Canada would have lost Margarita Bruehler nee Sosnowsky to Paraguay if her brother hadn’t come down with the chickenpox.
Margarita’s early childhood memories are dominated by her family’s escape from Russia in 1943 and life in the battleground of German occupied Europe.
Being quarantined while travelling to Halifax with her baby was frightening for British war bride Audrey (Hawes) Doyle Ash. Audrey was onboard the Queen Mary when she and Patrick were put into isolation with others.
Herman Blom had secured a job as a welder in Saskatoon and the family was on their way, but their brief quarantine left him jobless.
A brave little boy named Peep Aljas spent his first days in Canada under quarantine. He was born in Estonia in 1941 during the first Soviet occupation. He and his mother fled to Germany in 1944, just ahead of the Russian re-occupation.
The trauma of a long quarantine stripped a young Michael Frederiksen of his languages.
Michael left Denmark with his family and arrived in Canada in late June of 1951 while the epidemic was raging. Not long after, he contracted it.
Being quarantined at Pier 21 meant a rough start to their Canadian adventure for the Blom family.
Shelly Blom was born in the Netherlands and in the spring of 1953 her parents decided to move.
In the summer of 1940, as the blitz raged in England, Percy and Grace Blackman’s parents told them they were going to Canada. They were thrilled. They were born in Canada and their family had moved back to their parent’s country in 1938.
For generations, families have arrived as immigrants to Canada. This journey leads to major changes in people's lives. So, what does the journey entail?