organized 5,000 garment workers in a three-week strike for better pay and work conditions.
In 1958, she left the Communist Party after the Soviet Union invaded Hungary.

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Read 4 tweets

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