Jean Bessie Lumb, , (1919–2002) was the first

Chinese Canadian , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

woman and the first restaurateur to receive the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

for her community work. Most notably, she was recognized for her pivotal role in changing Canada’s immigration laws that separated Chinese families and for her contribution in saving Toronto's First Chinatown and

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

s in other cities.

Early life

Lumb, one of twelve children, was born in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

to Fun Gee Wong and Hone Hung Mah, both of Canton, China. Her father emigrated to Canada to work as a farm labourer. Lumb left school at the age of 12 to work and support her family. In 1935, she moved to Toronto and later opened her own grocery store as a 17-year-old.

Adulthood

Jean Lumb married Doyle Jenning Lumb in 1939 in Toronto, who had come to Canada from China, and they had 6 children. Although Lumb was born in Canada she lost her Canadian status after her marriage and regained it in 1947. Her husband was born in China and remained stateless until 1947 and died in 1989. The mother of six children and grandmother of nine grandchildren, Jean Lumb was the co-owner (with husband Doyle Lumb) and director of the Kwong Chow Restaurant in Toronto for 23 years. The restaurant was highly successful and popular with both Chinese and Westerners, with many politicians a clientele due to its proximity to Toronto's city hall. Lumb was very active in community work throughout her life. She was instrumental in organizing the campaign to save Toronto's First Chinatown from complete demolition and galvanized the community against further expropriation later of remaining portions on

Dundas Street Dundas Street is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways— 2, 5, and 99—followed long sectio ...

. She was also a major force, and the sole woman, in the 1957 delegation from the Chinese community lobbying the government of

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

to repeal the explicit racial discrimination from the immigration laws of the time containing race-based criteria for admission to Canada. She achieved many firsts in Toronto. This included being the: *First Chinese woman on the board of governors of the Women’s College Hospital. *First Chinese woman on the board of University Settlement House *First Chinese restaurateur and first woman to receive the Fran Deck Award for outstanding achievement in Toronto’s restaurant industry. *First Chinese-Canadian woman to sit on the board of Rotary-Laughlen Centre. She also served as director and honorary advisor of the Yee Hong Chinese Nursing Home for Greater Toronto and the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, respectively.

Positions

*1957: Immigration Appeal Act (Only woman invited to Ottawa to represent Chinese families separated by immigration laws) *1950 - 1972: Women's Association of the Chinese Dramatic Society, president and director *1959 - 1981: Kwong Chow Chop Suey House, Toronto, co-owner and director *1959 - 1970: Chinese Community Dancers of Ontario, director and producer (Command Performance for and presentation to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Ottawa, 1967 *1959 - 1967: Toronto Chinese Public School, trustee and director *1962 - 1968: University Settlement House (First Chinese-Canadian woman to sit on the board of directors) *1963 - 1998: Lem Si Ho Tong Family Association Women's Group, president and director *1966 - 1982: Rotary-Laughlen Centre (First Chinese-Canadian woman to sit on the board) *1970 - 1982:

Women's College Hospital Women's College Hospital is a teaching hospital in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the north end of Hospital Row, a section of University Avenue where several major hospitals are located. It currently functions as an independe ...

(First Chinese-Canadian woman to sit on the board of Governors) *1970: "Save

" Campaign, chairperson *1973 - 1982: Ontario Advisory Council on Multiculturalism *1985 - 1999: Mount Sinai Hospital, director *1985 - 1998: University Settlement House, patron *1986 - 1990: Canadian Music Competition for Ontario, patron *1987 - 1990: Summer Centres for Seniors, director *1992: Twinning of Chung King and Toronto, advisory board member *1994:

Ontario Women's Directorate The Office of Women's Issues (french: Office de la condition féminine), formerly the Ministry of the Status of Women (french: Ministère de la Condition féminine, between 2017 and 2018) and Ontario Women's Directorate (french: Direction génér ...

, honorary member *1994 - 2001:

Citizenship Judge The Citizenship Commission is an administrative tribunal within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The overall mandate of the Commission is to assess referred applications to ensure they meet the residence or physical-presence ...

*1994 Yee Hong Chinese Nursing Home for Greater Toronto, founding director *1994 Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, honorary advisor

Family

Lumb's brothers Robert (1917-1987) and Tommy Wong also moved to Toronto, where they founded Central Airways School (formerly Wong's Air School), that taught flying at

Toronto Island Airport Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is a regional airport located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is often referred to as Toronto Island Airport and was previously known as ''Port George VI Island Airport'' and ''Toronto ...

. Their flying school closed down in the early 1980s. Robert lived in east end Toronto and Tommy in west-end Toronto. Lumb's daughter,

Arlene Chan Arlene Chan () is a Chinese Canadian historian, activist, athlete, and author from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her works focus on documenting the lived experiences and histories of Chinese Canadians in the Greater Toronto Area, Toronto's Chinese commu ...

, is a prolific author and a historian of Toronto's Chinatowns and the Chinese Canadian community.

