Children were a rare sight in the early years of Chinatown. Only the wealthiest of Chinese men could afford wives and families in Canada. Over time, however, children like Harden Lee (b: 1924) were born into this community and grew up adopting both Chinese and Western ways. Although this first generation of local-born Chinese was initially denied citizenship, they were determined to be equal Canadians. Their service in WWII led to full citizenship for everyone. Citizenship led to better careers. And better careers and incomes resulted in many moving away from this Chinatown.
在唐人街發展初期，小孩是非常少見的。只有那些極為富裕的華人，才有能力負擔妻兒和家人在加拿大生活的費用。不過隨著時日過去，漸漸有小孩子在唐人街社區出生和長大，他們自小受中西文化薰陶，當中的例子有生於 1924 年的Harden Lee 先生（中文姓名不詳）。雖然當時的加拿大政府不承認第一代的土生華裔為公民，但他們下定決心要爭取平等的加拿大公民待遇，其中有些人在第二次世界大戰時參軍為國效力，最終讓所有土生華裔都獲得平等的公民地位。他們獲得公民資格後，隨之而來的是更佳的工作機會。然而在事業有成及財富增加之後，許多人亦離開了唐人街，搬往別的社區居住。
