Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba (May 1, 2026) – The Manitoba Museum is honoured to welcome a temporary exhibition from the Chinese Canadian Museum which shares moving and powerful stories of Chinese people in Canada and Manitoba during the Chinese Exclusion Act between 1923 to 1947. The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act opens today in recognition of Asian Heritage Month.

The Paper Trail is a special adaptation of the award-winning landmark exhibition that debuted at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver on July 1, 2023 – the 100th anniversary of the Act. It takes an unflinching look at Canada’s exclusion years when, for the first and only time in Canadian history, the country banned the entry of a single community and issued immigration cards to Chinese who were born here. The exhibition focuses on the human impact and personal cost this law inflicted on Chinese people in Canada. The displays reveal haunting stories of loss, despair and fear, as well as powerful examples of courage and perseverance.

“We are so pleased to be partnering with the Chinese Canadian Museum to share this important history with our visitors. Curator Catherine Clement has done a remarkable job to further tailor the original exhibition to include local stories and connect with the Chinese Canadian community in Winnipeg,” says Dr. Amelia Fay, Director of Research, Collections, and Exhibitions.

Curated by award-winning Chinese Canadian historian Catherine Clement, The Paper Trail exhibition involved extensive crowdsourcing of private documents and stories from families across Canada, as well as hundreds of hours of painstaking research.

“Chinese exclusion was a monumental chapter in Canadian history, yet it was largely forgotten, even amongst Chinese Canadians whose families had been affected,” says curator Catherine Clement. “Fortunately, the extensive government paper trail left behind to enforce exclusion, helped us to slowly uncover the lived experience of this law: the daily realities, the emotional costs and the quiet endurance of a community under siege.”

The Paper Trail exhibition will be on display in the Manitoba Museum’s Discovery Room and Urban Corridor until April 2027

On May 1, Catherine Clement will give an author’s talk at 6:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Auditorium. This will be Catherine Clement’s only talk in Manitoba—an exceptional opportunity to gain deeper insight into this powerful and resonant story.  Learn more: https://manitobamuseum.ca

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Media Contact & Information: 

Image Gallery: A collection of images and a document with image captions & credits can be found here.

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications, Manitoba Museum
BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca
204-988-0614

Sophia Cheng
Publicist, Chinese Canadian Museum
Sophia@SophiaChengPR.com
604-828-3102

The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act exhibition is co-hosted by the Chinese Canadian Museum and the Manitoba Museum.

This exhibition made possible with the support of Canadian Heritage.