In 1994, one in every 130 Hong Kong residents moved to Canada. In that year, 44,223 people - most of them professionals and businesspeople - fled across the Pacific Ocean to escape the uncertainty of the handover to China.
At the height of the pre-handover stampede from 1992 to 1997, nearly 300,000 people left. Almost 70 per cent chose Canada as their new home.
At the time, pundits made dire predictions for Hong Kong's future with many of its best and brightest living in Vancouver and Toronto. But nobody was thinking about what may be the real consequence of the exodus: what would happen if the prodigal sons and daughters returned?
Seven years after the handover, Hong Kong is full of Canadians. Some of Hong Kong's best-known residents have pledged allegiance to the Maple Leaf. Victor Li Tzar-kuoi had his Canadian passport in one hand and C$600 million (HK$3.55 billion) in the other when he attempted a takeover bid of Air Canada last year. His brother, PCCW chairman Richard Li Tzar-kai, is also Canadian. Daisy Ho Chiu-fung, chief operating officer of Shun Tak Holdings, is on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce board of governors.
Patrick Fung Yuk-bun, chairman of the Wing Hang Bank, Michael Chan Yue-kwong, chairman of Cafe de Coral, and Commercial Radio host Albert Cheng King-hon: all Canadians.
Treasury Secretary Frederick Ma Si-hang was a Canadian until he renounced his citizenship to qualify for his senior government post.
Canada estimates 4 per cent of Hongkongers have Canadian citizenship - between 200,000 and 300,000. To cope with the demand for services, the Canadian consulate in Hong Kong - which sprawls over four floors of the Exchange Square Tower in Central - is as big as a full-fledged embassy.
