The Worker's Party of Canada was founded in January 1922 at a convention of labour representatives in Toronto.

John Work (originally "Wark") was born in Cork, Ireland and joined the Hudson's Bay Company in 1814. He served first at York Factory and then in the Severn River district. In 1823 he was sent to the Pacific coast, for which region he became chief trader in 1830, and was stationed at Fort Simpson from 1832-1852. He was appointed chief factor in 1846 and was frequently in charge of trading missions, including one to Sacramento, California. From 1853 until his death he lived at Victoria and was a member of the Vancouver Island House of Assembly.

Marion Wootton immigrated to Vancouver with husband Allen Wootton in 1910.

Allen Shakespeare Wootton was born in Brackley, England and immigrated to Vancouver in 1910. He served as Vancouver Parks Board Superintendent from 1913 to 1943. He was also a hobbyist lyricist.
Source: "Crimson Sunset," British Columbia Sheet Music. Accessed August 24, 2012 http://www.library.ubc.ca/music/bcmusic/htmpages/crimsonsunset.html

J. Howard Woolmer was born in Montreal. As a professional bookseller in New York, he developed an interest in the works of Malcolm Lowry and began a collection of books and periodicals with material by or about Lowry. In 1969, Woolmer published "A Malcolm Lowry Catalogue" which included two previously unpublished Lowry poems introduced by Earle Birney. In 1983, Woolmer published "Malcolm Lowry: A Bibliography".

Biographical information unavailable.

Born in Golden, B.C., Frances Woodward completed university degrees at the University of British Columbia (B.A., 1960) and McGill University (B.L.S., 1961). After working at the Provincial Archives of British Columbia from 1961 to 1966, she joined the Special Collections Division of the Library in 1966. Woodward's areas of particular interest include British Columbia history and historical cartography.

Eugene S. Woodward came to Victoria, B.C., from England in 1908. He became President of the Victoria Trades and Labour Council and elected to City Council in 1921. A self-educated economist, he served briefly as an advisor to the Social Credit government in Alberta in 1936 before turning to a career in journalism as an editorial writer and columnist.

Bruce Woodsworth was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on November 24, 1914 to Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) pioneer J.S. Woodsworth and Lucy L. (Lillian) Staples Woodsworth. In 1936, Mr. Woodsworth graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Arts (Hon.) in Geology. From 1936 to 1939, the Anglo-American Exploration Company employed Mr. Woodsworth to work in Northern Rhodesia for the purpose of prospecting, surveying and mapping the area. While in Northern Rhodesia, Mr. Woodsworth engaged in big game shooting which he later wrote of in several articles. In 1939, Mr. Woodsworth began graduate work in both economic and political science at McGill University, and returned to British Columbia in 1940 to take a teachers' training course at UBC, from which he earned an academic certificate. Mr. Woodsworth married Fannie E. J. Williams in Toronto in 1944.
An ardent CCF supporter, Bruce Woodsworth first became involved with the party through his father. At the age of 16, before the CCF was even formally founded, Mr. Woodsworth delivered campaign literature for J.S. Woodsworth in Winnipeg North Centre. In 1939, he became a member of the CCF and canvassed for many candidates, took part in CCF clubs, and attended various speeches and conferences that the party promoted.

Leonard Woods was born in 1919 in Stonewall, Manitoba, taught at the Vancouver School of Art, 1945-1969, and co-founded the Langley Community Music School in 1970.

Authur Sutherland Piggott Woodhouse was born in Port Hope, Ontario. He spent five years at the Department of English at the University of Manitoba, where he taught eighteenth-century literature. He specialized in the work of English poet John Milton.

George Woodcock was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was raised and educated in England, where, in the late 1930s, he met many members of London's literary circle, including Dylan Thomas, Roy Campbell, Herbert Read and George Orwell. Woodcock returned to Canada in 1949 and joined UBC's Department of English seven years later. He became editor of the newly-formed journal Canadian Literature and served until his retirement in 1977. In Canada, Woodcock is best known as a poet, critic, dramatist and social commentator, while in England, he is recognized as an author of travel books, political commentator and biographer. Throughout his career, Woodcock has received numerous awards and honorary degrees.

Susan Joan Wood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1948 and earned a B.A. (1969) and an M.A. (1970) from Carleton University and a Ph.D. (1975) from the University of Toronto. She joined the English department at UBC in 1975 and taught Canadian literature, science fiction and children's literature. She received two Science Fiction Achievement Awards ("Hugo" awards) for critical writing in that genre (1974, 1977). She was the Vancouver editor of the "Pacific Northwest Review of Books" (Jan.-Oct. 1978) and also edited the special science fiction/fantasy issue of "Room of One's Own." She wrote numerous articles and book reviews that were subsequently published in books and journals.

