• Learning How to Eat a Banana in Quarantine at Pier 21
    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. By 1949 things looked bad with the Berlin Blockade, so his …
  • Finding Humour and Strengthening the Family Bond During Quarantine
    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. His daughter, Gysje Koenderink, recalled an exciting crossing in which she and her five brothers and sisters saw icebergs and whales and were treated to daily …
  • Quarantined on the Journey Over to Canada
    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. “We were a day and a half out to sea when a little girl got meningitis,” wrote …
  • Quarantine at Pier 21 Made Coming to Canada feel like being put in Jail
    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. “My parents had decided to leave our home in Apeldoorn to seek out new opportunities for their young …
  • Forgetting Danish During a Nine Month Quarantine
    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. “The summer of ’51 was devastating,” Michael wrote. “Canada had not …
  • Party Dresses, New Friends and Other Advice for a Long Quarantine
    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. Percy and Grace were excited until they found out that they …
  • Shaping Canada: Exploring Our Cultural Landscapes
    June 8 to November 18, 2012 Are you a part of a cultural landscape? The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 invited visitors to find out by exploring the temporary exhibition Shaping Canada: Exploring Our Cultural Landscapes . Visitors discovered the ways groups and individuals maintain and …
  • Position As Desired / Exploring African Canadian Identity: Photographs from the Wedge Collection
    January 22 to March 30, 2013 Dawit L. Petros, Sign, 2001, Digital print. Credit: Dawit L. Petros and Dr Kenneth Montague / The Wedge Collection What does it mean to be African Canadian? Explore the topic of Black identity in Canada in the context of immigration and multiculturalism through Position …
  • Migrating Landscapes
    May 6 to October 27, 2013 Who we are is shaped by where we live. Where we live is shaped by who we are. This is the essence of the Museum’s upcoming exhibition, Migrating Landscapes . Visit us from May 30 to November 11, 2013 to experience how migrations, and the simultaneous process of settling …
  • Digital Preservation is for life, not just the holidays!
    Preserving your digital memories With the holidays fast-approaching, it’s the perfect time to reminisce about get-togethers and good times spent with family and friends. These memories are often captured in photographs; from the physical prints that you put in an album, to digital images captured …