Completing the railroad was key to Confederation. Between 1881 and 1885, as many as 15,000 Chinese were recruited to British Columbia to build the sections of rail line that snaked through the challenging, mountainous terrain. Chinese workers were paid half the wages of whites, and assigned the most dangerous and backbreaking jobs. Many perished.
Once the last spike was driven in 1885, the Chinese were abandoned, and the first of several pieces of anti-Chinese legislation was introduced. With no work and little money left to return home, many became destitute. Vancouver’s Chinatown was a haven for those stranded in a hostile land.
太平洋鐵路的建成，對加拿大立國和成立聯邦政府有莫大的影響。從1881年至1885年期間，為數高達15,000名中國工人被僱用到卑詩省，參與建造省內一段最崎嶇曲折、山脈連連的太平洋鐵路。當時中國工人只拿取白人的一半工資，卻往往被分配做最危險和艱辛的工作，許多工人更在這段鐵路上失去性命。
加國政府在1885年鐵路完工之後便拚棄了中國工人，引入排華法案。由於失去工作、身無分文，很多中國工人未能返回家鄉。他們過著貧困的生活，溫哥華的唐人街便成為他們流落異鄉的棲身之地。
