One of my funniest memories," Bette continued, "was the day we landed at Halifax. We were so eager to get off the boat but they told us that the train had already left. When we finally departed, every time the train stopped we all jumped off and mailed letters to our husbands to let them know we were coming. We thought the letter would arrive the next day same as in Britain! We had no idea.

When we passed customs and boarded the train they gave us two loafs of bread. Not knowing what it was I used it to play accordion as it was soft and flexible..

Adjusting to life in Canada was a bit challenging in the first couple of months but I soon started meeting people and learning about the culture, going to university and being part of the community,

Evacuee children on board the S.S. Duchess of Bedford, 1939. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

My mother assured him that we only had personal belongings and oil and cheese, he marked the trunks with a check mark and away we went on the train. If course it wasn’t the whole truth because my grandmother was loaded up with liquor bottles sewed inside the coat she was wearing…

Heidi Hart on board the S.S. Beaverbrae, March 1949. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

I moved to Canada when I was 16 (2010) It was hard at first, but people here are nice. I am now Canadian citizen. Thank ü Canada. HaHaHa...

Canada was part of our greatest journey on this earth, being welcomed in this land gave us the freedom to shape us into individuals that have contributed much, and so therefore, the sacrifice of leaving our native land, facing many trials and overcoming many hurdles, says it all for us and our posterity.

Having been brought up with hard crusty bread we found the loaf we bought extremely soft with a strange smell that has remained with us ever since. We never ate that bread nor have we ever consumed that bread since our settling in Canada...

At Pier 21, I was met by Immigration officials and after clearing the necessary paperwork, I received my landed immigrant stamp and boarded a train for Lethbridge, Alberta. My first recollection of a good Canadian meal came in the form of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes served in a mini-box. Never having seen this before, I wondered in amazement if everyone in Canada ate out of little one-meal boxes!

The prairies were dreary in March and seemed to go on forever and ever given we had come from a country that one could cross by car or train in a matter of hours. The big surprise came in the middle of one night when our father shook us all awake and told us to look at the mountains. I rolled over in the berth and looked out and saw rock walls, then I rolled on my back and far above us, shining in the moonlight, were snow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Amazing! Denmark's "Heaven Mountain" is a whole 480 meters high - these mountain peaks were beyond imagining.

If Pier 21 could talk it could tell many stories. I am indeed glad that now that the docks are often lined with cruise boats rather than immigrant ships. Our country recognizes the important role in history that it played over many decades. Certainly Pier 21 is an important marker in my life's journey.

... That evening, my Dad had bought some "Canadian sliced white bread", which was something new for us, which he made extra special by buttering the bread and sprinkling sugar on top...

Trans-Atlantic Wives Club, 1947. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Red Cross nurses during the Second World War. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

We took one bit and gagged - SALTED BUTTER!

Baltic refugees on board the Parnu. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

I thank God for Canada and the life my family has enjoyed here. It has been a terrific country to grow up in and to live. There's no place on earth I'd rather live.

It was the Canadian Red Cross that came to our aid when our house in London was bomb damaged during the war. I was 11 years of age and vividly remember the boxes of clothing and food they delivered to our door. I promised myself that I would go to Canada one day.

I was born in Denmark (1931) and raised in Jylland. As a teen-ager I was endowed with an adventurous spirit; as I read stories of pioneering in Canada, I determined that I would someday emigrate to that country.

M.S. Saturnia, April 1959. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

We were grateful for the roof over our heads and no one complained…

...Before boarding the train, my mother went to a nearby convenience store to purchase some food.

...At first the soft white sliced bread tasted like cake to me

Passengers on board the S.S. Conte Biancamano, August 1954. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Second World War Canadian nurses, with Vera M Ruth Sullivan. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Aileen Ratz Scrapbook. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

We are grateful and thankful that we immigrated to Canada. If we had stayed in post-war Europe, none of us would have had the opportunities that Canada offered. As soon as it was legally possible, we became Canadians. Canada became our country and we love Canada.

Coming to Canada was the best thing that could have happened to me. "Thank You Canada!" for the opportunity and the many flavours along the way.

My grandparents immigrated to Canada in ’56 from Hungary. It was during the Hungarian Revolution, and the fled with the clothes on their backs. They built a family here with many happy times.

