• Settling the West: Immigration to the Prairies from 1867 to 1914
    … January 28, 2022) Introduction: The Immigration Boom to the Canadian West From 1867 to 1914, the Canadian West became home to millions of immigrant settlers seeking a new life. … by Canadian immigration agencies. By examining these motivations, we can better understand Prairie immigration experiences and the …
  • The Action Test of 1920: Literacy and Selection in Canadian Immigration
    By Steven Schwinghamer, Historian For over a century, Canadian immigration authorities have used language proficiency as a point of consideration in deciding whether a migrant is admissible to Canada. [1] This is not generally a controversial aspect of current Canadian immigration policy, but when …
  • Canada’s Refugee Determination System
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated August 21, 2020) Origins of Canada’s Refugee Determination System The origins of Canada’s refugee determination system can be traced back to 1922, when the League of Nations (a predecessor to the United Nations (UN)) established the Nansen Passport which …
  • 1999: Canada’s Resettlement and Repatriation of Kosovar Refugees
    by Jan Raska, PhD, Historian (Updated July 13, 2020) Kosovar refugee children pose for a photograph in front of “sustainment site” facilities, Camp Argonaut (now Argonaut Cadet Training Centre), CFB Gagetown, 1999. Credit: Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 Collection (D2017.635.35) …
  • Chilean Exiles, 1973 to Now
    … Emily Burton, PhD, Oral Historian and Patrick Kinghan, M.A., Research Intern Introduction: The Chilean Exile Crisis … to both internal and external opposition to the government. [2] On September 11, 1973, a coup d’état led by Augusto Pinochet overthrew the … memory of the Allende and Pinochet years. It is based on excerpts from seven oral history interviews conducted by the Canadian Museum …
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    … What is oral history? The term ‘oral history’ has two general meanings: Oral history is a collaborative method of documenting a … their recollections through a guided conversation with an interviewer. The interviewer supports the person’s process of remembering by actively listening …
  • About the Collection
    The Museum has a collection that allows people to learn about the country’s immigration history. Collection items are preserved and used for research, exhibition, and interpretation. The collection has digital and physical items. The Museum focuses on collecting born-digital and digitized items. …
  • A mystery, archival film footage, an old suitcase, and a 75th anniversary
    … before its opening 25 years ago. Museum staff had noticed something strange in the Pier 21 exhibition - a discrepancy in dates. In a display case, amongst a collection of luggage brought by people immigrating to Canada through the Halifax seaport, was an old suitcase with the name … A mystery, archival film footage, an old suitcase, and a 75th anniversary …
  • Margaret Van Toen
    … Let's Pier into the Past by Joy Forbes & Helen Weeden Pages 8-12 only based on mom's story - Margaret Van Toen. MRS. GOLDBLOOM Now, let's head over to the Resource Centre where you can look up more information about …
  • Anne MacKinnon Jeffrey
    … Anne MacKinnon Jeffrey My sister, Catherine MacKinnon Read , and I left Gourock, Scotland on the S.S. Bayano on August 15th, 1940. As we sailed down the Clyde, we all stood at the rail on the upper deck, … Anne MacKinnon Jeffrey …