Chinatown

The area known historically as "Chinatown" has historic and cultural heritage value as an area of the downtown core primarily owned and occupied by Chinese Canadian men, especially between 1921-1930. Chinese Canadians have lived and owned businesses in Smithers since 1913. By 1921 there were 35 Chinese Canadian men living and working in Smithers. According to property tax registries and census data, most of these men resided together in a few buildings owned by Chinese Canadians located on Broadway and Alfred, between Main and Dominion. For a few years in the 1920s and 1930s this area was locally referred to as "Chinatown". These community members ran businesses and contributed to local charitable causes. Their wives and families usually could not join them in Canada due to the Head Tax, and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923.