“Diversity is doing well here,” said engineer Simon Yu upon becoming the first person of color to be elected mayor of the city of Prince George in central British Columbia in November 2022. An immigrant from Hong Kong, Yu has become a proud ambassador of the city and a vocal advocate of cultural inclusivity.
“I just can't say enough good things about Prince George. We are safe from natural disasters. We’re situated right in the middle of British Columbia, the halfway point between Asia and the United States,” said Yu, who came to Canada as a student in 1976.
Since he was elected mayor, Yu has stepped up efforts to institutionalize inclusivity, believing the city will benefit from a diversity of perspectives and open dialogue among different communities in the city.
“We have a very diverse group of people living here. We learn to work together and set aside our differences. I always encourage people to be secure in their own culture and explore each other's differences, learn from each other, and build a better world. Perhaps, we can even set an example as a city for the rest of the world,” he said.
In public addresses, Yu often emphasizes the importance of embracing each other's cultures, traditions and beliefs, and lays out a vision to make Prince George a melting pot of ideas and backgrounds where collaboration and cooperation thrive.
