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Monday, April 28, 2025
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| During
World War II, the War Measures Act was used again to intern Canadians,
and 26 internment camps were set up across Canada. In 1940, an
Order in Council was passed that defined enemy aliens as "all
persons of German or Italian racial origin who have become naturalized
British subjects since September 1, 1922". (At
the time, Canada didn't grant passports and citizenship on its
own, so immigrants were "naturalized" by becoming British
subjects.) |
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| Fascists
and anti-fascists, naturalized or Canadian-born persons and
newcomers, professionals and illiterates, wealthy business
people and the unemployed were equally perceived as ‘enemy
aliens’: one was an ‘enemy alien’ if his
or her country of origin was at war with Britain and thus
with Canada as well. The tens of thousands of Italians affected
by such a traumatic experience felt, and rightly so, that
they were being unjustly victimized. Even after more than
half a century, that experience remains a painful scar for
the entire community--even those not alive then. Wanting
to erase it from their minds, many elderly Italians refuse
to
speak of those events; and those few who do speak say emphatically
and with a trace of bitterness that they had nothing against
Canada.( A Tangled Knot: Prelude to 10 June 1940, Angelo
Principe, pg.42. Enemies Within, Toronto, 2000) |
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| Italian
citizens resident in Canada considered ‘enemy aliens’ were
required to register and report periodically to the designated
offices. 17,000 Italian Canadians were placed on ‘enemy
alien’ lists. They were prohibited to leave Canada without
permission, assemble in groups of five or more, or engage in
activities against Canada. The prohibitions included all Italians
naturalized
after September 1922. In December 1942, the Italians who had
been naturalized or asked for naturalization were included within
the regulations for military conscription. |
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| Whether
they were Canadians or Italian citizens, those arrested and
interned were classified as second-class prisoners of war. (The
internment of Italian Canadians, Luigi Bruti Liberati, pg.83.
Enemies Within, Toronto, 2000) |
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| The
historian Bruno Ramirez has described the trauma caused by the
internment and the uncertainty about the future for an internee
and his family in his book “The Italians in Canada” (Ottawa,
Canadian Historical Society, l990). |
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Name
|
Place
|
Period
|
Capacity
|
Camp
L
|
Cove
Fields, Quebec
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Camp
R
|
Red
Rock, Ontario, (Ft. William, Pt. Arthur)
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Camp
T
|
Three
Rivers, Quebec
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Camp
V
|
Valcartier,
Quebec
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
Camp
10
|
Chatham,
Ontario
|
May
15, 1944 - Nov. 14, 1946
|
325
|
Camp
20
|
Gravenhurst,
Ontario (Calydor)
|
Jul.
1940 - Jun. 11, 1946
|
400
|
Camp
21
|
Espanola,
Ontario
|
Jul.
16, 1940 - Aug. 1943
|
1,200
|
Camp
22
|
Mimico,
Ontario (New Toronto)
|
Jul.
19, 1940 - May 1, 1944
|
400
|
Camp
23
|
Monteith,
Ontario
|
Jul.
16, 1940 - Dec. 1946
|
1,800
|
Camp
30
|
Bowmanville,
Ontario
|
Nov.
1941- Apr. 12, 1945
|
750
|
Camp
31
|
Kingston,
Ontario (Ft. Henry)
|
Jul.
1, 1940 - Nov. 16, 1943
|
600
|
Camp
32
|
Hull,
Quebec
|
Aug.
20, 1941 - Sept. 15, 1942
|
100
|
Camp
33
|
Petawawa,
Ontario
|
Sept.
23,1939 - Mar. 6, 1946
|
800
|
Camp
40
|
Farnharm,
Quebec
|
Oct.
16, 1940 - May 22, 1946
|
700
|
Camp
41
|
Ile
aux Noix, Quebec
|
Jul.
16, 1940 - Jul. 1, 1941
|
500
|
Camp
42
|
Sherbrooke,
Quebec (Newington)
|
Oct.16,
1940 - Jul. 1, 1941
|
750
|
Camp
43
|
St.
Helen’s Island, Quebec (Montreal)
|
Jul.
16, 1940 - Nov. 1943
|
300
|
Camp
44
|
Grande
Ligne, Quebec
|
Fall
1942 - May, 1946
|
750
|
Camp
45
|
Sorel,
Quebec
|
Jun.
30, 1945 - Mar. 1946
|
350
|
Camp
70
|
Fredericton,
New Brunswick (Ripples)
|
Aug.
13, 1940 - Aug. 31, 1945
|
900
|
Camp
100
|
Neys,
Ontario
|
Jan.
25, 1941 - Mar. 28, 1946
|
650
|
Camp
101
|
Angler,
Ontario
|
Jan.
10, 1941 - ?
|
650
|
Camp
130
|
Kananaskis,
Alberta (Seebe)
|
Sept.
29, 1939-Jan. 28, 1964
|
650
|
Camp
132
|
Medicine
Hat, Alberta
|
Jan
1, 1943 - May 15, 1946
|
10,000
|
| Camp
133 |
First: Ozada,
Alberta (Seebe) |
May – Dec.
1942 |
10,000 |
| Camp
133 |
Second:
Lethbridge, Alberta |
Nov.
1942 - Dec. 18, 1946 |
12,500 |
| Camp
135 |
Wainwright,
Alberta |
Jan.
5, 1945 - Jun. 14, 1946 |
1,000 |
|
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(David
J. Carter, Behind Canadian Barbed Wire, 1980) |
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The
opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada. |
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Windsor Mosaic Website. All rights reserved. |
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