On September 7, 1907, nearly a century ago, an anti-Asiatic riot took place
in Vancouver's Chinatown and Japantown. The riot was the most spectacular
moment within a long history of anti-Asiatic agitation in British Columbia.
This hostility began in 1885, right after the Canadian Pacific Railway was
completed and the same year the Head Tax was imposed on Chinese entering
Canada. This long history of anti-Asian agitation resulted in more than the
street violence of the riot, but also created a legacy of focusing on the
perspectives of the rioters at the expense of the victims of the riot.

...most local English language media tended to down play the violence of the
1907 riots. Second, the local media ignored the long history of anti-Asian
agitation in British Columbia and instead portrayed the Asiatic Exclusion
League, originally organized in the United States, as the cause of the
riot,.

http://www.instrcc.ubc.ca/1907_riot/