Although there were several locations in North America that the Chinese could have immigrated to, British Columbia was the destination of many. One of the most appealing factors drawing the Chinese to British Columbia was the Fraser Valley gold rush. In 1858, gold was discovered in the Fraser Valley, attracting the attention of mainly Chinese men. This opportunity to get wealthy quickly made immigration rates explode.
In 1871, British Columbia officially became a province of Canada. As it entered Confederation, the government promised the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, a massive railway spanning from British Columbia to present day Quebec. This enormous project required lots of labour. However, it would have been expensive and time-consuming to hire workers from Europe. Instead, Chinese workers were hired, as they were the nearest low-cost labourers (Plumblossom Centre 2). British Columbia was a relatively new colony. Other construction projects required work too, such as the creation of roads, the fishing industry, and in agriculture (Plumblossom Centre 4).