Italian Canadian internment

Last updated

Italian Canadian internment was the removal and internment of Italian Canadians during World War II following Italy's declaration of war against the United Kingdom on June 10, 1940. [1] Through the War Measures Act , the government of Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King gave itself the power to suspend habeas corpus , revoke rights, seize property and arrest those who were deemed a threat to the safety of Canada—labelling 31,000 Italian Canadians as "enemy aliens". [2] Between 1940 and 1943, between 600 and 700 Italian Canadian men were arrested and sent to internment camps as potentially dangerous "enemy aliens" with alleged fascist connections. In the decades that followed, political apologies were made for the internment of Italian Canadians.

Contents

Enemy aliens

Italian Canadian man being arrested at Casa D'Italia in Toronto on June 10, 1940 Arrest at Casa d'Italia, Toronto, ON.jpg
Italian Canadian man being arrested at Casa D'Italia in Toronto on June 10, 1940
Italian Canadian men at an internment camp Italian-Canadian men at an internment camp.jpg
Italian Canadian men at an internment camp

On June 10, 1940, following Italy's declaration of war against the United Kingdom, all fascist organizations in Canada were deemed illegal through the War Measures Act . They included the Casa D'Italia consulate on Beverley Street, the fascist newspaper Il Bolletino and the Dopolavoro (after work) social club. Casa D'Italia was seized by the Custodian of Enemy Alien Property and sold to the RCMP. [3] According to Enemies Within: Italian and Other Internees in Canada and Abroad, edited by historians Franca Iacovetta, Roberto Perin and Angelo Principe, an estimated 3,500 Italian Canadians were known to have been members of local fascist groups. [4]

Newspaper accounts of the day, such as the Ottawa Citizen , stated that the "enemy alien" status was immediately placed on non-resident Italians older than 16 years of age, and on Italian Canadians who became British subjects after September 1929—about 31,000 Italian Canadians. [5] The category later expanded to include nationals of belligerent states naturalized after 1922. Those affected by the War Measures Act and Defense of Canada Regulations (DOCR) were forced to register with the RCMP and report to them on a monthly basis. [6] [2]

Between 1940 and 1943, between 600 and 700 Italian Canadian men were arrested and sent to internment camps as potentially dangerous "enemy aliens" with alleged fascist connections. While many Italian Canadians had initially supported fascism and Benito Mussolini's regime for its role in enhancing Italy's presence on the world stage, most Italians in Canada did not harbour any ill will against Canada and few remained committed followers of the fascist ideology. [7] [8]

Most of the Italian Canadian men were interned at Camp Petawawa (Camp 33) in Petawawa, Ontario, as well as camps in Minto, New Brunswick and Kananaskis, Alberta, for several years. [9]

A notable internee was Hamilton, Ontario's notorious bootlegger Rocco Perri. [10]

Legacy

In 1990, prime minister Brian Mulroney apologized for the war internment of Italian Canadians to a Toronto meeting of the National Congress of Italian Canadians: "On behalf of the government and the people of Canada, I offer a full and unqualified apology for the wrongs done to our fellow Canadians of Italian origin during World War II." [11]

In May 2009, Massimo Pacetti introduced bill C-302, an "Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their "enemy alien" designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian Canadian history [worth $2.5 million]", which was passed by the House of Commons on April 28, 2010. [12] Canada Post was also to issue a commemorative postage stamp commemorating the internment of Italian Canadian citizens, [13] however, Bill C-302 did not pass through the necessary stages to become law. [14]

In 2013, as a part of the permanent exhibition Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II at the Columbus Centre in Toronto, funded by Villa Charities Inc and Citizenship and Immigration Canada, artist Harley Valentine created a monument recognizing the internments called "Riflessi: Italian Canadian Internment Memorial". The main statue is composed of several profiles—a (grand)father, internee, pregnant mother, and child—that combine to form a single figure in mirror polished stainless steel.

In September 2018, the RCMP planted a tree on the grounds of the Canadian Police College in Ottawa as a show of regret for their involvement with the internment of Italian Canadians. [15]

On May 27, 2021, prime minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized for the war internment of Italian Canadians, at the House of Commons. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

4 Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa, commonly referred to as Garrison Petawawa, is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camillien Houde</span> Canadian politician (1889–1958)

Camillien Houde was a Quebec politician, a Member of Parliament, and a four-time mayor of Montreal. He is of the few Canadian politicians to have served at all three levels of government. During World War II, Houde was interned under the War Measures Act for campaigning against conscription.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internment of Japanese Canadians</span> Period of internment of Japanese people in Canada

From 1942 to 1949, Canada forcibly relocated and incarcerated over 22,000 Japanese Canadians—comprising over 90% of the total Japanese Canadian population—from British Columbia in the name of "national security". The majority were Canadian citizens by birth and were targeted based on their ancestry. This decision followed the events of the Japanese Empire's war in the Pacific against the Western Allies, such as the invasion of Hong Kong, the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the Fall of Singapore which led to the Canadian declaration of war on Japan during World War II. Similar to the actions taken against Japanese Americans in neighbouring United States, this forced relocation subjected many Japanese Canadians to government-enforced curfews and interrogations, job and property losses, and forced repatriation to Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian Canadians</span> Canadian citizens of Italian descent

Italian Canadians or Italo-Canadians are Canadian-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who migrated to Canada as part of Italian diaspora, or Italian-born people in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians claimed full or partial Italian ancestry. They comprise a subgroup of Southern European Canadians which is a further subgroup of European Canadians. The census enumerates the entire Canadian population, which consists of Canadian citizens, landed immigrants and non-permanent residents and their families living with them in Canada. Residing mainly in central urban industrial metropolitan areas, Italian Canadians are the seventh largest self-identified ethnic group in Canada behind French, English, Irish, Scottish, German and Chinese Canadians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatura</span> Town in Victoria, Australia

Tatura is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia, and is situated within the City of Greater Shepparton local government area, 167 kilometres (104 mi) north of the state capital (Melbourne) and 18 kilometres (11 mi) west of the regional centre of Shepparton. At the 2021 census, Tatura had a population of 4,955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ukrainian Canadian internment</span> World-War-1-era measure

The Ukrainian Canadian internment was part of the confinement of "enemy aliens" in Canada during and for two years after the end of the First World War. It lasted from 1914 to 1920, under the terms of the War Measures Act.

