• "Might Be the Best of the Lot": Baltic Refugees, Canadian Immigration Policy and the Arrival of SS Walnut
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 14, 2020) Introduction Since Confederation, Canadian immigration officials have considered many factors in determining whether an individual was ‘admissible’ and would be granted entry to Canada. The arrival in Canada of SS Walnut from Sweden in …
  • 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 …
  • Borders, Groups, Statistics: Researching Immigrant Arrival at Pier 21
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 23, 2020) Introduction How do I find a passenger list? Is there a ledger? What if my ancestor came from a country that no longer exists? While the Scotiabank Family History Centre at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 does not hold copies of …
  • Resettling Child Refugees: Canada and Armenian Orphans, 1923-1927
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated October 20, 2020) Introduction For centuries, child orphans have sought permanent resettlement in Canada. Refugee orphans seeking to enter Canada today must hold legal documentation and provide testimony to a federal immigration official that he or she is a …
  • Jamaican Nova Scotian Connections: From the Maroons to the Present Day
    February 4 to October 30, 2020 A Community Presents Exhibit by the Jamaican Cultural Association of Nova Scotia explores the growth and contributions of the oldest Jamaican community in Canada, from the migration of the Maroons in the 18th century until the present day. … Jamaican Nova Scotian …
  • The No. 2 Construction Battalion
    February 16 to May 1, 2017 Credit: Courtesy of Esther Clark Wright Archives at Acadia University The No. 2 Construction Battalion is a temporary exhibit created by the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. This small exhibit commemorates the overseas departure of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, …
  • The Wheel of Conscience
    The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and Daniel Libeskind, architect, unveil the Wheel of Conscience on January 20, 2011. © SteveKaiserPhotography.ca Commemorating the St. Louis Voyage The Wheel of Conscience is a memorial for 900 Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. …
  • The Pier 21 Story
    Step into the past and experience what it was like to immigrate to Canada through Pier 21. From the ship you sailed on, to customs and immigration in Halifax, to the train you took to your final destination, discover the past housed in the walls of our National Historic Site. Stand in history . …
  • The Canadian Immigration Story
    Witness the challenge and triumph, the joy and injustice experienced by newcomers to Canada in the past and in the present. And learn about the vast contributions immigrants have made to Canada. Trace changing migration trends throughout our history on our massive multimedia Immigration Map. …
  • What Goes Around, Comes Around
    Peter Biesheuvel and his son Brian visited the Museum early on a Saturday morning. I told my husband that I would meet them at 9:30 a.m., show them around the exhibit and leave when they went into the 10 a.m. multimedia film screening, thus returning the car to him by 10:30 a.m. Well, Peter, Brian …