Minorities in WWII CanadaWomen and the War EffortWar BridesJapanese InternmentEnemy Aliens

Women in the War Effort• Women went back to

Work!- Worked in war industry

roles that were traditionally masculine

- Welders, drillers, machine operators

Women in high demand!- Some companies built

dormitories close to factories

Employment Programs for Women• National Selective

Service Program - registered women for work in

factories and established daycare centers

- Ontario and Quebec

• Canadian Women’s Army Corps

- served as clerks, drivers, and nurses

By 1945 almost 1/3 of women employed in the War Effort

Rosie the Riveter/ Ronnie the Bren Gun Girl

Enemy Aliens•Nationals living in

a country that is at war with their homeland

•The government considered them a security risk

Japanese Canadians•1941 Pearl

Harbour attacks and the Invasion of Hong Kong increased anti-Japanese sentiment in Canada

- 22 000 Japanese Canadians living in BC

Japanese Internment Camps• 1942 the War

Measures Act invoked• All Japanese

Canadians “invited” to move to the Okanogan Valley

- Settled in “temporary” relocation centers

- Soon forced to leave the coast

- Separated families- Forced to stay until the

end of the war

David SuzukiInterned with his mother when he was 6

Father forced to work in labour camp

It gets Worse!•1943 federal officials called Custodians of

Enemy Property, were given the power to confiscate and sell Japanese Canadian’s property

- People lost everything

•1945 the federal government gave a choice

- Move to war torn Japan or Move to the Rocky Mountains

- Supreme Court upheld the government - Over 2000 Japanese Canadians deported

Scar of the Great White North•1947 the

government cancels the policy

•1988 Apology to Japanese Canadians

- $21 000 each in compensation

- Restore Canadian citizenship for deported