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Enemy Aliens – Internment in Canada, 1914–1920

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A TRAVELLING EXHIBITION DEVELOPED BY THE CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CIVIL LIBERTIES FOUNDATION.

During the First World War, national security fears and wartime prejudice drove the policy of internment, which lasted until 1920. During this time, Canada interned 8,579 people identified as “enemy aliens”, mainly Ukrainian and German immigrants, across a network of 24 camps.

“Enemy alien” was the term used to describe citizens of states legally at war with the British Empire, and who resided in Canada during the war. These included immigrants from the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. They could be interned for a number of reasons, including unemployment, attempting to leave Canada and failing to abide by government regulations.

Using photographs drawn from Canadian archival collections one hundred years later, this exhibition explore internment operations and the experiences of the internees: who they were, the conditions they endured and the legacy they left behind.

Where is this exhibition travelling?

Location Dates
Swift Current Museum, Swift Current, Sask. October 10, 2023 – January 2, 2024

Borrowing Museums

View all venues and tour dates.

Location Dates
Swift Current Museum, Swift Current, Sask. October 10, 2023 – January 2, 2024
Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Halifax, N.S. February 11 – April 23, 2023
Nanaimo Museum, Nanaimo, B.C. February 12 – May 22, 2022
St. Paul Museum, St. Paul, Alta. June 6 – September 6, 2021
Galt Museum, Lethbridge, Alta. February 8 – May 3, 2020
Musée Heritage Museum, St. Albert, Alta. November 26, 2019 – January 19, 2020
Cumberland County Museum, Amherst, N.S. July 22 – October 6, 2019
Sam Waller Museum, The Pas, Man. October 22 – November 26, 2018
Jasper-Yellowhead Museum & Archives, Jasper, Alta. July 1 – September 30, 2018
St. Thomas More College Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Sask. November 2, 2017 – January 15, 2018
The Fort Museum, Fort Macleod, Alta. July 23 – September 24, 2017
Museum Strathroy-Caradoc, Strathroy, Ont. October 22, 2016 – February 5, 2017
Fort Henry National Historic Site, Kingston, Ont. May 15 – September 7, 2015

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