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. One hundred years later, using photographs drawn from Canadian archival collections, Enemy Aliens – Internment in Canada, 1914–1920 explores internment operations and the experiences of the internees: who they were, the conditions they endured and the legacy they left behind.
This exhibition was developed by the Canadian War Museum in partnership with the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation.
* Enemy aliens: A term commonly used to describe citizens of states legally at war with Canada who resided in Canada during the war.
Image : City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 867A