Mom and Dad worked had to improve the family way of life

We immigrated to Canada about a year ago and our first impression of the Canadians was how friendly and welcoming they treated us! Canada is such a great country and we are glad being part of it. Laura & Jan

Pier 21 airing gallery. Origins unknown.

My parents immigrated from Poland and Ukraine. I was so lucky to be born in Canada

My father had left everything and everybody that he knew to give his family an opportunity at a better life. It worked.

I came to Canada from the U.S. in 2007 after a more than two-year intake process that began shortly after same-sex marriage was legalized at a national level in Canada.

While we sailed away from Ireland I stood at the stern of the ship and watched Ireland disappear over the horizon, a sad moment. During the crossing of the North Atlantic, I was standing at the rail of the ship with an old English fellow, who was a farmer from Saskatchewan returning home to Canada (he had emigrated many years before) we were looking out over the water and that's all you could see in any direction. I said to him "boy that's a lot of water" and he said "yeah and that's only the top.

I am so happy to live in Canada, in Halifax, Thank you!

I would bring my family because they mean a lot to me.
Destiny Bercier Moose Jaw, SK

"...On the train, we were given Franco American Spaghetti and Blue Bonnet sliced white bread, that my brother called SPONGE. He refused to eat and my mom didn’t know what to do for us..."

I never found those gold nuggets, however, Canada gave me more than gold. A place where freedom surpasses ones’ wildest dreams, where you can look at yourself in the mirror and be thankful for what you have accomplished. This is an immeasurable country, full of opportunities. God Bless this land. In 1955, I crossed the Atlantic Ocean, landed at Pier 21 with a small suitcase, a one way train ticket west and $50 bucks in my pocket. Canada is home, what more can I say "O’ CANADA" thank you.

When the server came around with this bread, we didn't know what to think. We surely thought we would not be able to swallow it since we couldn't crunch it in our teeth. We thought it may get stuck in our throat!..."

The second I land at the airport as overseas student, my gosh, that feeling was so great that I actually, you know, I was, I couldn’t stop smiling. It sounds weird, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Yeah, ‘cause it’s just hope and excitement and change.

My first feelings about Canada, Halifax and the new world, were a mixture of confusion, terror and curiosity. While on board the Britannic waiting to dock I became aware of the requirement that upon arrival we were to be taken to a "hall". To my Hungarian ears that notion sounded unusual. You see in Hungarian, "Hal" with one "L" means "fish", so I imagined that we were all to be taken into a giant fish! And the smells upon arrival at Halifax did not do much to convince me otherwise.

I arrived in Canada on July 1st, on Canada Day and it was very, very meaningful. In South America, we believe in signs and for me was a good sign that, that everything was going to be okay.

It was all done within the course of a flight and the 30 minutes in the airport. That was it. And that was me, at that point, a permanent resident of Canada and it was like: wow! This is, this is it! I’m free to work, I’m free to do anything here. So, no, there was nothing to hold me back.

Pakistan High Commissioners in Montreal, QC, September 1960. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

The door was opening and like I was curious, like let me breathe the air from Canada, okay and I feel like, hmm yeah the sky is blue, you know and the air is so fresh, I feel okay, you know, I’m in Canada now, it’s different.

My parents died in Penticton, BC in February 1988 within three days of each other. Fate had brought them together at the right time and in the right country. I owe a great debt to both of them and to Canada.

We had our first corn flakes and potatoes with the skin on (my mother always peeled the potatoes). Bacon and eggs, Canadian style, went down very well. My mother insisted we eat all the food, to show our appreciation.

I give thanks for Canada because Canada helped me and family to start life again and also thanks to everyone who helped the Syrian people to stop bloodshed. I hope with all my heart to live in Canada lasting peace and getting stronger ever time.
Mohammad October 13, 2016

I felt like a small grain of sand washed up on the shores, with many thousands of others. Many had stories, similar to mine, coming for refuge and with high hopes, to Canada. Fortunately my story has a happy ending.

The bread was soft and spongy and packed in wax paper, the butter was all salty, there was only soft process cheese, instead of smoked and cured hard sausage they only had what they called baloney and peanut butter, and many other novelties that we didn't even understand. Welcome to Canada..

R.M.S. Ascania, 1953. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

I am a black Jamaican – Canadian. I had a Teacher’s diploma & a B.A. from a Canadian university. An immigration officer in Toronto told me to seek a job as a domestic, as I would never get one as a teacher. I laughed at him. I did work happily in my profession for 32 years. I have 3 medals for community contributions, plus numerous awards. Thanks, Canada. P.S. I arrived in 1965.

