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UKRAINIAN

INTERNMENT IN CANADA

The Ukrainian Canadian Internment was a period of confinement of "enemy aliens" during and after the First World War, spanning from 1914 - 1920, under the terms of the War Measures Act.​

ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS

Wasyl Severyn Family Story

Wasyl Severyn and family made the arduous journey to Canada from the Bukovynian village of Laskivka in 1908. Their travel permits were issued in Austrian German, as an independent Ukrainian state did not yet exist. They filed for a homestead in north-central Alberta, just south of present day Glendon (quarter section NE20-60-8-W4). Five years later, having met the requirements of The Homestead Act, they applied for a patent on their 160 acres for outright title to it. Like so many other tens of thousands of ethnic Ukrainians who immigrated here as former Austrian residents, when Canada entered into WWI they were considered to be "enemy aliens" and endured many unjust state sanctioned indignities, including the carrying of Canada Registration Board identity cards.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: Correspondece - re the Internees of the 1914-18 World War, 1960

Old Age Assistance correspondence for Mr. Ivan (John) Budey, Mr. Mike Hrycaniuk, and Mr. George (Meron) Meroniuk.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117, Vol 19, File, Correspondence re Prisoner of War 1914-19 (220), 1952

Correspondence with Mr. Stefan Balansky; Mr. Jan Facuk; and Mr. Peter Chassney in regards to their Old Age Security

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: no stamp on back of document, 1951

Internment Operations Branch Special Account and Records, 1914 - 1918 WWI, June 1951

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: 219 Blue Binder. 1951

Department of Finance, Canada and the Department of The Secretary of State discuss what should be done with the remaining unexpended balance in the open account and the disposal of the records.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: Iwan Pluha 1914-18 World War, 1942

Correspondence from Iwan Poluha and the Assistant Deputy Custodian of Enemy Property.

Library and Archives Canada, MG30-E350 Volume 1, File #14, September 18, 1941

Ukrainian Canadian Committee, Government of Canada Secret Report, M. Petroedkyj, September 18, 1941. Report states that the Ukrainian Canadian community is still afraid of the barbed wire fence.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: Prisoners of 1914-1918 War, Reel: Earnings and Cash Balances (223), 1938

Statement of Earnings and Cash Subject to Claims by Ex-Prisoners of War; Proof of Figures Shown on Statement Attached with Balances in Cash Book; Statement of Earnings and Cash Subject to Claim by Ex-Prisoners of War as per Individual Ledger

Library and Archives Canada, no stamp on back of file

Various correspondence on Internee Earnings and Property. Mr. Americo Serchia and Mrs. Joseph Koenig.
List of Prisoner of War Property, claims, etc. forwarded to the Custodian of Alien Enemy Property.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: The Custodian, Clearing, Reparations and Internment Offices 1914-18 World War, 1933

Claims by former prisoners of war for wages earned during internment or cash taken from them on arrest are still being presented. April 20, 1933.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: no stamp on back of document, 1926

1914-1918 World War
Exhibit No. 5
Prisoners of War as per Individual Ledger A/CS - As on June 30th, 1926

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: 219 (1920's)

Property of Prisoners
34. Prisoners of war are only allowed to have in their possession such sums of money or other property as the Commandant may from time to time allow.
35. All other money or property belonging to prisoners of war will be in charge of an officer for that purpose who will keep an account.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: Effects, 1920

List of Property of Prisoners

Internment Operations 1914 - 1920 Report by Major General William Otter, Director of Internment Operations, September 30, 1920

Government To Give Property Back To Aliens. Winnipeg Tribune. Page 10. September 28, 1920

Former Interned Enemies May Now Obtain Accounting

Will Mr. Calder Explain? Ottawa Citizen. Page 16. January 9, 1920

An Appeal to the Legislative and Executive Bodies and to our Fellow Citizens, undated but probably 1919, Library and Archives Canada, Dmytro Yanda Fonds, R16139-0-0-E.

An appeal from the Ukrainian Canadian Citizens Committee during the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike

Archival Documents from the Munson, Alberta - Eaton, Saskatchewan Internment Camps, Part One

Documents from Morrisey, BC and Vernon, BC Internment Camps, moving internees and guards to Munson, AB and Eaton, SK. The internees and guards were eventually moved to Amherst, NS. There is reference to internees and guards who fell ill due to the Spanish Flu. These documents are from October 1918 to March 1919.

Archival Documents from the Munson, Alberta - Eaton, Saskatchewan Internment Camps, Part Two

Documents from Morrisey, BC and Vernon, BC Internment Camps, moving internees and guards to Munson, AB and Eaton, SK. The internees and guards were eventually moved to Amherst, NS. There is reference to internees and guards who fell ill due to the Spanish Flu. These documents are from October 1918 to March 1919.

