• 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 …
  • A Quarantine Label on the Door Doesn’t Make the Best First Impression
    Things started getting complicated for English immigrant Jennifer Frances Taylor’s young family after they settled in Canada in June of 1950. “Soon after Labour Day, school started for John and Roger,” Jennifer wrote. “It was very strange in many ways, but the kindliness and friendliness of …
  • Turning Seven in Quarantine
    One six-year-old made the best of long weeks of quarantine in Pier 21’s Accommodation and Detention quarters. Gerard Van Kessel arrived in Canada with his family in 1951. “…two of my brothers had developed a contagious disease on board, I think it was mumps or whooping cough, I'm not sure which, we …
  • A Mother and Daughter Recall Frightening Days in Quarantine
    They were robbed on the ship to Canada and quarantined when they arrived at Pier 21, but the Haddad family still felt blessed. The Christian Palestinian refugees had already fled to Lebanon, then Syria, then Lebanon again. While Laima Haddad still hoped to return to her home one day, her family …
  • Colour-Coded Quarantine and a Boy at Play
    British evacuee child, Keith Alan Freeman made the best of his wartime quarantine experience. His story starts with words that I hope children today will echo when they grow up and think about these challenging days. “It must have been tough for my mother and aunt but my memories are of having a …