Skyrocketing housing prices have influenced how people voted on the Chinese Character of the Year.
"Rent" (租) received 55,561 votes, beating other characters and became the most-voted on character to represent the year 2023, announced by the Gendo Asian Art Foundation, organizer of the vote, at a press conference in Richmond on Thursday.
"The selection of the word 'rent' ... underscores the impact of skyrocketing housing costs, rising interest rates, and escalating rents on the quality of life for Canadians," said the foundation in a press release.
"The ever-increasing cost of living, symbolized by rent, has made it increasingly difficult for many Canadians to afford suitable housing, leading to widespread dissatisfaction and disappointment."
A total of 41,333 individuals participated in the second annual Canadian Chinese Character of the Year vote from Dec. 19 to Jan. 20 - each person could vote for more than one character. Almost half of the participants were from the Greater Toronto area, 37 per cent from the Greater Vancouver area and 11 per cent from other regions in North America, according to the organizer.
Local calligrapher Jin Liwen created a calligraphy art piece featuring the character "rent", which will be part of the collection of the Gendo Asian Art Foundation of Canada.
“The annual Chinese character election reflects the shared experiences of Chinese people living in Canada," said Chak Au, Richmond city councillor and chairman of the foundation.
"The exorbitant cost of living, particularly the unaffordability of housing, was a prevailing issue for Canadians in 2023, and the Chinese communities were no exception. I believe that all Canadians share the common desire for governments at all levels to implement effective policies that alleviate the burden of living costs and enable people to live and work in peace and contentment.”
Last year, the character "inflation” (漲) was selected as Canada's Chinese Character of the Year 2022 and received 33,187 votes.
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