10th Anniversary: Rising Global Cities
10th anniversary of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China was an event that triggered the aspirations of B.C. and Canada to engage with the rising economic prowess of the Asia Pacific region. In the decade prior to the handover, new waves of Chinese migration from Hong Kong as well as elite migrants from all around the Asia Pacific region responded to changes in federal immigration policy designed to attract wealthy migrants, bringing remarkable changes to Canada. The influx of Asian entrepreneurs and investors has remade Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Toronto, but has also presented new challenges in terms of social justice and equality. Not only did these new migrations spark resentment against the Asianization of the city (prompting the popular usage of the term Hongcouver), but it also augured a new era of global connections in which we still find ourselves in the midst.