• Indigenous artists invite visitors to look at this map of Canada in a new way
    … Welcome to Turtle Island , a new artistic installation by Melinda Robertson and Shannon … got excited when they saw the Museum’s glass map of Canada, with lines delineating national and provincial borders. They saw it as an … to my son… They broke up, but we didn't .” “For the two of us to be so connected and then to also be glass artists was pretty crazy,” says …
  • Anton and Paula Rouss
    … Families August 11, 1953 – Sibajak My name is Anton Rouss. I arrived with my wife Paula (nee Van Den Berg, married on July 15th 1953) on the M.S. Sibajack on August 11th 1953 after leaving …
  • Oral History
    … immigration stories through oral history interviews, the Museum contributes important documentation on the human facet of immigration … interview that focuses on a person’s immigration experience in the context of their overall life experience. Oral History interviews are … very scared. It’s my first time to go out of my country. And no relatives here, no one whatsoever. I don’t even know the face of the …
  • Norma and Bruce Salter
    … and we chummed around together during the voyage. After five years in Canada I sometimes wondered how these brides fared. Unfortunately I did … not keep in touch with them and most were heading for other provinces. My husband, Bruce, sailed from Pier 21 on the Louis Pasteur and landed … Nova Scotian soil again. Bea (Moore) was about to board the train to join her husband in Napanee, Ontario. I met my nephew for the first …
  • Manmohan, Usha, Deepa and Vivek
    … the Soods got transferred first to Kenya and then emigrated to Canada, arriving in 1969. “They packed up what they could and basically … say thank you,” says Vivek. “I look at all the things that changed in my life since I joined the company. There’s been a lot of transitions … and in accounting. “Today people follow money,” she says. “When my parents came, people looked for opportunity. There’s a difference …
  • The Immigrants: The Story of a Photograph
    … (Updated December 18, 2020 ) One of the visual icons of immigration to North America are photographs of newly-arrived … their ship and the date are unknown. Nevertheless, the photograph is a compelling piece of history, in part thanks to the immigrants’ … harbour after a cold, and probably boisterous, crossing of the North Atlantic. The exception is one woman with a colourful shawl who regards …
  • Wincenty and Ewa Warelis
    … mill. His first trip was for a year on a work permit and his second may have been for six years or more. We make these assumptions based on … After the war she returned to Poland with Julian, Boleslaw, and Janek (John), who had gone with her. Antoni and Frank had been serving in the … times, Ewa found comfort in a relationship that produced a son, Janek (John). She gave him her maiden name Kurdziel, which he later changed …
  • Sietske Flietstra Bellsmith
    … Children I was only seven when my brothers, sisters and I were told we were moving to a place called … live on a huge ship for about nine days to get there. Wow! From that moment on, what had been ‘normal’ faded into the background. Chaos took …
  • The Eusebius Luiken Family
    … We came from Oldemarkt, Holland, but sailed from Le Havre on February 12, 1949 on the S.S Samaria. The family consisted … the voyage over, we encountered a severe storm. I only remember that my brother Batholemeus was the only one who was sick. The men and women …
  • Quinto Odorizzi and Rita Leonardi
    … new home. A year and a half later, Quinto went back to Tuenno for a visit. This is when he met Rita Leonardi. Rita was also from Tuenno, … to visit family and also enjoy it when family and friends from Italy come to visit here in Canada. Their biggest passion is spending time …