Henry Chu

Fifteen Minutes

Review the details of your Case Study’s life together. Did the class find anything surprising? Did they make any assumptions that were later challenged? Is there anything specific about their Case Study that they want to know?

• Henry Chu emigrated to Canada from China in 1918. He had to pay a $500 fee known as the Chinese Head Tax to enter the country
• He found work as a door-to-door salesman for a shop on Yonge Street, through which he met his future wife Ethel in 1923
• Henry was forced by his parents to go back to China after learning about his relationship with Ethel, where he was forced to marry someone else. He returned to Toronto in 1933 and resumed his relationship with Ethel
• At the time, if they got married, Ethel would have lost her British citizenship
• The couple had three children
• In 1943 Henry died of cancer