Pier 21

Between 1928 and 1971 around one million immigrants entered Canada through this shed on the Halifax waterfront, along with about half a million military personnel departing and returning in the second world war, and around one hundred thousand war brides and their children. It was the last surviving immigration shed of its kind in Canada and became the national immigration museum in 1999, upgraded to a national museum in 2011. The displays use recorded testimony heavily, including from those refused entry, and the museum does not omit the exclusions: the Chinese head tax, the turning away of the MS St. Louis, the internments.

History

Halifax, Quebec City and Victoria were Canada's main immigration ports in the steamship era, and Halifax's old Pier 2, built in 1880, had grown too small by 1913, the peak year of immigration. Pier 21 opened on 8 March 1928, when the Holland America liner Nieuw Amsterdam landed the first immigrants, and until 1971 it was the terminal through which nearly one million immigrants and refugees entered Canada, in a 600-foot shed with an annex of immigration, customs and railway offices and platforms for the colonist trains west (Wikipedia, Pier 21).

What to look for

• The arrival hall - the actual shed where a million people entered Canada.
• The recorded testimony - first-person accounts throughout the galleries.
• The exclusion history - head taxes, refusals and internment covered directly.
• The family research centre - staff helping visitors trace arrivals.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes Mondays outside summer. The research centre keeps its own hours and helps trace arrival records. Allow two to three hours.

What to expect

The subject matter includes refusals and family separations and is heavy in places. The building is a working museum, so little of the original shed atmosphere survives. Research help needs booking.

Nearby

The Maritime Museum lies north along the boardwalk; downtown Halifax is above.

Key facts