On this day in 1981, an Edmonton newspaper was sharing stories about the thousands of refugees who had settled in the city after the Vietnam War.
In April 1975, North Vietnamese troops seized the city of Saigon, pushing the American-backed South Vietnamese government out of power and marking the end of nearly 20 years of war. Still known as the Fall of Saigon, it sparked one of the largest refugee crises in history. Millions fled Vietnam and the larger region to escape persecution and retribution. Many made the journey by sea. Those who did faced a harrowing journey, as disease, illness, storms, starvation, and piracy were all threats on the water.
In 1978, Canada changed its Immigration Act to make it easier for Southeast Asian refugees to be admitted, including allowing private groups to sponsor refugees directly. Over the next two decades, more than 200,000 Southeast Asian refugees resettled in Canada.
For many, Edmonton was one of their first stops in Canada. By late 1979, the Canadian government had chartered 79 planes to fly more than 15,000 refugees into the country. Edmonton served as a staging ground for these new arrivals, who were flown into the airport and then travelled by bus to a temporary shelter at the military base north of the city. There, the refugees received medical treatment and were provided with supplies before moving on to find a permanent home.
While many were resettled elsewhere in Canada, thousands remained. By the mid-1980s, an estimated 15,000 immigrants of Southeast Asian descent were living in Alberta, about 92% of whom came from Vietnam. In addition to those brought in directly by the government, private sponsorships through social organizations and churches helped thousands more settle in Edmonton.
Many who stayed in Edmonton settled near the core, just north of Chinatown, which led to an expansion of the neighbourhood. Vietnamese businesses began to appear, especially along 97 Street near 107 Avenue. As new arrivals became more established in the 1980s, community organizations were formed. The Edmonton Viets Association was founded to support new refugees as they adjusted to life in Canada. In 1995, Việt Nam Thời Báo — a Vietnamese-language newspaper and magazine — was established to serve the province's growing Vietnamese community, and it continues to publish an edition in both Edmonton and Calgary.
Even as the community established itself in Edmonton, the transition remained difficult for many. Years after moving to Canada, many Southeast Asian refugees still struggled with high unemployment and poor economic mobility. Part of this was likely due to a downturn in oil prices, which affected the entire province, but refugees also faced barriers like language, their foreign qualifications not being recognized, and discrimination.
This April was the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, which was marked by many in Edmonton's Vietnamese community. The thousands of people who arrived here in the '80s and '90s built the foundation of the city's strong, vibrant Vietnamese community. Edmonton continues to offer a new home to people displaced by war. Earlier this year, a new housing project was established specifically to support LGBTQ2S+ refugees arriving in the city. February saw the opening of the DON'YA Ukrainian cafe, which began as a volunteer donation centre for those displaced by Russian attacks on Ukraine.
This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.