Ottawa had a Chinese population of about 170 in 1911 and did not have a Chinatown. The Chinese community grew slowly until it had a population of about 300 in 1931.
In 1931, a small Chinatown, consisting of three grocery stores, two laundries, two recreation clubs, and one gift shop, developed on Albert Street between Kent and O’Connor streets. By 1941, Ottawa’s Chinatown had not expanded territorially, although its business establishments had increased to twelve: four restaurants, three laundries, two grocery stores, and three other shops. In addition, it had four organizations: the Oriental Club of Ottawa, Dai Lou Club, Moo Chung Chinese Club, and the Chinese Nationalist League. An anti-Japanese organization, formed in Chinatown in the late 1930s, was reorganized as Chinese Community Association of Ottawa (Jiajing Zhonghua Huiguan) after the Second World War was over.
Chinatown continued to decline after the 1940s. As it was near Ottawa’s town centre, old buildings on Albert Street were gradually replaced by high-rise office buildings. By 1961, only four Chinese restaurants and one grocery store remained in operation. After they closed down in the 1970s, Chinatown on Albert Street no longer existed.
During the late 1960s, a few Chinese merchants began to operate small businesses on Somerset Street West, a commercially zoned street in Centretown Ward and Dalhousie North Ward. By 1974, Chinese stores and restaurants such as Wah Fatt Barbecue Shop and Grocery, China Restaurant, Shanghai Restaurant and Sun On Grocery had been set up on the northern side of Somerset Street West in Centretown Ward.
Throughout the late 1970s, a large number of new Chinese immigrants came to Ottawa; its Chinese population increased from 3,060 in 1971 to 8,205 in 1981. Many started to live and set up business on Somerset Street West in the enthically diverse Dalhousie North Ward which was a run-down lower-income residential neighbourhood. In 1971, for example, 54 per cent of its residents spoke English as their mother tongue, 22 per cent spoke French, 17 per cent spoke Italian, and the remaining 7 per cent spoke Portuguese, Chinese, East Indian dialects and other languages. They operated small family corner store businesses along Somerset Street West from Bronson Avenue to Rochester Street. Meanwhile, an undetermined number of Chinese merchants and investors from Toronto and Montréal moved to Ottawa. They purchased old houses on Somerset Street West, converting them into commercial premises for their own businesses or to rent out. By 1980, about ten Chinese businesses had spread along the street in the two Wards. There was no cohesive grouping of Chinese business concerns on the street, therefore Somerset Street West was not perceived by the public, including the Chinese themselves, as a New Chinatown.
On 16 April 1980, City Council designated Dalhousie North Ward as a redevelopment area and Somerset Street between Bronson Avenue and Preston Street would be improved. The designation resulted in unprecedented commercial growth of Chinese businesses on Somerset Street in the early 1980s. In 1982, for example, the Hum family purchased a few old buildings, demolished them, and constructed Humphrey Plaza, a two-level commercial building. Scores of Chinese restaurants, grocery stores, gift shops, florist shops, beauty parlours, and offices were established in new commercial buildings or renovated houses on Somerset Street West. South of it, an eight-storey Ottawa Chinese Community Centre was officially opened in 1982 at the corner of Kent and Florence streets. It consisted of forty-six apartment units, a community hall, a Chinese library, and an office for the Chinese Community Association of Ottawa. Somerset Street West became known as Chinatown to many Chinese residents but not to many Italian residents in Dalhousie North Ward where there were Italian, Indian, Vietnamese and Thai businesses on Somerset Street. In 1981, for example, Italians accounted for about 11 per cent and Chinese only 4 per cent of the Ward’s residential population.
