Exploring Canadian Immigration at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

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Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada isn’t known as a winter tourist destination. That fact didn’t stop me from visiting. I walked down the snowy streets of Halifax.  The sidewalks were mostly clear but had a few icy patches.  I headed towards the Halifax piers.  More specifically the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.  Pier 21 was used as an eastern seaboard immigration processing facility from 1928 to 1971.  Today, it is a museum dedicated to the history of Immigration in Canada.

I hadn’t originally planned on visiting Pier 21 but an incoming snowstorm meant I had an entire day to explore Halifax.  The storm was expected to drop 20 cm of snow on the city.  Since I had more time than I planned in the city, I decided to head over to Canada’s version of Elis Island.  I had never really thought about the fact that Canada was experiencing a period of mass immigration, until I personally got in touch with a florida immigration attorney who happens to be an acquaintance of mine.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

Due to its eastern location and access to mainland Canada, Halifax port was the first stop for many immigrants.  The location provided the shortest ocean going crossing from European ports to Canada.  On average it took between 7 to 15 days for the ocean voyage from Europe to Canada.  Like immigration in the United States, most immigrates came from Ireland, United Kingdoms, and Netherlands.  Pier 21 is the only remaining original seaport immigration facility.  Over a million people passed through its doors and into Canada.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

I started my tour of Pier 21 in one on of the temporary exhibit halls.  The current exhibit was on the famed ship the Canadian Pacific Steamship the RMS Empress of Ireland.  The Empress of Ireland was one of many ships that regularly brought immigrants from Europe to Canada.   On May 29 1914, she collided with another ship and sank.  Her sinking caused the deaths of 1,012 of her 1,477 passengers.  After the sinking of the Titanic two years previously, the Empress of Ireland added enough lifeboats for all the passengers and held regular emergency drills.  Unlike the Titanic, the Empress of Ireland sank about 15 mins after being struck and the crew did not have time to close the watertight doors and the severe damage to one side made launching half the lifeboats impossible.  Most of the passengers were asleep in their cabins and were not awoken by the collision. Before coming to Pier 21, I had never heard of this ship or the disaster.  The disaster was overshadowed in modern culture by Titanic and its movie.
Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

After the Empress of Ireland exhibit, I headed up the escalator to second floor and the exhibit on immigration through Pier 21.  Pier 21 was set on the waterfront allowing ships to dock and offload their passengers and cargo directly into the building.  A newly arrived immigrant would be brought to a hall and made to wait with their hand luggage until interview by an immigration official.  The interview took about 5 mins and then the immigrant went for a medical exam.  Less than 1% of immigrants were turned away.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

Once passing through the interviews and medical exams, the immigrants went through customs.  They were not allowed to bring any food or seeds into the country.  Some immigrants got created and turned meat into belts or babies or hid things in their clothing.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

After customs, the immigrants were released to the train station where they could buy tickets further into Canada.  The exhibit also includes several steamer trunks from immigrants showing what good they brought from home as well as artifacts from ships and what the conditions on the train and waiting areas were like.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

Another exhibit showed what immigrants would pack in the larger shipping containers.  Dutch citizens were unable to take cash with them when immigrating so they would ship everything they owned instead.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
Everything including the kitchen sink.

The other main exhibit on this floor is about the history of immigration in Canada.  It examines the reason people immigrated as well as the different groups over different time periods.  It chronicles some of the more recent immigrants and refugees thought on arriving in Canada as well as the cultural aspect they imparted on Canadian society.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

Canada like the United States has become home to people from all over the world such as slaves from the Southern USA, to Jews escaping from the Nazi, or Rwandan escaping genocide.  The last part of the exhibit is about becoming a Canadian Citizen.  There is the opportunity to take the Canadian Citizen test.  I failed, rather spectacularly.  But I am not a Canadian Citizen so it’s acceptable that I didn’t pass.

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
So I failed. I got 3 out of 8.

I enjoyed learning about immigration in Canada and seeing how in compares the United States.  The timing worked well given that early in the month I had been to Elis Island in the United States.

Have you explored your countries immigration history at a museum like the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21?

Discovering Canadian Immigration at Canas's Version of Elis Island

18 thoughts on “Exploring Canadian Immigration at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21”

  1. Wow i would love to visit this place! i Have lived on the west coast of Canada all of my life. I think i need to visit the east coast with the family soon! I had also never heard of the Empress of Ireland disaster in any Canadian History classes i had taken!

    1. Don’t forget the west coast had immigration as well. You mean to tell me that they don’t teach anything about the worst non-war related maritime disaster. That is very sad.

  2. I grew up in Nova Scotia but I’ve never been to this museum – I would love to see it on my next visit there. Halifax is a really great city (when it’s not snowed in!) and in the summer there are a ton of downtown pubs with outdoor patios.

    1. I found some great pubs even with all the snow. Halifax did an amazing job in clearing the roads overnight. It was safe to drive across to Wolfville the next day.

  3. I can’t imagine how scary it must have been for all those people to leave their homeland on such a long, arduous journey. Especially without really knowing what was in store for them at their destination. I’m sure glad they did, though. I love the melting pot result in both the US and Canada.

    1. It was and still is scary. I can sort of imagine the feeling when I moved to Africa only worse since most came without a job .

  4. This was an interesting read as I never really got acquainted with Canada’s history itself. I too am quite amazed by the immigration museum but it seems like a great start to see te history of a country. Thanks for an awesome post!

    1. I knew about the immigration in the USA but had never thought about it in Canada. It was interesting to see their history through their eyes.

  5. Immigration museum ? Wow that’s something different but I enjoy going to museums and learning about history and all .

    1. Yea, I hadn’t really thought of going until I need something to do in Halifax. It was great to learn about Canada’s immigration.

  6. I have never seen an immigration museum before, but it sounds like an interesting ides, especially in a country that has a long immigration history. And don’t worry about not passing the test. They are usually designed this way, so they are hard to pass even for the citizens of that country.

    1. The questions aren’t that hard if you know some Canadian history and government. I don’t know much other than the US invaded during the War of 1812 and a few other random facts. At least, when I was at Elis Island, I passed the US citizenship exam. I feel like if you are a citizen of that country, you should pass that countries test.

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