The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 marked the turning point in the lives of the Nikkei in Canada. In response to public pressure rooted in anti-Asian racism, the federal government ordered the forced uprooting of close to 21,500 Japanese Canadians living within the restricted area, 100 miles along the west coast of B.C., and confiscated their property by October 31, 1942. The majority of the Nikkei were forcibly removed from their homes and detained in internment sites in the province, while others were sent to road and prisoner-of-war camps, industrial project sites, and sugar beet farms across the country. (Photo credit UBC Library, Japanese Photograph Collection, Access Identifier: JCPC_29_010)
Located in southern B.C. and today identifies itself as the smallest city in Canada, Greenwood was the first of ten internment sites in the province where approximately 1,200 Nikkei were relocated during World War II. (Photo credit Yuasa family collection)
On June 7, 1964, Prime Minister Pearson referred to the internment of Canadians of Japanese descent as “a black mark on traditional Canadian fairness and devotion to principles of human rights.” It was not until September 22, 1988 that Prime Minister Mulroney acknowledged the federal government’s wrongful treatment of the Nikkei and reached a redress settlement with the Japanese Canadian community. On May 7, 2012, the Province of British Columbia issued a formal apology to the Japanese Canadian community for the internment of approximately 22,000 Nikkei during and after World War II. A decade later on May 21, 2022, B.C. Premier John Horgan announced a $100 million funding initiative in recognition of the injustices committed by the province during the war. The resilience of the first immigrants of Japanese ancestry and their children paved the way for future generations to enjoy the rights and freedoms shared by all Canadian citizens. (Photo by William Milliot on Unsplash )
The Nikkei Legacy Park celebrated its transformation with a 15th century Japanese rock garden at the grand opening of the Nikkei Memorial Garden on July 20, 2025. (Photo credit Chuck Tasaka)
It was the month of April 1942. I was busy at my store in Richmond, when one of my father’s friends brought the news of our evacuation. All Japanese, naturalized citizens or Canadian-born, were to be moved 100 miles from the coast. I was 16 years old at the time and was asking a great deal of questions. Why us? What did we do to deserve such punishment? I am a Canadian-born citizen!(Tamiko Haraga, internee in Greenwood – Yesaki, 2003)
In 1942, close to 21,500 Nikkei were dispersed from the protected zone to various locations across Canada, but primarily to remote areas in B.C. Internment Sites The B.C. Security Commission (BCSC) chose six internment sites and some surrounding towns in B.C. to intern the Nikkei. The ten destinations were located in small communities or on vacant lands. By April 1, 1943, the population of the internees reached a high of 12,177. Slocan Valley Area (sites: Slocan City, Lemon Creek, Bay Farm, Popoff Farm) 4,764 Tashme (largest and last site to be built) 2,624 New Denver (sites: New Denver, Rosebery) 1,701 Greenwood 1,203 Kaslo 965 Sandon 920 Self-supporting Sites In addition to the internment sites, there were seven self-supporting settlements or independent schemes authorized by the B.C. Security Commission (BCSC). These locations, also referred to by the Nikkei as kanemochi mura, were the destinations of wealthier Japanese Canadians from Vancouver and Steveston who chose to pay for all of their expenses including housing, education, and transportation. There were 1,161 Nikkei in these voluntary sites by October 31, 1942. Christina Lake 109 Bridge River 269 Minto City 322 East Lillooet 309 McGillivray Falls 70 Swing Crew (Okangan) 63 Assiniboia 19 The BCSC also issued special permits to several hundred Japanese individuals and families from Vancouver. They were sent to farms in B.C., such as Grand Forks and areas north of Kamloops, where permanent employment was guaranteed. Road Camps During the March-June 1942 period, 2,161 Japanese nationals and physically fit men were sent to four key road building projects in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario. While the criteria was those aged between 18 and 45 years old, some of them were 17 and others over 70. As of October 31, 1942, the number of men decreased to 945 as many were permitted to join their families living in internment camps. The highest number of men working on the Blue River-Yellowhead highway project, for instance was 1,561 in April 1942. Six months later the population decreased by over 80%. Blue River-Yellowhead project (17 camps) 271 Revelstoke-Sicamous project (5 camps) 346 Hope-Princeton Highway project (6 camps) 296 Schreiber-Jackfish project (Northern Ontario, 4 camps) 32
Workers from Road Camp on Hope-Princeton Highway Project, 1942
Photo credit UBC Library, Japanese Canadian Photograph Collection, Access Identifier: JCPC_ 03_007
Due to the Alberta sugar beet farmers’ severe labour shortage, the B.C. Security Commission (BCSC), the Government of Alberta, and sugar beet associations negotiated to relocate almost 2,600 Nikkei from B.C. to southern Alberta. Shortly afterwards, the same arrangement was made in Manitoba. Despite the harsh living and working conditions on these farms, the move represented an opportunity for the Nikkei to ensure that their families remained together and to be reunited with men who had been sent to road camps. By November 1942, 3,991 Japanese Canadians had left B.C. to move east. With their farming knowledge and experience from working in the Fraser Valley and Delta, the contribution of the Nikkei to the sugar beet industry was invaluable. According to the BCSC, there was “little doubt that unless Japanese labour had been recruited … the great bulk of the crop would not have been seeded, with the consequent loss to Canada of many thousands of tons of beet sugar.” Alberta 2,588 Manitoba 1,053 Ontario (men only) 350 Ontario Prisoner-of-War Camps There were approximately 800 Nikkei men detained by the RCMP in Vancouver for their opposition to the measures taken by the federal government against those of Japanese ancestry. By October 1942, 412 and 287 men were sent to Angler Camp and Petawawa Camp respectively, while 111 remained in detention. Other Work Sites The BCSC approved the movement of 439 Nikkei to work on three significant industrial projects: the sawmill in Westwold (77), the sawmill and logging operation in Taylor Lake (180), and the Ontario Industries logging business (85). There were an additional 97 Nikkei employed in other industrial projects. The BCSC also granted special work permits to 1,359 Japanese Canadians to fill approved jobs in Canada and the Yukon Territory.
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