This May we have been celebrating Asian Heritage Month. Vancouver is home to many diverse Asian communities who have shaped the city, as well as the country as a whole.
What is Asian Heritage Month?
The Government of Canada recognizes Asian Heritage Month as a time to recognize the achievements and contributions of people of Asian origin and have named 2025’s Asian Heritage Month theme “Unity in Diversity: The Impact of Asian Communities in Shaping Canadian Identity” to acknowledge the strength of diversity among Asian Canadian communities.
The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society has been active for over 25 years and works with Asian-Canadian communities to celebrate arts and diverse culture in Vancouver. The VAHMS was founded in 1996 by Jim Wong-Chu, Mishtu Banerjee, Mo-Ling Chui, Grace Eiko Thomson, and Winston Xin and Asian Heritage Month was officially recognized as May in 2001.
Noteworthy Canadians of Asian Heritage
If you want to read more about some of the achievements of Asian-Canadians, the Government of Canada highlights some of the people who have helped shape the history of Asian communities in Canada. Among them are social activists, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, artists, politicians, engineers, and more. You can read about them here.
Asian Heritage Month 2025 Events
On May 6th, UBC co-hosted a film screening by the UBC Asian Independent Cinema Showcase (AICS) and the TFAI Taiwan Docs, “In Search of Light: Hong Kong x Taiwan Documentary Short Films”
The Vancouver Art Gallery is hosting several Asian Heritage Month activities this May, including:
- An Art Party with live performances and immersive art experiences on May 24th
- Public tours in Punjabi and Mandarin on May 25th
- A workshop on weaving techniques on May 25th
In June, the LiterASIAN festival of Asian-Canadian writing is hosting workshops, storytelling events, and talks from notable authors. You can find a full list of events here.
UBC Library Materials
Check out these books and booklists to read more about Asian heritage!
Mabute-Louie, B. (2025). Unassimilable: An asian diasporic manifesto for the twenty-first century (First ed.). Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. [Available at UBC Library]
Nguyen, V. (. p., OAPEN, De Gruyter University of California Press Complete eBook-Package 2023, DOAB: Directory of Open Access Books, JSTOR eBooks: Open Access, & De Gruyter Open Access Books. (2023). Lived refuge: Gratitude, resentment, resilience. University of California Press. [Available at UBC Library]
Oza, J., & ProQuest (Firm). (2023). A history of burning: A novel. McClelland & Stewart. [Available at UBC Library]
Wong, T. (2024). All our ordinary stories: A multigenerational family odyssey. Arsenal Pulp Press. [Available at UBC Library]
For other book recommendations, check out the Asian Heritage Month Booklist from LiterASIAN’s official bookseller: Iron Dog Books, an Indigenous-owned bookshop in Vancouver. The UBC Bookstore also has a selection of book available about the history of Asian-Canadians.
Web Sources Cited
Government of Canada. (2021a, February 18). Noteworthy Canadians of Asian origin—Asian Heritage Month [Campaigns]. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month/noteworthy-figures.html
Government of Canada. (2021b, April 26). About Asian Heritage Month. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month/about.html
Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society. (2025). About Us. https://vahms.ca/about-us/