• Volunteers at the Pier
    … 5 is International Volunteer day. This is the story of a connected chain of volunteers who have served at the Canadian Museum of … fleeing the increasing hostility of the Nazis in Danzig (then a Free City located in the corridor between Germany and Poland). Echt’s … area." When in 1948, the Mayor of Halifax appointed Fineberg to be the city’s official greeter at Pier 21, (a role she undertook on a …
  • Two Ways to Dig into the History of the Black Battalion (1916-1920)
    By Anthony Black, Senior Writer Published on 01/02/2022 Credit: Courtesy of Esther Clark Wright Archives at Acadia University The world nearly forgot the existence of No. 2 Construction Battalion, a military unit made up of Black men determined to serve their country during the First World War. …
  • Sergeant Major Norman L. Cavan
    … Sergeant Major Norman L. Cavan …
  • My Immigration Journey
    … here at the museum is “what made you leave your home and decide to come to Canada?” Some respond that it is for new opportunities, to … My mother looked at me - she was in tears. “Do you know where Canada is? How long do you think it will take you to come back home?” I replied, “I know it is very far but I will come back to visit at least once year …
  • Port of Precedence: A History of Immigration at the Port of Quebec Part 2
    … Port of Quebec’s primary function became grain export. However, the site continued to be a major point of entry for immigrants to Canada. … examined a second time. Once medically cleared, passengers were visited by a trained corps of inspectors who ascertained the validity of … from the quarantine station at Grosse Île. The plants were deposited into boxes around the roof garden so that detained immigrants had …
  • What Would You Do? Admit, Detain, or Deny Entry to Irregular Refugees on Canada’s East Coast
    … a new exhibition on the history of the Pier 21 National Historic Site of Canada and the history of immigration to Canada. This is based … in practice at Canadian ports of entry and overseas. Immigration officials have to consider many factors in choosing to admit, detain or … precedents, and public opinion. As a result, an individual’s desire to come to Canada is only one of many factors that determine immigration. …
  • Port of Entry, Process and Gatekeepers – A History of Immigration at the Port of Quebec during the Great Depression
    … 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 … new exhibits. Introduction From the eighteenth century onwards, Quebec City’s migrating local populace and incoming European immigrants had a … Port of Entry, Process and Gatekeepers – A History of Immigration at the Port of Quebec during the Great Depression …
  • Before and After 1923: Chinese Exclusion in Context
    By Steven Schwinghamer, Historian As we approach the centenary of the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, answering three key historical questions will help us understand and make meaning of the legislation: What was the 1923 Act that closed the door on Chinese immigration? How did the politics of …
  • Walter Martin Kleinwort
    … Walter Kleinwort, 1929-1965 By Margarete (Kleinwort) Gillies At the age of 23, my father Walter Martin Kleinwort bade farewell to his parents, two brothers and two sisters from their Wedel home, located along the Elbe River a short distance west of Hamburg Germany. Although his family operated a successful rose …
  • 1968: Pier 21 and the Prague Spring Refugees
    … Czechoslovak leaders that if their reforms continued, they would come with grave consequences. Moscow demanded that the Communist Party … the 1960s Many of the Prague Spring refugees, who had applied to come to Canada at Canadian embassies across Europe, arrived by … horizon. There were ramblings in Moscow that the Soviets are ready to come to ‘help’ us to make sure that we follow the ‘right way’ of …