Born in Victoria, B.C., Frederic Gordon Campbell Wood enrolled in the first class established in that city by McGill University and, in 1910, graduated from McGill itself. After teaching high school in Victoria for four years and earning an MA from Harvard University (1915), Wood joined the newly-established University of British Columbia faculty as one of the two original members of the Department of English. He founded and directed the Players' Club, which staged theatrical performances throughout the province. The Frederic Wood Theatre stands as a tribute to his significant contribution to theatre development in BC. In 1950, he retired from UBC after thirty-five years of service to the university and became the longest-serving original staff member. Even after his retirement, Wood continued to assume an active interest in the theatre.

Bea Wood was born in Vancouver but spent two years in Fiji before returning to Vancouver in 1907. Wood trained in nursing at UBC Fairview, graduating in 1923 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Nursing. She was a member of UBC's Players Club, and this is where she met her future husband, Frederic Wood. Wood was the first Head Nurse at the Vancouver General Hospital Emergency Department.

Wood and English Ltd was a lumber and sawmill company which operated in the small town of Englewood on Vancouver Islands north eastern coast. The company existed from approximately 1925 to 1945.

WOO Wai Yee was born in China on August 15, 1886 in the district of 開平 Hoiping / Kaiping. He arrived in Canada in 1911 on the Empress of India steamship with intentions to settle in Victoria.

But he was drawn to the Canadian Prairies and eventually settled in Saskatchewan and worked in restaurants.

By 1922, he was living in the small town of Nokomis, Saskatchewan. Two years later, he was living in Saskatoon and working as a cook. He was 38 years old.

A son who had been living in China managed to immigrate to the United States. Wai Yee would occasionally visit this son, staying about a month each time. Wai Yee would spend time with his grandchildren, Corrine Woo and Kingland Woo, taking them on walks to buy them candy and comic books.

Wai Yee took his tea English style, with cream and sugar, and enjoyed smoking Dunhill cigarettes. He passed away January 13, 1978.

WOO Sou Lum was born in 1883 as a peasant in the village of Sar Doi, in [新會 Sunwui / Xinhui] county, China. He came to Canada in 1898 paying the head tax. He was 15 years old and his name was recorded as "Wo Lem." Over his life in Canada, his name would be written in a multitude of ways.

In 1902, Sou Lum returned to his village to marry his first wife, LUM Song Kam. Upon marrying, his name became WOO Jew Sim. His first wife would give birth to a son whom they named WOO Gong Hing.

In 1919, Sou Lum was issued a C.I.36 certificate with his photo on it. The C.I.36 replaced his original C.I.5 certificate which had no photo. On the new document his name is recorded three ways: Wo Lem (WO Sow Lem) (WO Jew Shuen).

On a subsequent visit to China, he married his second wife in Hong Kong: LEE Wun Fong. They returned to Canada in 1920 and went to live in Revelstoke, BC. Their first two children died. Their third child, a son named William Woo, would live to adulthood as would seven other children that the couple had together: Effie, Edith, Margaret, Helen, Hazel, Mary, and Dugald.

Sou Lum’s most significant job was that of a fish cannery contractor, where he was responsible for the crew of labourers in various fish canneries, mainly St. Mungo cannery in New Westminster, BC.

His skills at home involved cooking for the family, which was something all the children remembered. In 1950, he was able to bring his teenage grandson from China, to live with this family in Vancouver.

Sou Lum passed away in 1961.

Ruby Woo (also WOO Lai Ken and WOO Lai Quon) was the eldest daughter of WOO Sou Lum and WOO Lee Shee.  She was born in Revelstoke, BC, in 1921 and eventually moved to Vancouver with her parents. As more children were born, Ruby helped in their care as well as taking them for trips down the street to Chinatown.

Sadly, in 1934 she died from diphtheria, a bacterial infection. At the time, there were no vaccines for diptheria, and most of the fatalities from the disease were children. 

WOO Nor Luen (known in Canada as Bill Woo) arrived in Canada at age 15 in 1921. His brother, WOO Nor Wei (aka Charlie Woo), was already living in the country having arrived in January 1919.

Somehow, the two brothers’ names were switched in error. Nor Luen was actually Charlie's name and Nor Wei was Bill's name. For some unknown reason, the two brothers never got around to correcting the error and just kept using each other's name for the rest of their lives.

Bill also sometimes went by the name Woo Wing Kwok which he used amongst family and friends.

Bill went straight to Winnipeg, Manitoba where his father ran a laundry business.

Later, he moved to Strathmore, Alberta and worked in the dining room of the King Edward Hotel before settling in Black Diamond, where he operated a shoe repair shop with his brother Charlie. Many oilfield workers owned just one pair of work boots, so the brothers became experts at quick repairs. The shoe repair business was eventually transformed by Charlie into Woo's General Store...which present-day locals fondly remember, calling it the "WooCo" store.