Awards and honours

*1976:

(First Chinese-Canadian woman and First Canadian restaurateur) *1977: Queen’s Silver Jubilee Award *1977: Recipient of the

Governor General’s Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

*1982: The Fran Deck Award In recognition of Toronto’s leading contributor to the restaurant industry (First woman recipient) *1983: Special Award to Honour Special Chinese Canadians (Presented by the

Chinese Canadian National Council The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) (french: Conseil national des Canadiens chinois pour la justice sociale), known in the Chinese-Canadian community as Equal Rights Council (平權會), is an organization whose purpose is to promote eq ...

in honour of Chinese in Canada and their 125 years of continuous community) *1984: Recipient of the City of Toronto Award of Merit, Special Sesquicentennial presentation on Civic Honours Day First Chinese-Canadian woman *1984: Award, Ontario Chinese Restaurant Association *1990: The Chinese Community Nursing Home for Greater Toronto, Tribute at the first annual Dragon Ball *1994: YWCA Women of Change Honour Roll *1996: Tribute to Madam Jean Lumb Banquet: Mid-Autumn Gala for the Jean Lumb Awards *1997:

Elizabeth Fry Society The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) is an association of groups operating under the Elizabeth Fry Society banner, similar in many respects to the John Howard Society. The Elizabeth Fry Society groups work on issues affecting ...

, Rebel for a Cause Honouree *1997: Chinese Family and Health Cooperative, Mother of the Year Award *2000: Order of the

Knights of Rizal The Knights of Rizal is an Order of Chivalry from the Philippines, created to honor and uphold the ideals of Philippine national hero José Rizal. The civic organisation of the "Order of the Knights of Rizal" was established in 1911 by Colonel An ...

*2002: Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award *2007: Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs, Lifetime Achievement Award *2009: Provincial Historical Plaque Unveiling,

Ontario Heritage Trust The Ontario Heritage Trust (french: link=no, Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien) is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural herita ...

*2017:

TDSB The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

Jean Lumb Public School

Media

Filmography

*Jean Lumb, Loving spoonfuls, Episode 2, Indivisual Productions Inc., 2001. *Quo Vadis, Mrs. Lumb?,

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

, 1965. *Spirit of the dragon, written, directed and produced by Gil Gauvreau, Convergence Productions, 2002. (Winner of the

's Outstanding Documentary Award at the Reel World Festival 2003) *Under the willow tree: pioneer Chinese women in Canada,

, 1997.

Exhibition

"But women did come: a photographic exhibition on Chinese Canadian women",

, 1993.

References

*Becker, William B. "Dining Out in Toronto: Kwongchow Chop Suey Tavern. "Michigan Living Motor News, vol. 61, no. 11 (May 1979), p. 27. *"A Chinese Paragon: Jean Lumb, C.M." Imagination 13 (May 1990), pp. 10–11. *Cannon, Margaret. "The Chinese Connection." Country Estate (Late Autumn 1990), pp. 35–44. *Chan, Arlene. Spirit of the dragon: Jean Lumb, a proud Chinese Canadian. Toronto: Umbrella Press, 1997. *

, Women’s Committee. Jin Guo: voices of Chinese Canadian women. Toronto: Women’s Press, 1992. *"Dragon Ball". Country Estate (Late Spring 1990), pp. 68–69. *Forster, Merna. "A Chinese Voice, Jean Lumb 1919-2002." 100 Canadian Heroines. Toronto: The Dundurn Group, 2004. *Growe, Sarah Jane. "Grandmothers are really cooking." Toronto Star (April 15, 2000),p. J16. *Growe, Sarah Jane. "Leaving a legacy important for us all." Toronto Star (November 24, 2001), p. M21. *Huang, Evelyn and Lawrence Jeffrey. Voices from a community. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1992. *"Jean Lumb Award." Chinese Education Journal (Canada) (Winter 1998), pp. 6–7, 8. *Keung, Nicholas. "A fresh look at our past." Toronto Star (October 8, 2004), p. B01. *Moore, Brian. "Toronto." National Geographic (n.d.), pp. 52–56. *Our grandmothers, ourselves: reflections on Canadian women. Edited by Gina Vallee. Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2005. *Sherwood, George. Legends in their time: young heroes and victims of Canada. Toronto:Natural Heritage Books, c2006. *"Someone’s in the Kitchen with David" Star Week (April 1–8, 2000), p. 6. *Stein, David Lewis. "Toronto: What makes It Tick?" Chatelaine (August 1978), pp. 36–37, 95. *Stollery, Peter. "The Emergence of the Chinese Establishment: West from Canton, East from Spadina and South for the Writer." Toronto Life. (December 1976), pp. 27–35. *Urquhart, Ian. "Chinatown Fights Back the High-Rise Shadows." The Telegram (June 21, 1971)

External links

Jean Lumb Foundation

Former WCH Board Member Jean Lumb - A Visionary
Women's College Hospital Newsletter, September 4, 2007.

* ttp://archives.cbc.ca/society/immigration/clip/9245/ "Kin for Hire"(CBC Archives, May 29, 1960)
Oral History Museum

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumb, Jean B 1919 births 2002 deaths Businesspeople from British Columbia Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian citizenship judges Canadian restaurateurs Canadian people of Chinese descent Members of the Order of Canada People from Nanaimo