Japanese Canadians: Wartime Persecution
During the Second World War, all people of Japanese background living on the coast of British
Columbia were forced to leave their homes. Why were Japanese-Canadians unjustly singled out?
The Relocation Begins
In February 1942, PM King made a dramatic
announcement. By order-in-council, under the War
Measures Act, all people of Japanese background
living within the coast of British Columbia would be
away from the coast. The RCMP could search their
homes without a warrant and there would be no trials
or investigations. It did not matter how long people
had been living in Canada, or whether or not they
were even citizens – and many were!
Immediately, authorities began rounding up
people of Japanese background. Over the next few
months, about 20,000 were forcibly moved from their
homes and placed into internment camps in the
interior of British Columbia, where they were forced to
live for the rest of the war. Others were sent to work
as labourers in the Prairies and Ontario. While they
were gone, the federal government took their
property and solid it at auctions.
The evacuation was explained as a security
precaution. The war with Japan was going badly. At
the end of 1941, the Japanese had carried out a
surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour
in Hawaii. They overran much of East Asia. These
events convinced people in BC that a Japanese
invasion was certain. As it turned out, ad invasion did
not occur, but for many months, British Columbians
lived in fear that the war could reach their doorstep.
In this situation, it was argued, people of
Japanese origin posed a threat. British Columbia
already had a long history of discrimination against its
Chinese, Japanese and South Asian residents. The war
provided an excuse for this prejudice to come
bubbling to the surface again. People suspected that
Japanese Canadians were MORE Japanese than they
were Canadian, that they would feel loyal to their
country of origin and become spies and saboteurs on
its behalf. There is no evidence that this ever
happened, but such was the strength of public
prejudice that the government felt it had to give in to
it.
As anti-Japanese feelings grew, some people
began to fear outbreaks of violence and argued that
the Japanese should be moved for their own safety.
Since the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941, many
Canadian soldiers were prisoners of war in Japanese
detention camps. The government worried that if any
harm came to Japanese residents in Canada, the
Japanese would take revenge on the prisoners.
Apologizing for the Injustice
After the war, the persecution of Japanese-Canadians
continued. For several years, they were not allowed
to return to the coast. Many were deported back to
Japan or sent to live in Eastern Canada. At the time,
most Canadians approved of the relocation of the
Japanese. Today it is recognized as one of the worst
violations of human rights in the history of the country.
Innocent people, most of them Canadian citizens, were
forcibly uprooted and taken from their homes and sent
to camps or labour jobs across the country. They lost
their possessions and their livelihoods. All of this was
done seemingly to preserve national security, which
almost everyone now agrees was never at risk.
Japanese Canadians persisted in seeking
compensation for all they had suffered. They also
wanted the government to admit that an injustice had
been done. Finally, in 1988, the government of
Canada agreed. It admitted that the “treatment of
Japanese Canadians during and after WWII was unjust
and violated principles of human rights as they are
understood today.” It apologized and agreed to pay
$21,000 to every evacuee who was still living, as well
as other money to the Japanese Canadian community
as a whole.
The Internment of Japanese Canadians
Since the first Japanese immigrants came to work on the
railways, mines and lumber camps on the West Coast of
Canada, they have faced various forms of discrimination.
They have been denied the right to vote, teach or take jobs in
the civil service. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour horrified
many Canadians and suddenly Japanese Canadians were
seen as spies and enemy aliens.
Questions for Comprehension:
1.
Give examples of how Canada unjustly treated
Japanese Canadians:
2.
What similarities are there between the treatment of the Japanese-Canadians and the Jewish
people living in Nazi Germany?
3.
Was the Canadian government justified in setting up the internment camps?
4.
Was the internment of Japanese Canadians the product of paranoia or of racist attitudes in
Canada? What can we do in the future to ensure the security of Canada without violating
people’s basic human rights?