Lee's Benevolent Association of Canada 加拿大李氏總公所
Events / Announcements
Learn About Membership
Connect with your heritage and community. Find out more about how you can be a member of our long-standing association.
Members have access to events, networking, volunteering, and learning more about the Lee history in Canada.
Learn About Our Scholarships
Our association encourages and supports our members and their children in pursuing and continuing their post-secondary education.
Learn more about our eligibility requirements and how you can apply today.
History in Vancouver
The Lee Building at 131 East Pender Street, a central arcaded ‘Chinese style’ building, was built in 1907 or 1908 by the Lee Lung Sai Business Company. It was one of the earliest “Family Association” buildings in Chinatown. All the money raised to build the structure was provided by people with the surname of Lee, mainly from the Canton Province of China. The Lee building held a small office for the Lee’s Association, while the rest was used by importers, retail merchants, and restaurants.
In 1971, the Lee Building was recognized with Vancouver heritage status as part of the area’s historic area designation. In 1972, it was almost entirely destroyed by fire. Robert Lee decided to rebuild it, including the restoration of the facade as a free-standing frame, with a new building behind it. In 1973, rebuilding was completed.
After the 1972 fire, the Lee’s Association rented office space in the 200 Block of East Georgia street where the entrance to Sun Wah Centre is located.
Subsequently, the Lee’s Benevolent Association of Canada moved to its own building at 313 East Pender Street in 1987 or 1988.
The current building serves many functions:
3rd floor: Memorial Hall.
2nd floor: Regular board meetings, Ladies’ Choirs and the Athletic Society.
1st floor: Entertainment and social gatherings for members
A Brief History: Lee’s Benevolent Association of Canada
Written by: George S.K. Lee
The Association was formally registered as “LEE’S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION” under the Society Act in the province of British Columbia on December 29, 1954, as submitted by 8 directors from Vancouver and 1 director from Victoria. On January 9, 1982, a board meeting was held at Biltmore Hotel in Vancouver to discuss amending the by-laws of the Association. Ten months later, a. resolution was purportedly approved by the membership on November 20 to amend the by-laws, thereby changing its name to “LEE’S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION OF CANADA”. However, no record can be found to support this claim. Nonetheless, the amendment was filed and registered with Victoria on May 16, 1983. In an annual general meeting held on January 31, 1999, the members overwhelmingly passed a resolution to amend Articles 29(c) and 29(d). Two months later, the board of directors, including 11 of the current 15 out-of-town directors, met in Vancouver and approved a resolution calling for the implementation of the amendment in 2003. Accordingly, the amendment was duly registered under the Society Act on August 5, 1999. However, at a board meeting held on March 23, 2002, in Victoria, several directors led by Philip Lee and David Lee attempted to introduce a motion to have the implementation delayed for a further four years until 2007, contrary to the motion passed in 1999, part of which stated “Any further debate within this four-year period shall be taken up at an AGM.” It was ruled out of order by the president, James Lee. This led to a series of litigation currently before the courts. The Association’s assets consist of a rental property located on 828 & 830 S.W. Marine Dr. and its own building on 313 E. Pender St., both of which are in Vancouver.
In 1952, 75 individuals, all having the surname of “LEE”, including 70 of them from Vancouver, and 5 from Victoria, together with the Lee’s Benevolent Association and the Lee’s Benevolent Association of Vancouver, had loaned a total of $85,000.00 to complete the purchase of Vanport Hotel, a 4-storey structure located at the corner of Main St. and Georgia St. in Vancouver. In order to repay the individual loans, a “Hundred-share Club” was formed the following year to solicit funds from all the Lees across Canada. As a result, a total of $80,000.00 was raised from 110 Lees in Vancouver and 75 Lees in other regions, along with the Lee’s Benevolent Association, the Lee’s Benevolent Association of Vancouver, and the Lee’s Association of Montreal. The breakdown of funds raised according to cities is as follows:
Lee’s Benevolent Association – 16.25 %
Vancouver – 65.30 %
Victoria – 12.38 %
Other cities in B.C. – 3.38 %
Calgary – 1.25 %
Other cities in Canada – 1.44 %
Victoria – 11.3 %
Toronto – 10.2 %
Calgary – 7.0 %
Winnipeg – 5.0 %
Montreal – 19.0 %
Edmonton – 4.5 %
Sudbury – 2.0 %
Kingston – 5.0 %
Other cities – 3.0 %
U.S. cities – 4.0 %