Sometime in the early 1930s, Bill left to open his own business with a partner, the Royal Cafe in Turner Valley. The café sold more than Chinese Canadian food. It stayed open until 11:00 p.m., and offered groceries (baked goods, milk, canned goods), tobacco, candy, ice-cream parlor treats, drug store supplies, toys and novelties.

The building itself offered rooms where single men, working in the oilfields, could find boarding. In the 1950s, the café added a jukebox and became a teen hangout. It also served as a depot for the Greyhound bus.

Bill was a well-liked and respected member of his community. Many of the single Chinese men “didn’t speak English and had depended on Dad for many things that needed translation. He was usually the only reliable Chinese friend or acquaintance they could depend on to be an "executor" of their estates.” Bill was frequently called upon to arrange burials for Chinese men who died alone or for their remains to be shipped home.

Despite the racism of the time, Bill was popular with the local Foothills Caucasian community. One young white friend even taught Bill how to ride a horse and took him to his first silent movie.

Bill travelled to and from China several times. In 1952, Bill was finally reunited in Canada with his wife and children. However, the reunion was not without its hurdles and tense moments.

Although family reunification was allowed following the repeal of the Exclusion Act, there was an age limit of 21 for children, and hundreds of Chinese sons and daughters were subjected to X-rays that examined the ossification of their bones to determine their age.

Bill's eldest son was over 21. When X-ray determined he was over age, an immigration officer suggested he would look the other way if a bribe was paid. Not wanting to leave his eldest son behind, Bill felt he had no other choice but to pay the bribe. He would be one of many fathers who made that decision to ensure all his children joined him in Canada.

Bill retired to Vancouver in 1960 at age 55. He passed away in 1990.

WOO Jin Wah (also known as WOO You Sen) was born in the village of 邊塘村 in the county of 開平 Hoiping / Kaiping, China on December 12, 1900. He arrived in Canada while WWI was still raging.

By 1924, he was living at 735 St. Catharine Street West in Montreal, working in an unnamed restaurant, and was using an English name of Arthur Woo.

According to his family, over the years, he worked at multiple jobs in restaurants and convenience stores. Most notably, he opened a restaurant in Montreal called the Lily Garden 淸園. By then he lived on Rue Jeanne-Mance, where some his sons continued to live in 2022.

He died on August 1, 1959 and was buried at Mount Royale Cemetery in Montreal. His headstone lists his name as WOO Jin Wah.

Unfortunately, due to a house fire in 2020, all his belongings were lost including his original C.I.5 certificate. All that is left is a scan of the front of his head tax document.

Jack Cook WOO was born in Vancouver on November 28, 1918. His father was Chinese and his mother was English.

Jack’s father worked in the Caribou as a labourer, then later as a cook at the Harrison Hotel in Chilliwack.

Being of mixed race, Jack encountered discrimination. He recalled to his family how, while in elementary school, he and his sister would sit and eat lunch together as other children would not sit with them.

Later in life, to increase his chances of getting a job, he dropped the surname Woo and was known simply as Jack Cook. Jack also didn’t want his children to be treated like he was and consequently didn’t want them to have a Chinese surname. His experiences shaped him and he hated and fought against exploitation.

Jack worked in fishing canneries up and down the British Columbia coast. He was a dedicated and active member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, and served as its vice-president.

He married Jean Hunt and they had four children. The couple enjoyed going to drive-in theatres. Since they could not afford a babysitter, they hauled two of their daughters along for the show. Wearing their pajamas, the girls would nestle into the back seat and fall asleep while Jack and Jean enjoyed the movie.

Jack died suddenly while giving a talk and slide show during a meeting of the United Fisherman and Allied Workers Union. It was March 25, 1961.

The origins of the Wongs’ Benevolent Association in Canada date back to 1912; the Wong Wun Sun Society and the Wong Kung Har Tong Society 黃江夏堂 were founded among numerous Chinese societies providing support to early Chinese immigrants within a racist white society. The Wongs' Association was formed in 1970 when the two founding Wongs' societies merged.

Overseas Chinese formed membership-based social service and mutual aid societies organized by surname/clan and home villages/districts. They provided support in the areas of housing, employment, banking and loans, immigration and legal services, political organizing, English language services and education, and burials.

Membership within the Wongs’ Benevolent Association is bound by the surname Wong 黃 (and 王 to a lesser extent). Members share ancestral roots in the districts of Toisan 台山 and Hoiping 開平 in the southern province of Guangdong 廣東 in China.

In Vancouver, the Association’s legacies include the Mon Keang Chinese School 文彊學校 and Hon Hsing Athletic Club 漢升體育會, both founded in the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act. In the post-war period, the Association is known for playing a significant role in the founding of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver.

