Stories of Canadian Immigrants

The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21’s first ever travelling exhibition, Canada: Day 1 is moving across Canada. The exhibition premiered at the Nanaimo Museum in British Columbia in the summer months of 2014. NEW LINK IS: Canada: Day 1. The exhibition hopes to share Canadian immigrant experiences, their first steps, first impressions, and first experiences as a newcomer to Canada.

Alongside the physical exhibition, Pier 21 has introduced a free mobile application, which provides video clips and stories from newcomers sharing their first impressions of Canada.

“The idea behind the Museum’s first mobile application was to offer a personal and interactive way for audiences to discover more about newcomers’ Day 1 and Canadian “first” experiences. In the app's short video clips, Aamir shares how he feels to be faced with new circumstances; Noma is thoughtful on the question ‘where is home?;’ and Frederick reflects on leaving his people to come to Canada,” said Terri Harlow, the New Media Manager at Pier 21.

“We included a social component and, of course, we hope everyone will be inspired to share their own thoughts and feelings by tweeting responses to our three Twitter questions (#CanadaDay1 and #CanadaJour1). Everyone has something to say about the Canadian cold and snow!”

“The oral history clips used in Canada: Day 1 are part of the Museum’s permanent digital archives. This collection also includes digital images (photographs and documents) and a written Story Collection. By recording peoples’ immigration stories through oral history interviews, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 contributes important documentation on the human facet of immigration. Personal stories might be used in Museum exhibits, research and publications, educational and interpretive materials, and website and social media engagement. Participating in an oral history interview is a meaningful way for a person to document his or her story for future generations and share experiences and memories with other Canadians.” – Emily Burton, Oral Historian and Laura Sanchini, Oral History Researcher at Pier 21.

The app is currently available for iPhone and Android users, and soon for Blackberry smartphones. The app was designed as a standalone experience.

Don’t have a smartphone? Pier 21 suggests you delve deeper into their website “Currently, there is an Oral History gallery with three to five minute clips from each of our 26 participants. Soon we will roll out a themed gallery, titled: “An Alphabet of Canadian Firsts” — a delightful range of surprising, funny and relatable quotes from our collections. We hope visitors will leave comments and share their own Canadian “Firsts,”’ tells Harlow.

The traveling exhibition and mobile application are components of the legacy project, which is part of Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017.