The Internment of Japanese Canadians

Background Info Race Riot in Vancouver 5000 Canadians marched into “Little Tokyo” destroying property and terrorizing people because they were upset that Asian immigrants were taking Canadian jobs by working at lower wages The government sent King (the then Minister of Labour) to Vancouver to investigate the causes and make recommendations to prevent future riots King however sympathized with the rioters and refused to make recommendations that challenged their racist attitude

Background Info Instead, he suggested that the government control the population growth The government accepted his recommendations In 1928 only 150 Japanese immigrants allowed into Canada each year Chinese and Japanese immigrants no longer allowed to vote or join the armed forces

Pearl Harbour After Pearl Harbour in 1941, the Canadian government was pressured to do something about the 22,000 Japanese living in B.C. 14,000 of them were born in B.C. and spoke no Japanese nor had any ties to Japan

Pearl Harbour Due to the fact that many Japanese lived on the coast and had fishing boats, they were considered a security risk (Spies) It was thought that they would supply the Japanese with secret information and help them invade Canada

Pearl Harbour One week after Pearl Harbour, the Canadian government seized all Japanese fishing boats In 1942, the roundup of Japanese Canadians began War Measures Act: Gave government sweeping powers to determine who was loyal and who was not Permitted the relocation of Japanese Canadians into internment camps Some were sent to farms in Alberta and Manitoba (work camps).

War Measures Act Japanese Canadians had no rights They were fingerprinted, photographed, and given an ID number They were only allowed to bring one suitcase and the rest of their belongings were auctioned off, the profits of which went towards the cost of the internment (24hrs) Anyone who resisted was sent to a prisoner- of-war camp in Angler, Ontario

Japanese Canadians At first only Japanese men without Canadian citizenship were held Later, it did not matter if you were born in Japan or Canada More than were second- generation Japanese Canadians born in Canada It did not matter that 200 had fought in the Canadian army in WWI

Japanese Fisherman most people of Japanese descent in Canada lived in British Columbia Japanese in the fishing industry were the first group to be evacuated Rumours that Canada would be attacked and Japanese were navy officers sent to spy on BC waters About 1200 Japanese fishing bats seized by Canadian government

Moving Japanese inland Canadian navy saw no further security problem once Japanese had been removed from the coast Public demanded internment of all Japanese Canadian government decided to move all Japanese away from the coast to inland centres Reasons: to prevent spying which could lead to enemy invasion and protect Japanese from being harmed in riots

Living Conditions Housed in crude huts:Two bedrooms and a kitchen had to be shared by two families Until 1943, no running water or electricity Conditions were so bad that food packages were being sent from Japan through the Red Cross

Post War In 1945, Japanese Canadians were forced to chose between deportation and relocation east of the rocky mountains Most chose to move to Ontario and Quebec In 1946, the government tried to deport 10,000 Japanese The government abandoned their plan in the face of massive public protest citizens of Japanese decent not allowed to vote in federal elections until 1948 Did not have right to vote in BC until 1949

1988 Parliament In 1988, Parliament replaced the War Measures Act with the Emergency Act The Emergency Act gives the government more power during a crisis, but does not allow the government to cancel the personal freedoms of its citizens Also in 1988, the government acknowledged that the treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII was unjust and compensated them or their family members $21,000 Today, Vancouver has one of the most diverse Asian communities. Vancouver contains the second-largest Chinatown in North America

Apology in