It was very different coming here in the way you got treated. I remember just being totally shocked by how welcoming and open people were.

My mother decided that our first meal would simply be wieners and mashed potatoes, since, indeed, we had problems locating ingredients for a fancier meal. The wieners seemed rather short, and when we got home and boiled them, we also discovered that they were neither as tasty nor as firm as Danish wieners. However, our greatest disappointment was with the mustard, which looked exactly like European mustard, but which was probably the worst brand of mustard that we had ever encountered. In fact, we were totally baffled by its taste and consistency, and the beastly stuff certainly didn’t go very well with the wieners either. As we were later to discover, that was our first introduction to peanut butter.

I came to Canada 4 months ago: when arrived to Canada I was scared. Specialy when I heard about the snow, but now I found is nice & comfortable Country. I am happy to live in Canada.
JW Edmonton, AB

...Eventually the Customs and Immigration people were done processing us and we were free to leave the area.

…Our first house was near Botanical Gardens so guess where we went for walks on Sunday afternoons?

Italian immigrants on board the T.S.S. Nea Hellas, spring 1953. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Wartime bread was grey and heavy and tasted like cardboard. Everything here was delicious.

"...We loved the taste of Canadian white bread, sliced at that! It tasted like cake to us and it was the first of many pleasant surprises..."

Bring your open spirit, love of life and tolerance of all peoples. Share your culture, history and story to enrich Canadian fabric and society.
Stephen Cheng, Toronto via Montreal and Taiwan, Halifax, NS

S.S. Queen Frederica, March 1958. Image courtesy of the Brana family.

My mother came from Czechslovakia. They were running from Hitler because they were gypsies. I love Canada.

I was also highly amazed at the way Corn Flakes was packed and served in individual cut-open boxes. Finally I was diagnosed as having measles and released from quarantine and "landed" on Apr 5,1949. A long train trip brought us to Ajax to what seemed to be a POW camp with barbed wire around it. From there we were directed to our destinations, my mother and I to Orillia in Ontario. Thus, my arrival to Canada, never to be regretted.

I came to Canada to visit my uncle and it didn't take me long to fall in love with this great Nation after stepping off the airport. The air, the environment, the people, the culture and the lively vibe of the city, things I have never experienced before.

Heads or tails" father said as he balanced the coin on his fingertips. "Tails", mother said without hesitation. The coin flipping ceremony was decided upon after many hours of heated discussion, ending in a stalemate. They had agreed to emigrate, the choice was between Australia and Canada. Mother opted for the former because her sister had emigrated to Free mantle in the late thirties. She married an Aussie soon after her arrival; her letters were filled with glowing commentaries of life down under. Father, on the other hand, had relatives in Canada, who also wrote urging him to take advantage of the many opportunities waiting in Canada. They agreed to let the coin decide.

Children bound for Fairbridge Farm School, 1941. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

As time passed we came to grow in this land, and, if the truth be known, the land came to grow in us. Wy binne gelokkich (we are blessed).

Refugees from the S.S. Walnut. Origins Unknown.

It is okay to cry. Missing home is normal. You’re a very strong individual. Remember that change doesn’t happen over night.
Matt Evans Halifax, NS

I felt like a small grain of sand washed up on the shores, with many thousands of others. Many had stories, similar to mine, coming for refuge and with high hopes, to Canada. Fortunately, my story has a happy ending. I fell as though some greater power must have been leading my unpredictable steps to the right places through the years. I am grateful to Canada for giving me the life I now enjoy.

Schultz family on board the S.S. Fairsea, 4 Dec 1951. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

One thing I can smell even today was the Wonder Sliced Bread

Image courtesy of Rina Caron.

I moved to Canada when I was two years old. We came from the Netherlands - the memories I have are sitting in the airport in Toronto and refusing to move, and the mud in our new home in Fox Creek, Alberta

…January 1, 1953. Our agreed time to work and save as a family was up. I began saving for my wedding.

You imagine how, how it’s going to look, the land. You start looking from the window of the airplane, see a big land, you say for sure I’m going to fit somewhere in this

Canadian and British naval servicemen on board the H.M.S. Whitehall, circa 1942. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.