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AV���� history professor Howard Hisdal celebrated a major milestone in the history of Chinese Canadian right to vote. 

Hisdal was invited by Shaun Boo to make the trip to Commando Bay on Okanagan Lake to commemorate the 1944 British Special Operations (SOE) training of 13 Chinese Canadian commandos. The event included members of the Kelowna Chinese History Group, the Chinese Freemasons of Kelowna, and Military Historian Keith Boehmer of the Okanagan Military Museum.  

“The training of the 13 Chinese Canadians at Commando Bay was significant because the commandos went on to serve British Intelligence in Burma, Borneo, Malaysia, and Singapore,” explained professor Hisdal. “Four of the commandos won Military Medals for their bravery and all of them survived the war.” 

During the trip, Hisdal delivered a talk on the history of Commando Bay and its significance to Canadian history.

“In 1944 Major-General George Pearkes, Victoria Cross winner and the commander of Pacific Command, visited Commando Bay and took part in the training and asked what he could do for the Chinese Canadians who were training there. The group told Pearkes they wanted the right to vote,” said Hisdal. 

“This was an important step towards suffrage for Chinese Canadians,” Hisdal continued. “The next year, in 1945, Pearkes left the army, ran as a Member of Parliament, was elected, and in 1947, helped to get Chinese Canadians the vote.”

The enlistment of Major-General George Pearkes at Commando Bay into the cause of suffrage for Chinese Canadians was a positive turning point in the history of human rights in Canada.

The event to commemorate Commando Bay was sponsored by the Kelowna Chinese History Group and the Chinese Freemasons of Kelowna.

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