A Lifetime of Heritage Work: Congratulations to Dr. Imogene Lim


The Chinese Canadian Museum is proud to congratulate Dr. Imogene Lim, a board member, on receiving the Outstanding Award in the Professional Achievement: Lifetime Achievement category at the 2026 Heritage BC Awards.

Presented during an evening marking Heritage BC's 45th anniversary at the Britannia Mine Museum, the award celebrates Dr. Lim's decades of work preserving and elevating Chinese Canadian history in British Columbia.

A descendant of Cumberland and Vancouver's Chinatowns — both with roots in head-tax-paying families — Dr. Lim is an anthropologist whose scholarship has shaped how Chinese Canadian experiences are studied, taught, and shared with the public. Now Professor Emerita at Vancouver Island University, she has spent more than two decades working with communities on Vancouver Island and across the province.

Her contributions to Chinese Canadian heritage are extensive. A founding member of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC, Dr. Lim served on the B.C. Legacy Initiatives Advisory Council and helped shape exhibitions including A Seat at the Table and the pop-up Dishing Up Memories: Eating Chinese in BC. Her advocacy has also extended to projects like the Coal Creek Historic Park in Cumberland.

Dr. Lim was previously honoured with the British Columbia Medal of Good Citizenship (2020) and the King Charles III Coronation Medal (2025).

Thank you Heritage BC for the recognition!

The Professional Achievement: Lifetime Achievement award recognizes heritage professionals who have made a career-long, cumulative impact and contribution to the practice and understanding of heritage in British Columbia. This award honours Dr. Lim's decades of scholarship, community leadership, and advocacy — work that has advanced national awareness of underrepresented historic sites and shaped how Chinese Canadian history is preserved, interpreted, and shared with the public.

Learn more about the 2026 Heritage BC Award recipients here.