Image of Chinese Canadians in Toronto participating in a war relief donation drive, Arlene Chan's 'The Chinese in Toronto from 1878'.

January 1, 1942: Canada and China became formal wartime allies as Original Signatories of the Declaration by United Nations in Washington, uniting 26 nations against the Axis powers. This alliance occurred while Chinese Canadians were subjected to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923, which banned nearly all Chinese immigration and mandated discriminatory identity certificates. The stark irony of fighting alongside China while restricting and discriminating against Chinese people in Canada contributed to growing awareness of this injustice. This awareness, coupled with advocacy, helped build support for the repeal of the Exclusion Act in May 1947, a crucial step towards granting rights to Chinese Canadians.