• Canada’s Oppressed Minority Policy and the Resettlement of Ugandan Asians, 1972-1973
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 16, 2020) Introduction In January 1971, the Ugandan government of President Milton Obote was overthrown in a coup d’état by the Ugandan military under the leadership of General Idi Amin . The Asian Ugandan community was initially relieved by Amin’s …
  • Postwar Dutch Immigration through Pier 21
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 16, 2020) Introduction After the Second World War, a growing population and an economy devastated by war were leading reasons for many Dutch immigrants to seek economic opportunity in North America. A total of some 500,000 Dutch nationals left their …
  • Port of Entry, Process and Gatekeepers – A History of Immigration at the Port of Quebec during the Great Depression
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 14, 2020) In May 2015, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 opened new exhibitions on the history of the Pier 21 National Historic Site of Canada and at the end of June will unveil a new exhibition on the history of immigration to Canada. This …
  • Major Waves of Immigration through Pier 21: War Brides and Their Children
    This blog entry has been expanded upon by its author Jan Raska PhD and can now be found under Research, Immigration History: …
  • Who Is Admissible? Immigrant Desirability and Immigration Acts since Confederation
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 9, 2020) In May 2015, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 opened new exhibitions on the history of the Pier 21 National Historic Site of Canada and the history of immigration to Canada. This blog is based on research that informs new displays …
  • Starting Points: Researching Canadian Immigration and Ethnic History
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 8, 2020) Introduction So you’re interested in researching a topic that deals with Canadian immigration and ethnic history? This short post will give you an overview of the field and suggest some starting points to help get your research underway. Early …
  • Lawlor’s Island Survey
    Abandoned well, Lawlor's Island, September 2011. Credit: Photo by Steven Schwinghamer Historians tend to pay close attention when a public site seems “silent” in public memory. This is true of a place quite close to Pier 21 in Halifax Harbour. Lawlor’s Island is next to McNabs Island, close to …
  • A Scarlet Fever Quarantine and the Subsequent Adventures of a Spirited Little Girl
    Scottish immigrant Christina McKay Liness Murchison didn’t let a little scarlet fever get her down. Her family’s home was quarantined due to her illness in the early days after their arrival in 1930 on the Duchess of Richmond . “Mostly I remember…the time my second brother arrived…I had scarlet …
  • One Person’s Quarantine Room Divider is Another Person’s Fort
    Vita Seidler contracted the measles shortly after emigrating from Russia with her mother and siblings in December of 1928 to join their father in Montreal. “…my dad met us in Montreal…Ah, the excitement! I got off and we went to another cousin that we stayed with,” Vita explained. “They had one …
  • Quarantine Memories of Chicken Wire and an Uncomplaining Mom
    His sister’s case of the measles landed six-year-old Mike Sumner’s family in quarantine after they arrived in Canada in March of 1963. “I spoke to my dad and he thinks it was around 3 to 4 weeks that we were there,” Mike recalled. “The brick walls and the bars on the windows. “My sister actually …