Jim Wong-Chu was a writer, photographer, historian, radio producer, community organizer and activist, editor, and literary and cultural engineer. He was born in 1949 in Hong Kong. In 1953, he was sent to live with this aunt and uncle in Canada as a "paper son", a term which referred to the practice of children who immigrated to the Canada by using real or falsified identification papers of relatives living in Canada. He was sent back to live with his parents in Hong Kong in 1957 out of concern that his paper son identity might be discovered by government authorities. However he returned to live with his aunt and uncle in Canada in 1961.

He attended Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art + Design) with a focus on photography and design from 1975-1981. He also attended the University of British Columbia for creative writing from 1985-1987.

He worked as a letter carrier for the Canada Post from 1975 until his retirement in 2013. However he also worked as an associate editor for Douglas and McIntyre and as an associate editor for Arsenal Pulp Press. He also did consulting work for various community organizations as well as film and television productions and literary publications.

He was a founding member of various community and cultural organizations including: Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW), Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society/explorASIAN, the Pender Guy Radio Program, Asia Canadian Performing Arts Resource (ACPAR), Ricepaper magazine, and literASIAN: A Festival of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian Writing.

In addition to founding many community and cultural organizations, he was also involved in explorAsian (Vancouver Asian Heritage Month), Go for Broke Festival, B.C. Sinfonetta Society, Federation of British Columbia Writers, The Chinese Community Library Association, B.C. Heritage Trust and the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver. He also served on juries and advisory panels for various government grants and book prizes including the Vancouver Book Prize, B.C. Book Prize, and Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize, and Multiculturalism Canada publishing grants.

He was the recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal from the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the Canada Post Silver Postmark Award.

Selected Written Publications: Inspection of a House Paid in Full (author), Chinatown Ghosts (author), A Brief History of Asian North America (author), Strike the Wok: An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Fiction (co-editor), Inalienable Rice: A Chinese and Japanese Canadian Anthology (contributor), Many-Mouthed Birds: Contemporary Writing by Chinese Canadians (co-editor), Millennium Messages: An Anthology of Asian Canadian Writing (contributor), and Swallowing Clouds: An Anthology of Chinese-Canadian Poetry (co-editor). He has also had written works published in West Coast Review, Bridge, Mainstream, New Shoots, Asianadian, and Shift Current Anthology.

Selected Photograph Publications and Exhibitions: The B.C. Photographer (publication), Mainstream (publication), Asianadian (publication), Inalienable Rice: A Chinese and Japanese Anthology (book), and Yellow Peril: New World Asians (exhibit).

Jim Wong-Chu passed away July 11, 2017.

WONG Yue (WONG Goey) arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1911 as a 35-year-old labourer.

WONG Yen Toy was born in China on August 23, 1907 in the village of Yew Gong, [台山 Toisan / Taishan] district, [廣東 Guangdong] province. His father, Wong Nam Mon, made his way to Canada in the late 1800s and worked as a labourer on Vancouver’s waterfront. His mother was named Wong Gin Shee.

Yen joined his father in Canada, arriving in Vancouver in 1922 at 15 years old. Family accounts suggest that Yen served as a houseboy for a lawyer’s family who lived in the city's West End neighbourhood. He attended King George Secondary School, but there are no school records showing that he graduated.

Yen traveled to China four times between 1924 and 1947, returning in 1926, 1931, 1937 and 1948. As shared by his son, Jack Wong, he left China during Japan’s invasion of China (1937) and returned to China during the Chinese civil war (1945-1949). In China, Yen had a son, Chuck, with his first wife, and two daughters, May and Lin, from a second marriage.

The history of where Yen lived in Vancouver Chinatown and the work he did between and after his multiple trips to China is fragmentary. His son, Jack, shared, “We can only assume whatever savings [he had] was used to pay for the trips back and forth between China and Vancouver.” Before leaving for China in 1947, he worked as a cook or kitchen help at the Peter Pantages Café on Granville Street in Downtown Vancouver.

In 1950, Yen received his Canadian citizenship.

In 1956, his son, Jack Wong, was born. Their family home was on West 7th Avenue in Vancouver.

Yen eventually became a partner at a grocery store located at 2002 West 4th Avenue, then co-owner of a restaurant called China Pheasant Café on Commercial Drive, and finally, the owner of Vienna Café on West 4th Avenue until his retirement in 1978.

Yen Toy Wong passed away in Vancouver, BC on December 19, 1982.

Reflecting on his father and grandfather’s migration stories to Canada, Yen’s son, Jack, shared: “I believe that my father made it his duty to honour my grandfather’s hope and it has been my duty, as his son, to ensure I live a life of accomplishment with the opportunities they have given to me and for me to pass on the values of commitment, integrity and honesty to the next generation… I have been an active volunteer for my community since my early adult life. I feel that this volunteerism is my duty to “give back” to a community that provided my father and grandfather the opportunities to succeed with their family. I never met my grandfather, but I think this is what would have made my grandfather proud.”