In customary international law, an enemy alien is any native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed. Usually, the countries are in a state of declared war.

The internment of Italian Americans refers to the US government's internment of Italian nationals during World War II. As was customary after Italy and the US were at war, they were classified as "enemy aliens" and some were detained by the Department of Justice under the Alien and Sedition Act. But in practice, the US applied detention only to Italian nationals, not to US citizens, or long-term US residents. Italian immigrants had been allowed to gain citizenship through the naturalization process during the years before the war, and by 1940 there were millions of US citizens who had been born in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internment of German Americans</span> Detention during both World Wars

Internment of German resident aliens and German-American citizens occurred in the United States during the periods of World War I and World War II. During World War II, the legal basis for this detention was under Presidential Proclamation 2526, made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act.

<i>Collar the Lot!</i> 1980 book by Peter Gillman and Leni Gillman

Collar the Lot! How Britain Interned & Expelled its Wartime Refugees is a book by Peter Gillman and Leni Gillman. It is a detailed account of British internment policy during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada–Italy relations</span> Bilateral relations

Canada and Italy. Both nations enjoy friendly relations and are close allies and partners through their membership in the G7, G20, NATO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Relations also centre on the history of Italian migration to Canada; approximately 1.5 million Canadians claim to have Italian ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eaton Internment Camp</span>

Eaton Internment Camp, although short-lived, was one of twenty-four official internment facilities created in Canada to accommodate prisoners of war during the period from 1914 to 1920. It was the only facility of its kind in the province of Saskatchewan.

PROFUNC, an acronym for "prominent functionaries of the communist party", was a top secret Government of Canada project to identify and observe suspected Canadian communists and crypto-communists during the height of the Cold War.

The National Congress of Italian Canadians is an umbrella organization that represents Italian Canadian organizations in Canada. It was founded in 1974 as a successor to the Federation of Italian Canadian Associations. The congress has a federated structure with seven district organizations.

Italian prisoners of war in Australia were Italian soldiers captured by the British and Allied Forces in World War II and taken to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in the Isle of Man</span>

The history of the Jews in the Isle of Man goes back to at least the early 19th century.

Japanese internment at Ellis Island was the internment of Japanese-Americans living on the East Coast of the United States during World War II. They were held at an internment camp on Ellis island. The main factor that led to Japanese internment at Ellis Island was New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia ordering Japanese-Americans to be arrested. This was followed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 which initiated the mass internment of Japanese-Americans all over the United States. Other factors that led to the Japanese internment at Ellis Island include the Niihau Incident which increased the public's fear that Japanese residents were not loyal to the United States. This fear that Japanese-Americans might be spies for Japan was particularly threatening to the U.S. code-breaking efforts. Many people challenged the constitutionality of the Japanese internment in the Supreme Court.

An Internment Camp in Vernon, BC was established to hold enemy aliens and POWs during the First World War. Once Canada entered World War I, fears of enemy aliens on the home front began to arise. To combat this, the Canadian Government implemented the War Measures Act which gave them the authority to intern and disenfranchise enemy aliens living in Canada. Approximately 8,500 enemy aliens were interned across Canada, with majority of the 24 camps located around the Rocky Mountains and large population centres in Ontario. Vernon housed the permanent camp in British Columbia, operating from September 18, 1914, to February 20, 1920.

References

  1. ↑ "Canada declares war on Italy". cbc.ca. June 10, 1940. Archived from the original on 2011-06-22.
  2. 1 2 DiStefano, Daniela (August 13, 2012). "Tracing the Forgotten History of Italian-Canadian Internment Camps". Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Arrest at Casa d'Italia, Toronto, ON". www.italiancanadianww2.ca. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  4. ↑ "The harm done by Justin Trudeau's apology to Italian-Canadians might require an apology of its own". theglobeandmail.com. May 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ "R.C.M.P. Warning. On Registration Of Enemy Aliens". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "Under the Law". www.italiancanadianww2.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2015-09-30.
  7. ↑ "Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II". www.italiancanadianww2.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  8. ↑ "History - Pier 21". www.pier21.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  9. ↑ "Shining light on a dark secret: The internment of Italian-Canadians". Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-01-12– via The Globe and Mail.
  10. ↑ Nicaso, Antonio (2004). Rocco Perri: The Story of Canada's Most Notorious Bootlegger. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. ISBN   978-0470835265.
  11. ↑ "Italians seek new apology from Canada for wartime internments". The Globe and Mail. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  12. ↑ Third Session, Fortieth Parliament, House of Commons, Bill C–302 [ permanent dead link ] Retrieved January 2, 2011. (pdf file)
  13. ↑ "Apology to interned Italian-Canadians questioned". Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
  14. ↑ "Redress and Apology". www.italiancanadianww2.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  15. ↑ "RCMP plant tree to remember internment of Italian-Canadians". cbc.ca. September 19, 2018. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Trudeau apologizes to Italian Canadians for internment during WW II". cbc.ca. 27 May 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.