C.I. 45 certificate of Wong Tuck Soon [Robert Shun Wong]

Chinese Immigration (C.I.) certificate of WONG Tuck Soon, later known as Robert Shun Wong. The registration and identification of all Chinese people in Canada was required by Section 18 of the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act (widely known as the Chinese Exclusion Act) when it came into effect on July 1st of that year.

Wong was born in 1917 in Nanaimo, BC to Chinese immigrants, and was raised in Nanaimo and Vancouver. He grew up and pursued his passion for flying at a time of legislated racism against Chinese people in Canada, including those born in the country. Facing limited career opportunities after WWII, he followed in his family's entrepreneurial footsteps to open his own flying school with his brother Tommy. By then, the family had moved to Toronto and the brothers co-founded their business (Central Airways) at Toronto Island Airport.