Changing faces: Richmond Hill is more diverse than ever

But is it more inclusive?

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 7, 2019
Sheila Wang

This is the first in a three-part series about newcomers in the town of Richmond Hill, the challenges they face, and where they can turn to for help.

It just so happens that Elli Cheng lives in a predominantly Chinese community in Richmond Hill.

Three years ago, Cheng and her husband Francis Ng immigrated with their young son to Canada from Hong Kong to be close to Cheng's sister in the Elgin Mills area. It didn't take them long to feel at home as Cheng soon realized they moved into a Chinese neighbourhood where people speak more Mandarin or Cantonese than English.

Cheng's family was among the more than 50,000 Chinese descendants that are currently living in Richmond Hill, a sprawling town just north of Toronto.

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Almost one in three residents in Richmond Hill identified as Chinese, making it the largest ethnic group in town, followed by Iranian and Italian, according to the 2016 census data.

“I’m not surprised by that,” said Valerie Preston, a geography professor at York University, noting that the diversity in Richmond Hill dates back decades.

She said the recent growth in the visible minorities -- especially Chinese and Iranians -- is a result of accumulative factors that are “attractive” to these groups, such as housing, services, education and, most importantly, “cultural proximity.”

Data shows Richmond Hill added some 13,000 Chinese descendants over the period of 2011-2016, along with 4,000 Iranian descendants, which overtook Italian to become the second largest ethnic origin in town.

“Historically, concentration of people tends to increase over time,” said Preston, who has done extensive research on migration and settlement in Canada.

To Richmond Hill, the recent influx of Chinese and Iranian descendants is nothing new as many of them moved here to be with their friends or families who had made their way in Richmond Hill a long time ago, she said.

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In mid-1980s and '90s, Canada saw a considerable number of immigrants from Hong Kong before its return to China in 1997, when many from Hong Kong ended up in Richmond Hill, a quiet suburb with decent available housing at that time.

The recent years, however, have seen a mixed flow of Chinese people from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, as well as those who relocated from other parts of Canada for better lives, who, Preston said, have brought different cultures and experiences to the town.

While Richmond Hill may be overshadowed by Markham, Scarborough or Mississauga as a destination for the Chinese immigrants, the professor said, the town has boasted increasing economic opportunities, housing options and neighbourhood amenities catering to Chinese people and other ethnic groups.

If you drive up and down Leslie Street or pull into a random plaza on 16th Street, you may easily come across a Chinese foot massage parlour, a Chinese-language settlement service, or a Chinese restaurant (or several).

“I do everything in Richmond Hill,” said Cheng, who rarely feels the need to go out of town.

Among all the ethnic groups residing in Richmond Hill, Iranians have been the fastest-growing group in recent years, developing a strong presence in town.

There are more than 21,000 residents who identified as Iranian in 2016, accounting for 11 per cent of the town's population, an increase from 5 per cent in 2006, census data shows.

The commercial activities of the Iranian descendants are mostly concentrated at Finch and Steeles, and the Iranian population has been moving north in a dispersed pattern, Preston observed.

“It is a complete community, not just grocery stories and pastry shops,” she noted.

Richmond Hill is not just appealing to a few particular ethnic groups, but rather it is trying to create an environment that is welcoming to all, Ward 6 Coun. Godwin Chan said.

As a first-generation immigrant to Canada from Hong Kong, Chan said he found the town has become an increasingly important destination for people of all backgrounds.

The biggest draw, he reckoned, may be its unique location.

“I chose to come live in Richmond Hill 25 years ago for this particular reason: its strategically central location, on both sides of Yonge, north of Toronto,” Chan said.

He pointed out a recent trend where people -- regardless of backgrounds -- tend to move north along the Yonge Street corridor from North York or Thornhill to Richmond Hill. Chan noticed that his ward, north of Highway 7, has seen a notable growth in different ethnic groups such as Korean and Filipino.

There were more than 5,700 self-identified Korean people, and more than 4,000 residents considered themselves Filipino, according to 2016 census data.

Is Richmond Hill inclusive?

Lugging suitcases across the arrival lobby of the airport, jet-lagged or disoriented, newcomers have travelled thousands of miles to Canada for different reasons: a sign of hope, a sense of belonging, or a new way of living.

They are all seeking a new home.

It is in Richmond Hill where many of them have found one.

But are they included?

“I would say I’m feeling included. From the school of my son, I’m feeling it is inclusive,” said Cheng, who spent her first two years in Richmond Hill staying home and looking after her son who goes to the Richmond Rose Public School.

While Richmond Hill has embraced its diversity quite successfully in general, Preston said, inclusion goes beyond the friendly faces on the bus, the polite greetings in the mall or the casual exchanges on the streets.

“It is a really complicated thing. Like most municipalities, Richmond Hill is struggling with it, it is learning to do that (to be inclusive),” Preston said.

Some would say inclusion can been determined by whether they have Canadian-born friends in their networks, Preston said as one example.

The reality is that most Canadians tend to have friends who are similar to themselves in terms of education, income, and ethnic and racial background, she added.

“That’s true for the Canadian-born and newcomers. What standards are we holding the newcomers to?”

It may be cultural proximity that has brought immigrants here, and it is cultural differences that could hold them back from being integrated.

Cheng said her husband Ng had to struggle quite a bit at his first job, adjusting to the new cultural and work environment.

The cultural difference is just one of the challenges that many newcomers are often not prepared for when they are settling in, Preston said, especially those people who come in as skilled workers or family-sponsored.

The first few months of settling can be overwhelming, Cheng recalled.

“Great challenges in driving a car, getting a licence, a health card, social insurance … It’s all very frustrating,” Cheng said, as she is also part of a networking group of immigrants from Hong Kong.

More often than not, they either are unaware of, or ignore the settlement services that are available in Richmond Hill and elsewhere in York Region, she said.

There are currently five welcome centre immigrant services -- including one in Richmond Hill -- which provides language training, job counselling and introduction to Canadian society.

“The real question for settlement services is what can be done to encourage people to come in and use them,” Preston said, noting that these services have been proven to be very effective.

Richmond Hill has run into a similar problem in getting its own immigration services utilized, Coun. Chan said.

Richmond Hill residents can request interpretation in their preferred language through the town’s over-the-phone interpretation service, which is able to translate their questions and answers in 200 languages.

Chan said Richmond Hill was the first town in York Region that introduced such service for those who don’t speak English.

However, the service has been publicized in English, which has made it hard to reach all of those in need.

“We can do a better job to let more people in various diverse communities know that we have such service,” the councillor said.

Preston said Richmond Hill has done as well as many other York Region municipalities in terms of supporting newcomers and various immigrant communities.

But it is merely the beginning of the being inclusive, she said.

“Most of Richmond Hill councillors have spoken quite openly and quite supportively of being inclusive. And that’s important. That’s the tone. The question is what you do next.”