By Quinnlyn Howie
I believe that the internment of enemy aliens in Canada during the First and Second World Wars was an act of ultranationalism, and to a certain extent, was a reasonable solution. In some ways I can understand the Canadian government’s reasoning behind the detainment in internment camps of those who were believed to be national threats, or who violated serious regulations. I do not think it was necessary for some of these aliens to be contained without rational reasoning, and for them to be treated so poorly in the camps.
Enemy aliens are people who are residing in a country which is at war with their home nation. At the beginning of World War One, in August of 1914, the War Measures Act was put in place. This act allowed the government to do anything and everything necessary to keep the country safe and secure during a time of war. All immigrants in Canada of enemy race were required to register and then regularly report to local authorities. Most of these aliens were forced to be laborers, work in mines, log forests, develop national parks, and work in steel mills. An enemy alien would be sent to an internment camp if they violated regulations or were suspected to be a threat to security. There were many other reasons for being sent to internment camps, such as failing to register or report regularly, traveling within Canada without permission, writing to relatives in their home country, “acting in a suspicious manner”, being “undesirable”, or publishing work in their native language. The majority of immigrants who were considered enemy aliens were from Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ukraine, and Turkey. There were a total of 8579 men held, but by around 1916 many of them were paroled, still having to follow many strict regulations. There were also 81 women and 156 children interred in these camps; unlike the men they were admitted voluntarily due to relationships with the male internees. Of the 24 camps across Canada, six were located in British Columbia, four in Alberta, two in Manitoba, six in Ontario, four in Quebec, and two in Nova Scotia. In these camps, the enemy aliens were treated quite poorly and with minimal respect. Twice daily they were made to march for one hour. Other than a few who were hired to cook and clean, most men could not earn enough money to properly support themselves and their families. Internees were allowed minimal human rights and life was hard.
Much like World War One, 26 internment camps were set up during the Second World War under the War Measures Act throughout Canada. During this time period the interpretation of enemy aliens was modified to include German and Italian citizens of Canada, along with anyone from the Communist Party. Internment camps worked in much the same way as they had in WWI. Again, anyone who violated regulations or was considered a threat could have been interned. Enemy aliens were obliged to register, and then report monthly, to their local RCMP. A group of 711 Jews, survivors of the Holocaust in Europe, were interred in New Brunswick at the request of the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who thought there were spies in the group. In 1942, after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, the Canadian government ordered that all enemy aliens within 100 metres of the coast of British Columbia – the location of the majority of Japanese aliens – be evacuated. 22 000 Japanese Canadians were affected by an abrupt command to get out of their homes within 24 hours. The money made off of the sale of these people’s abandoned houses and other assets went towards the cost of their internment. The mass of aliens who had recently vacated their homes temporarily remained in a facility in Vancouver, before being forced to camps and work sites across Canada. These Japanese aliens, many of whom were actually born in Canada, were treated extremely poorly. Men were sent to road construction camps in the interior of B.C., sugar beet projects in the prairies, or if they mentioned their feelings of being split up from their families, they were sent to “prisoner of war” camps in Ontario. Women and children were sent to internment camps and isolated towns in the interior of B.C. where the conditions were inferior to what they were used to. Citizens in Japan even sent additional food packages through the Red Cross to aid the suffering internees in Canada.
Nationalism is the set of beliefs that puts a high value on one’s nation. Ultranationalism is the extreme of nationalism: putting one’s nation above all else at all costs. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. In the case of WWI and WWII, internment camps were set up by the Canadian government, demonstrating ultranationalism. Government officials made the critical decision to enable the War Measures Act during both wars, allowing internment camps to be established. The detainment of enemy aliens in Canadian internment camps was most likely introduced with the nation’s security and welfare in mind. This system was over the top and ruthless in the minds of many Canadians, which corresponds with the excessiveness of ultranationalism. The act of interning enemy aliens in Canada was reasonable to a certain extent. Internment camps were put in place as a solution to the problems that the country was facing during both world wars. It was effective in keeping the country safe, but an alternative solution – without the mistreatment of human beings – would most likely have sufficed. Many of the enemy aliens were admitted to these camps without rational reasoning, and would have caused no harm to the Canadian nation if they had not been interned.
The internment of enemy aliens in Canada during WWI and WWII is an extremely controversial subject, and can be looked at from many different perspectives. To a certain extent, the detainment of potential threats to security and violators of regulations was reasonable. Although it was an act of ultranationalism, many thought at the time that extreme measures were necessary in order to protect Canada. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Breti, D. (1998). Internment Camps in British Columbia. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www.britishcolumbia.com/general/details.asp?id=44
InfoUkes Inc. Staff, The (2007). Internment of Ukrainians in Canada 1914-1920. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www.infoukes.com/history/internment/
Roy, P. E. (n.d.). Internment. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004039
World War I: the war at home. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://manitobia.ca/cocoon/launch/en/themes/ww1/4
Di Biase, L. (2000). Japanese Canadian Internment. Retrieved March 25, 2010, from http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/Canada/internment/intro.html
