Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 (French: Musée canadien de l'immigration du Quai 21), in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Canada's national museum of immigration. The museum occupies part of Pier 21, the former ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971. Pier 21 is Canada's last remaining ocean immigration shed. The facility is often compared to Ellis Island (1892–1954), in terms of its importance to mid-20th-century immigration to Canada[1] an association it shares with 19th century immigration history at Grosse Isle, Quebec (1832–1932) and Partridge Island in Saint John, New Brunswick (1785–1941).[2] The museum began as an independent institution run by the Pier 21 Society in 1999. It became a national museum run by the Canadian federal government in 2011.
Established
1999
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Immigration Museum
Pier 21 Society (1999–2011)
Government of Canada (2011–present)
Permanent exhibitions[edit]
The Pier 21 Story[edit]
The Pier 21 Story exhibition shows visitors what it was like to immigrate through Pier 21 between 1928 and 1971. Visitors can open replica children's trunks to see what five immigrant children might have brought with them to Canada, walk through a replica of the colonist train cars that newly arrived immigrants boarded for the next stage of their journey, and even dress up as some of the key staff and volunteers at Pier 21.
Programs and services[edit]
Research and genealogy services[edit]
The Scotiabank Family History Centre (SFHC), located on the main floor of the museum, houses a large, publicly available collection of non-circulating books, periodicals, and archival records related to the Pier 21 National Historic Site and the broader study of immigration in Canada, with a focus on the role that immigrants and their descendants have had in shaping Canadian life.
Pier 21's most important project is collecting the personal recollections of immigrants whether they arrived in the busy post-war years or yesterday.[25]