Earlier this year, Dr Victor Ling, one of Canada's best-known scientists, received some exciting news. He had to keep it under his hat for a while - until it became official - but he had been awarded the country's highest civilian honour. Becoming an officer of the Order of Canada was the latest in a long line of accomplishments for the cancer researcher.
Ling arrived in Canada as a child and like many Chinese expatriates of the time, the move to a new country was expected to be temporary.
It was his mother who decided to relocate from Shanghai to Hong Kong in 1948, during a period of political uncertainty. The couple imported and exported Chinese-made goods, and after two years, when it became obvious the turmoil on the mainland wasn't going to be resolved in the short term, the family moved on. Because Ling's father knew Canada through business dealings, they settled in Toronto, the country's biggest city.
'I was quite young at the time,' says Ling, 64, 'so my memory of Canada is from the perspective of a child. However, even at that age, I did find it remarkable that Canada had only Caucasians. There were hardly any Chinese in Toronto.'
There were none at the school Ling attended. He says it has been amazing to see how well Chinese have integrated into Canadian society in the decades since.
As a youngster, Ling was definite in his career plans. 'I became interested in science by reading a biography of Isaac Newton when I was in grade 8. After that I wanted to be a scientist.'