What was Japanese Canadian internment?

Japanese Canadian internment was the federal government's forced relocation, internment, dispossession, and deportation of about 22,000 Japanese Canadians (about 75 per cent of whom were Canadian citizens) under the War Measures Act between February 1942 and 1949. About 3,000 men aged 18 to 45 were detained in road camps in British Columbia, about 12,000 women, children, and elderly men were sent to internment camps in the BC interior, and others were dispersed to sugar beet farms in Alberta and Manitoba or to POW camps in Ontario. The internment is one of the most egregious civil-rights violations in Canadian history, formally apologised for by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on September 22, 1988.

The internment began with the federal Order in Council PC 1486 of February 24, 1942, which authorised the removal of all persons of Japanese ancestry from a 100-mile-wide 'protected area' of British Columbia. The removal followed Japan's December 1941 attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Justice Minister Louis St. Laurent and Justice officials (including the British Columbia Security Commission) implemented the orders. The removal began with men aged 18 to 45 in early 1942, then extended to women, children, and elderly men by autumn 1942.

Internment camps were established at Tashme, Greenwood, Slocan City, Lemon Creek, New Denver, Sandon, Roseberry, Bay Farm, and Popoff in the British Columbia interior. Conditions varied; many camps had inadequate housing, sanitation, and food. Children were separated from incarcerated fathers in road camps. The federal Custodian of Enemy Property sold off Japanese Canadian property at fire-sale prices, contrary to legal undertakings to hold property in trust. About 1,300 fishing boats, 480 farms, hundreds of homes, and businesses were confiscated and sold without the owners' consent. Estimated property losses exceeded 50 million dollars in 1942 dollars.

After the war ended in August 1945, the federal government attempted to deport about 4,000 Japanese Canadians (including about 1,800 Canadian-born or naturalised citizens) to Japan. Public opposition led by churches, labour unions, and civil rights organisations stopped the deportation programme in early 1947, but about 4,000 had already been deported. Japanese Canadians were not allowed to return to British Columbia until April 1, 1949 and did not regain the federal vote until June 1948 (most provinces had restored the provincial vote earlier). Federal redress was sought by the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) from 1980. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney delivered a formal apology in the House of Commons on September 22, 1988, accompanied by a settlement that included 21,000 dollars per surviving internee, 12 million dollars to a Japanese Canadian community fund, and 24 million dollars to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. The Japanese Canadian internment is now widely recognised as a pivotal lesson about civil liberties in wartime.