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War Measures Act Passed

In August 1914 the Government of Canada passed the War Measures Act The Act

expanded the role and powers of the government during the war The Act was created
Some Canadian immigrants were forced
into internment camps during the First to protect the welfare of Canada The government could make decisions that it believed
World War necessary to defend the country This included the creation of internment camps

People worried about immigrants from countries Canada was at war with Some

people believed these immigrants would attack Canadians because they were still loyal

to their homeland People called these immigrants “enemy aliens ”

Many immigrants were Ukrainians, who came from what was then called

Austria-Hungary to settle and farm in Canada After the War Measures Act was

passed, thousands of immigrants were forced to leave their homes Their money and

businesses were taken away, and they were made to live in internment camps More

than 8,500 Canadian immigrants were forced into 24 receiving stations and camps

between 1914 and 1920

Did You Know?

In 2008 the federal government provided $10 million

? to create the Canadian First World War Internment

Recognition Fund This fund helps educate Canadians
about the country’s internment operations between 1914

and 1920

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