Did the Chinese really build Canada's railways? This is a question I get all the time when I talk about Canada's European heritage. But let's look at the facts. In the 1880s, around 15,000 Chinese laborers were recruited to work on sections of the Canadian Pacific Railway, mostly in British Columbia. Their work was hard and many faced dangerous conditions. But here's the reality. Over 90% of railway construction workers were either Canadian or European migrants.