In February 1986, a Chinatown Development Committee was set up by representatives of eight Chinese organizations and several Chinese community leaders. It requested City Council to undertake a study of developing a Chinatown on Somerset Street West. The request was readily approved and used as a part of Mayor Jim Durrell’s campaign platform in the fall of 1985. The Ottawa Planning Committee started working on the Terms of Reference for the proposed Somerset Street Planning Study which would develop a Chinatown on Somerset Street West. In April, the Dalhousie Community Association, Cambodian Association, Vietnamese Community Association, Ottawa Chinese Business Association and other organizations set up the Somerset Street Citizens’ Committee (SSCC). After reviewing the draft of Planning Department’s Study proposal, the Committee felt that the proposed study put too much stress on development of a distinct Chinatown, and wanted the study to reflect a more multicultural approach, including other ethnic groups such as Vietnamese, Japanese and Laotian. An Italian restaurant merchant worried that people might assume that there could not be an Italian restaurant in a Chinatown but an Indian food store owner felt that his store would stand out in a Chinatown because people coming to Chinatown would want to try something different. Within City Council there was also a division in opinion about the proposed study. Alderman Darrel Kent supported a better-defined Chinatown because if all ethnic groups were included in the development plan, Somerset Street would become just another commercial business strip. However, Alderman Diane Holmes opposed the Chinatown idea because many businesses along Somerset Street were not Chinese. Eventually in August 1987, City Council approved a feasibility study to consider all possible themes for Somerset Street West. An interim report was completed in October and pleased neither residents nor merchants in the Somerset Street area. Finally, Ottawa Planning Department decided to drop the idea of creating a New Chinatown on Somerset Street and left it to develop on its own.
In July 2006, some Asian community leaders proposed to Mayor Bob Chiarelli that a Chinatown Gateway be constructed at the junction of Somerset Street West and Cambridge North streets. Accordingly, a Chinatown Gateway project team was formed in August under the banner of the Somerset Street Chinatown Business Improvement Area (SSCBIA). The Chinatown Business Improvement Area (BIA) represented about ninety stores and sixty property owners on Somerset Street from Bay to Rochester streets. (Later, the BIA was extended to Preston Street). City Council approved a request by representatives of the BIA to name Somerset Street within the BIA, “Tangren Jie” (Chinatown).
On 3 October, 2006, the Gateway Steering Committee was formed with Marilla Lo, a BIA director, as the chair, and Lawrence Lee, President of the Ottawa Chinese Lions Club, as co-chair. The Steering Committed obtained a start-up grant from the City of Ottawa and drew up an application plan to request funding from the three levels of government. Its application was actively supported by Federal MP Paul Dewar.
In November 2006, Larry O’Brien was elected Mayor of the City of Ottawa and gave his full support of the Chinatown Gateway Project. On 27 June 2007, Ottawa City Council approved the Gateway Project and provision of tax receipts for donations. Katie Ng, Winnie Wang, Angie Kwan, Theresa Wong Yan and other directors started organizing various fund-raising campaigns such as a Golf Tournament and the Gateway Kick-Off Gala Dinner on 25 September 2007. Community associations participating in the Project included SSCBIA, Chinese Lions Club, Ottawa Chinese Community Association, Lung Kong Association, Federation of Ottawa Canadian Chinese Organizations and other representatives from the Asian community. Senator Vivienne Poy was the Honorary Patron of the Project.
On 17 October 2008, Larry Lee, Chair of Gateway Association, together with Albert Tan and other directors, met Ambassador Lan Lijun and Mayor O’Brien in the Mayor’s office to discuss the details of the project. As Ottawa and Beijing are twinned cities, Beijing would design the gateway, donate construction materials and provide architectural consultation and crews whereas the City of Ottawa would provide the land. The three levels of governments, Ottawa Chinatown BIA, and the community together donated over $919,000 to the construction of the Gate. The Chinese government donated the gate materials and sent workers and technicians to Ottawa to help build the arch. The Ottawa Chinatown Gateway was officially dedicated on 7 October 2010. Canada and China established diplomatic relations on 13 October 1970. Hence, the official opening of the Gate also marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries’ diplomatic relations. The Gateway is in the centre of the BIA on Somerset Street West, which, in 2012, consisted of about 50 Chinese businesses, about 30 Vietnamese businesses, 3 Italian businesses, 3 Korean businesses, 2 Japanese businesses, and about 30 businesses of other ethnic groups.
