• A Reflection on Curating Perfect Landings
    by Steve Schwinghamer, Historian (Updated January 28, 2022) Perfect Landings was created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 to coincide with the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Halifax, to draw some of the guests interested in the event to the Museum, and to connect …
  • Hooks for History: Using a Building Model to Introduce Complex Pasts
    by Steve Schwinghamer, Historian (Updated July 20, 2021) Our Museum is located at a National Historic Site: Halifax’s historical immigration facility at Pier 21. One of the principal tasks for the Museum has been to introduce and orient visitors to the historic place as they stand in the converted, …
  • Historical Thinking (6) : Take Historical Perspectives
    Historical Thinking (6) : Take Historical Perspectives …
  • Historical Thinking (6) : Take Historical Perspectives
    by Steve Schwinghamer, Historian (Updated January 28, 2022) The Historical Thinking Project ( www.historicalthinking.ca ) points to the importance of taking of historical perspectives as part of constructing and understanding histories. It is a central part of historical work. It seems facile to …
  • “We Wanted to Come to Canada”: Pier 21 and the Arrival of Polish Orphans
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated August 21, 2020) Forcible Displacement of Polish Nationals to Labour Camps in the Soviet Union In August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union concluded a treaty of non-aggression and neutrality. The Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union – …
  • Forgotten Experiment: Canada’s Resettlement of Palestinian Refugees, 1955-1956
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian In the summer of 1955, the Canadian government took the “bold step” of admitting displaced Palestinian refugees from the Arab-Israeli war of 1948. The government approved the resettlement of 100 skilled workers and their families. Canadian officials believed that …
  • "Why Do We Need a Museum of Immigration?"
    by Monica McDonald, PhD, Manager of Research Manager of Research Monica MacDonald suggests that current debates on immigration are best informed by the historical contexts of immigration as well as the contemporary experiences of newcomers. This article, published in the journal Canadian Issues , …
  • Humanitarian Gesture: Canada and the Tibetan Resettlement Program, 1971–5
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian In 1966, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) lobbied Canadian officials to accept a small number of Tibetan refugees for permanent resettlement. Initially, Canadian immigration officials disagreed over the resettlement of …
  • “Young Man, You Take Yourself Far Too Seriously”: The Memoirs of Immigration Officer Fenton Crosman
    by Steve Schwinghamer, Historian (Updated January 28, 2022) Canadian immigration history can be researched using a staggering variety of sources . There are ship logs and passenger manifests, architectural plans and harbour maps, photographs and paintings, letters and telegrams, tweets and emails, …
  • “The Immigration Act a weapon”: Panama Maru and the Exclusion of Immigrants, 1913
    by Steve Schwinghamer, Historian (Updated January 28, 2022) On 17 October 1913, Panama Maru arrived at Victoria, British Columbia . The ship was a regularly-scheduled passenger liner of the Osaka Soshen Kaisha Line, carrying 56 passengers identified by immigration authorities as “Hindus,” although …