Pier Perspectives Blog

  • Borders, Groups, Statistics: Researching Immigrant Arrival at Pier 21

    Historians and genealogists depend on various sources to conduct research on immigrant arrivals, including archival materials, media, community histories, works on immigration policy and practice, and immigration statistics. The latter should be used with caution. Statistics offer invaluable information on the historical migration of individuals and families to Canada and their presence in this country. However, statistics can also skew or mask the identities of newcomers and size of their ethnocultural community in Canada.