1914
War Measures Act (WMA)
Gave the governor in council extensive powers to authorize acts deemed “necessary” for the “security, defence, peace, order and welfare of Canada” and over “arrest, detention, exclusion and deportation” (qtd in Kelley 169).
This act was used to target immigrants who were deemed “enemy aliens,” i.e. those who originated from countries against which Canada was at war.
Under the authority of this act, enemy aliens were subjected to compulsory registration, required to carry identity cards, forbidden to publish or possess material in their native language, prohibited from joining certain socialist and anarchist organizations and prevented from leaving the country without exit permits. Moreover, thousands were interned in camps across the country and deported.
The Act is significant because of the magnitude and scope of its impact. Those classified as enemy aliens included approximately 400,00 persons of German origin, 100,000 immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 5,000 people from the Turkish Empire, and several hundred Bulgarians.
Map of internment camp and work site locations in Canada where those deemed by the Canadian government as “enemy aliens” were held during and after WW1.
War Measures Act (WMA)
Gave the governor in council extensive powers to authorize acts deemed “necessary” for the “security, defence, peace, order and welfare of Canada” and over “arrest, detention, exclusion and deportation” (qtd in Kelley 169).This act was used to target immigrants who were deemed “enemy aliens,” i.e. those who originated from countries against which Canada was at war.
Under the authority of this act, enemy aliens were subjected to compulsory registration, required to carry identity cards, forbidden to publish or possess material in their native language, prohibited from joining certain socialist and anarchist organizations and prevented from leaving the country without exit permits. Moreover, thousands were interned in camps across the country and deported.
The Act is significant because of the magnitude and scope of its impact. Those classified as enemy aliens included approximately 400,00 persons of German origin, 100,000 immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 5,000 people from the Turkish Empire, and several hundred Bulgarians.
Map of internment camp and work site locations in Canada where those deemed by the Canadian government as “enemy aliens” were held during and after WW1.
