As I leave next week for the National Association for Plant Breeding (NAPB) meeting on Kona, Hawai’i Island — and prepare for the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA) gathering in Victoria, B.C., in July — I find myself reflecting on a lesser-known chapter of North American history. It’s one that ties these two places together more profoundly than most of us realize.
More than a century ago, thousands of native Hawaiians left their island home for the promise of work and adventure in the Pacific Northwest. They were among the earliest trans-Pacific migrants to Canada, many employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company during the fur trade era, Canadian Geographic notes. These people—valued for their work ethic—eventually settled in B.C. communities like Victoria, Salt Spring Island, and the village of Lytton. They intermarried with Canada’s Indigenous peoples, passed on traditions, and created communities that still bear their names.
So why does this matter to the seed community? Because our work—whether in breeding better crops or growing the seed that feeds the world—is rooted in the same values these early Hawaiian migrants embodied: adaptation, resilience, curiosity, and community. It’ll be great to visit both Hawai’i and Victoria and remind myself of this history and all it means.
Their story is a powerful reminder that migration and cultural exchange are not just about people—they’re about knowledge systems, stewardship, and survival. The fusion of Indigenous and Hawaiian knowledge in places like “Little Hawai’i” helped shape land management practices and food traditions in ways we are only beginning to understand and value again today, especially in the context of sustainability and climate resilience.
In many ways, these early Hawaiians were some of the first agricultural migrants in Pacific Canada. They worked the land, raised families, and brought with them a way of seeing the world that emphasized reciprocity with nature—an ethos that aligns closely with what many of us in the plant breeding and seed sectors are working toward now.
This year’s NAPB meeting in Kona is more than a beautiful backdrop—it’s a return to a cultural crossroads where science, agriculture, and migration meet. And as we look ahead to the CSGA meeting in Victoria, we’ll be just miles from where Hawaiian-Canadian communities took root generations ago.
Let’s not forget that our work is built on the shoulders of people who came before us—not just the scientists, but also the labourers, the explorers, and the families who dared to imagine a new life on distant shores.
In the seed and ag community, we talk often about legacy and impact. The Hawaiian migration to Canada is both. And as we chart the future of our field—from climate-resilient crops to culturally relevant breeding programs—let’s keep these deeper roots in mind.
Because understanding where we come from isn’t just a history lesson. It’s a roadmap for how we grow.
