On a building overlooking Little Toronto’s Chinatown, the face of Jean Lumb is painted across what may be the smallest mural in the city. Little Canada’s Miniature Maker artists conceptualized her in various moments—as an activist, as a singular woman amongst a group of men influencing historic policy change, and as a proud champion of the Chinese community—a tribute to her large and lasting impact on Canada.
“My mother’s accomplishments are remarkable, so her story and recognition are so important for sharing and passing onto future generations,” Lumb’s daughter, Arlene Chan, told Little Canada in 2023, after seeing the mural and accompanying storycard firsthand. “Canada is a country of diverse people, all arriving at some point in time from another country to settle with the Indigenous Peoples who were already here. We need to be constantly reminded to celebrate and highlight our histories so that we appreciate that what we have today is the result of the obstacles and the hardships endured in the past.”
Lumb—born Toy Jin Wong—lived through a lot of historical milestones. She was very young and living in Nanaimo, B.C., when the Chinese Exclusion Act came into effect. This meant that all Chinese people in Canada—even those who were Canadian-born, as she was—had to register with the government. She quit school at the age of 12 to work so her brothers could continue their studies during the Depression, and by the time she turned 30, she had lived through two World Wars.
Jean Lumb’s legacy is best recognized for how she shaped history and her indelible mark on the country through her community work, organizing, and activism.
Her story
Lumb was 16 years old when she moved to Toronto from Canada’s west coast, and it wasn’t long thereafter that she opened a fruit shop at Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue. At the time, there was a large population of Chinese men in her community who could not be reunited with their wives and children, left behind in China due to the Chinese Exclusion Act. “For someone who came from a large family, the impact of seeing so many lonely Chinese men motivated her to get involved in making changes to Canada’s immigration laws,” reads a photo essay of her life, published on the Jean Lumb Foundation’s website.
While the Act was repealed in 1947, it remained difficult for Chinese Canadians to bring their relatives to Canada. In 1957, Lumb was the only woman among 40 delegates to meet with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, advocating for changes to immigration laws and a lift of family reunification restrictions.
“The questions from the floor were mostly directed to me because of the fact that I was a woman and the issue was family reunion,” Lumb once recalled of the meeting. “I feel very lucky that I had the opportunity to be out front as an official spokesperson. Women have always had to be too much in the background.”
She remained committed to the cause even while change was slow and would host politicians and activists at her Cantonese restaurant to discuss the discriminatory legislation. Her advocacy helped to influence changes that abolished immigration restrictions based on race in 1967.
These lobbying efforts overlapped with her work heading the “Save Chinatown Committee,” which was established as the community was being demolished for the construction of the new City Hall and Nathan Phillip’s Square. Again, through Lumb’s leadership and activism, she helped to stop further destruction. This accomplishment ultimately earned Lumb the Order of Canada in 1976—she was the first Chinese Canadian woman and first restaurateur to receive the honour. A year later, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and the Governor General’s Award.
Lumb’s legacy
Lumb was deeply rooted in her community, sitting on boards for the University Settlement House, Women’s College Hospital and Rotary-Laughlen Centre. She also served as Director of Yee Hong Nursing Home and the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto. She became known as an unofficial spokesperson for the Chinese Canadians in the city, and was as much of an icon as the mural in Little Canada makes her out to be. Lumb passed away in 2002, though her story lives on in tangible and intangible ways.
“She broke glass ceilings and had a huge impact,” Chan told the Toronto Sun in 2016, when a plaque honouring her mother was unveiled in Toronto’s Diversity Garden, located in Old Chinatown.
The annual Jean Lumb Awards, an initiative of the Jean Lumb Foundation, recognizes five outstanding high school students of Chinese heritage who have achieved excellence in academics, athletics, community services, the arts and innovation. Jean Lumb Lane was unveiled in Toronto’s Chinatown in 2019 to acknowledge 100 years since her birth, and there is a public school named after her in downtown Toronto.
Family connections
Chan, her sister, Janet, and her husband, Leo, can also be found in Little Canada; they were Littlized during their visit, and their Little Mes are placed in Chinatown, watching the dragon dance.
“The streets were filled with familiar restaurants, stores, and street artwork,” Chan said, recalling her observations of Little Canada’s Toronto Chinatown. “I was a cultural consultant for Turning Red, the Pixar film that was set in Chinatown, so I was delighted to see the red panda on a rooftop.”
There are tiny connections to Lumb and her family throughout Little Canada, even beyond the pieces directly dedicated to her. A miniaturized version of the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial can also be found in Little Toronto; her grandfather was among the 17,000 Chinese immigrants who came to Canada between 1881 and 1884 to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Plus, her birthplace of Kelowna is now featured in Little Canada’s newest destination, Little West Coast.
“Lumb’s childhood longing for acceptance into Canadian life fueled her dedication to building bridges to the broader community,” Chan writes for The Canadian Encyclopedia. “[Her] dedication to civic and community work leaves a legacy of social activism and cultural pride that benefits all Canadians. Her service is not forgotten.” Indeed, not forgotten—but rather memorialized and celebrated at Little Canada and beyond.
