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CA-K249History

Displaced persons arrive after the Second World War

An immigrant woman with her baby at Pier 21, Halifax, in 1948 (photograph by E. A. Bollinger).
An immigrant woman with her baby at Pier 21, Halifax, in 1948 (photograph by E. A. Bollinger). Immigrant Woman with Baby, Pier 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1948 · E.A. Bollinger · Photo source · Photo licence: Public domain. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.
Factual accuracy review: No recorded challenge

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After the Second World War, nearly 187,000 people fled devastated Europe for Canada, including Holocaust survivors, former prisoners of war and thousands unable or unwilling to return home; most arrived by ship between 1947 and 1952. Many first worked as labourers despite professional training, and their arrival strengthened calls to recognize Canada’s growing cultural diversity.

Scope & context

The displaced persons’ arrival and settlement, not Canada’s immigration policy in detail. The source page gives two totals (more than 157,000 political refugees in its summary; nearly 187,000 people in its plaque text); this claim uses the plaque figure.

Sources behind this record

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