Fonds F003 - David Lai fonds

David Chuenyan Lai was born in Guangzhou, China on September 16, 1937, the eldest of three boys. His family moved to Hong Kong when he was two years old; his father died during World War II.

Lai earned his Bachelor of Arts (1962) and Master of Arts (1964) from the University of Hong Kong. A British Commonwealth Scholarship helped him earn a Doctorate in geography from the London School of Economics in 1967. His thesis examined the industrial geography of the cotton spinning and weaving industry of China in the early 1900s.

Lai returned to Hong Kong and taught briefly at his alma mater before immigrating to Canada in 1968 with his new wife, settling in Victoria, BC, through a teaching appointment in the geography department at the University of Victoria. Upon arriving in the city, Lai experienced some of the discrimination that characterized the history of the Chinese in Canada when he was unable to find suitable accommodation for the couple.

Lai was the only Chinese person in his department; when it planned to organize a seminar on urban development in 1971, he was assigned to research the city’s Chinatown. The project would spark Lai’s lifelong interest in Chinese Canadian history and the development of Chinese communities in Canada, with a focus on Victoria’s Chinatown, the country’s oldest Chinatown.

By the 1970s, the historic area had become a slum and was at risk of being razed by the city. Working with members of its community, Lai researched and documented the significance of the neighbourhood. His 1979 report on “The Future of Victoria’s Chinatown: A Survey of Views and Opinions” led to the city’s refurbishment of the area, which included restoring historic buildings, burying power lines, and erecting the first permanent Chinese arch in Canada in 1981.

Lai’s ongoing efforts to preserve the history, heritage and contributions of Chinese Canadians in the city was far-reaching. He spearheaded the designation of Victoria’s Chinatown as a National Historic Site in 1995, and the Chinese Cemetery at Harling Point the following year. When the old immigration house on Dallas Road was to be demolished, he intervened to save plaster pieces of the walls on which Chinese poetry had been etched by early immigrants while under detention. The majority of the historical records and artifacts that Lai recovered in the community were donated to the University of Victoria Library and to the Royal BC Museum for preservation.

Lai’s study of Chinatowns and consulting for various municipal governments extended across Canada and North America, and he published on the topic in both English and Chinese in scholarly journals, books, community newsletters and publications, and newspaper op-eds. Through the 1990s, he expanded his study of Chinese Canadian communities and their urban form to the growing development of Asian-themed malls in the Greater Vancouver (Richmond) and Greater Toronto areas in reflection of new waves of Chinese immigration, particularly from his native Hong Kong.

Lai’s many recognitions include his induction as a Member of the Order of Canada in 1983. He retired from teaching at the University of Victoria in 2003, remaining active in community issues including efforts related to the federal government’s apology offered in 2006 to Chinese Canadians for the Chinese head tax and Chinese Exclusion Act. Throughout his career and lifetime, he also studied aging and advocated for seniors care, particularly related to Chinese seniors supports within Chinese Canadian communities. In his retirement, he held appointments with the University of Victoria’s Centre on Aging.

Lai died on June 15, 2018, survived by wife, Roberta Manyuk, and their two children: Jim Yuan (b. 1971) and Joan Man (b. 1972).