• Anyone Could Be a Refugee; No One Chooses To Be a Refugee
    When there is a war in a country, it can become difficult for its citizens to leave... People lose their lives and leave their homes to escape to neighboring countries. Or, they might simply stay put and instead move around the country while waiting to return to their homes. Each of these …
  • My Last Ten Years as an Immigrant to Canada and Working at an Immigration Museum
    At the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, we collect and tell the stories of immigrants who came to Canada and continue to come to Canada to make a new home for themselves. Some of these stories are used in the permanent exhibitions, online and in current and future travelling exhibits. …
  • A Taste of Something New: Adapting to Food in a New Country
    Settling in a new country may pose many challenges for immigrants There are language barriers, cultural differences and, often, difficulties getting accustomed to the climate, to name only a few. Though there are countless other adjustments we may discuss relating to immigration, one important and …
  • My Immigration Journey
    One of my favorite questions to ask visitors here at the museum is “what made you leave your home and decide to come to Canada?” Some respond that it is for new opportunities, to improve their living conditions, to flee war, for better jobs, safety, adventure and love. My story is not unlike …
  • If Luggage Could Talk…
    One of the greatest things about my job as a Visitor Experience Interpreter here at the Museum is helping people imagine the experience of being an immigrant during the time that Pier 21 was open as an immigration facility. Sometimes I even do this on my own. One of my favourite ways to imagine …
  • Reflections on a Green Door I: New Beginnings
    “I know this door”, the thought was almost overwhelming. Somehow I has been mentally catapulted back in time almost 47 years and my brain kept repeating: “I know this door. It belongs here, almost in this position, but not quite…” But, how does one ‘know’ a door? I was standing, somewhat …
  • First Families of Pier 21
    First Families of Pier 21 …
  • First Families of Pier 21
    On February 28, 1928 the Holland America line steam ship Nieuw Amsterdam departed from Rotterdam, Netherlands and was the first ship to arrive at Pier 21 on March 8, 1928. There were only 54 people disembarking at Pier 21 on that day and included passengers from Holland, Lithuania, Germany, …
  • Pier 21 Person Search – Maja Monic
    Last places seen: Warsaw, Poland and Versailles, France Last known destination: Canada The Scotiabank Family History Centre needs the public’s help reuniting childhood friends. Irene and Maja, Holocaust survivors from the Warsaw ghetto, were separated in France in 1947 when Irene’s family left the …
  • After Almost 60 Years Apart, a Family Finds Each Other
    We get many research requests here at the Scotiabank Family History Centre and none more challenging than looking for living relatives. Most of the records that we would use to trace people, like birth, marriage and death records, are not available due to provincially or federally legislated …