Chinese labourers working on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the mountains. (Library and Archives Canada)

November 7, 1885, the ceremonial 'Last Spike' of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was driven, famously captured in a photograph. Conspicuously absent were the thousands of Chinese labourers whose grueling work was essential to its construction. This exclusion is deeply significant for Chinese Canadians, symbolizing the era's racial discrimination. These workers faced harsh conditions, lower pay, and high mortality rates, yet their vital contribution was unacknowledged. The completion of the CPR, facilitated by their labour, was pivotal for Canada, but was immediately followed by the imposition of the Chinese Head Tax, further underscoring the injustice faced by the very people who helped build the nation.