Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association Coat of Arms, on the Changing Chinatown Tour, June 02, 2024. Image by Rachna Shah.
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Resource ID
11120
Access
Open
Credit Line
Rachna Shah
Date of Creation
02 June 2024
Keywords
Chinatown, Coat of Arms
Program Category
Tours
Rights
Rachna Shah
Caption
Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association Coat of Arms, on the Changing Chinatown Tour, June 02, 2024. Image by Rachna Shah.
Description
Tour Participant holds a laminated piece of paper displaying a coat of arms.
The Wong Association of Ontario (Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association) traces its origins to one of the oldest Chinese family associations in Canada - Wong Kung Har Tong, established in 1912. It was originally located in Toronto's first Chinatown, near present-day Bay and Dundas Streets. Family associations were important to the lives of early Chinese immigrants and their descendants, as they provided or assisted with employment, housing, immigration services, financial loans, and health care.
During the years of the Chinese Immigration Act (1923-1947), Chinese immigration was barred by the Canadian government, and the membership of Wong Kung Har Tong declined. The organization ceased operations, re-emerging in the early 1950s in partnership with Wong Wun Sun (founded in 1930). The two groups purchased a building for joint use in 1952, merged as the Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association in 1962, and moved to this location on Spadina Avenue in 1988.
In 2011, the Wong Kung Har Wun Sun Association became the first Chinese-Canadian family association to receive a coat of arms from the Canadian Heraldic Authority.
Discover the past and present along Spadina Avenue; from the historical lakeshore and Indigenous trade route to a diverse international neighbourhood; the advocacy by the Jewish and Chinatown community against discrimination so that they could not only survive but thrive in their new home; and the evolving definition of public space and art that grounds the community and its shops, homes, and businesses.