Archival Documents from the Munson, Alberta - Eaton, Saskatchewan Internment Camps, Part Three

Documents from Morrisey, BC and Vernon, BC Internment Camps, moving internees and guards to Munson, AB and Eaton, SK. The internees and guards were eventually moved to Amherst, NS. There is reference to internees and guards who fell ill due to the Spanish Flu. These documents are from October 1918 to March 1919.

Archival Documents from the Munson, Alberta - Eaton, Saskatchewan Internment Camps, Part Four

Documents from Morrisey, BC and Vernon, BC Internment Camps, moving internees and guards to Munson, AB and Eaton, SK. The internees and guards were eventually moved to Amherst, NS. There is reference to internees and guards who fell ill due to the Spanish Flu. These documents are from October 1918 to March 1919.

Archival Documents from the Munson, Alberta - Eaton, Saskatchewan Internment Camps, Part Five

Documents from Morrisey, BC and Vernon, BC Internment Camps, moving internees and guards to Munson, AB and Eaton, SK. The internees and guards were eventually moved to Amherst, NS. There is reference to internees and guards who fell ill due to the Spanish Flu. These documents are from October 1918 to March 1919.

Archival Documents from the Munson, Alberta - Eaton, Saskatchewan Internment Camps, Part Six

Documents from Morrisey, BC and Vernon, BC Internment Camps, moving internees and guards to Munson, AB and Eaton, SK. The internees and guards were eventually moved to Amherst, NS. There is reference to internees and guards who fell ill due to the Spanish Flu. These documents are from October 1918 to March 1919.

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: Instruction and Information re: Office Work (221). December 20, 1919

Enemy Nationals in Canada - And Their Property in Canada

Manslaughter Charge. Vernon News. Page 1. October 30, 1919

Indictment for Murder Against the Interned Prisoner, Karl Wagner, Reduced to a Less Serious Charge

German Barber Is Killed In Brawl. The Province. Page 2. July 14, 1919

Butted Carl Wagner in Stomach and Broke His Own Neck

Provincial Minister Declares Soldiers Demanding Too Much. Free Press Prairie Farmer. Page 40. May 14, 1919

Veterans Threaten Some Drastic Action. Calgary Herald. Page 30. May 10, 1919

Demand Internment and Deportation of Undesirable Aliens Soon

Canadian YMCA Finances. Winnipeg Tribune. Page 15. April 30, 1919

Sex Education, Internment, Camp work, etc. $28,750

Alien Question Is Discussed Cabinet Council. Calgary Daily Herald. Page 8. February 14, 1919

Enlargement of Internment Camps Proposed Until Peace Is Declared

New Internment Rules. Edmonton Journal. Page 11. February 13, 1919

Aliens In Internment Camps. Weekly British Whig. Page 3. February 6, 1919

Huns Nabbed Here Face Deportation. Winnipeg Tribune. January 25, 1919

Officials Reveal Strange Stories of Arrests Made During War

Library and Archives Canada, RG 117 Vol 19, File: List of Prisoners of War 1914-18, Property, Claims, etc, (222) 1919

List of Prisoner of War Property, Claims, etc. forwarded to the Custodian of Alien Enemy Property

Alien Enemy Escapes. Edmonton Journal. Page 16. October 19, 1918

Internment Camp Inspection. Calgary Canadian. Page 5. July 8, 1918

Canadian YMCA War Work in 1917. Edmonton Bulletin. Page 6. May 7, 1918

Canada's Splendid Response in 1917 - How Funds Were Used

Coast Veterans In Big Demonstration. Calgary Herald. Page 8. April 22, 1918

Demand the Conscription or Internment of All Enemy Aliens

Ukrainians Ask Government To Protect Slavs. Saskatoon Daily Star. Page 13. February 25, 1918

Claim Propaganda is Under Way Against Their Rights

No Patronage List At Ottawa. Free Press Prairie Farmer. Page 8. October 31. 1917

Estimate, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, October 1917

"The old alien bunkhouse situated near the Cave & Basin bathhouse (Banff) will be torn down."

F.L. Howard, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, September 17, 1917

"…your men going to work on the golf course extension in Banff."

Borden's Breach of Faith, The Daily British Whig, September 8, 1917

Kingston's Daily British Whig admonished: "It is very probable that if this proposal becomes law, the 'alleged' foreigners and hitherto 'naturalized' Canadians will bear their reproach meekly, but they will have sown in their hearts the seeds of a bitterness that can never be extirpated. The man whose honour has been mistrusted, and who has been singled out for national humiliation, will remember it, and sooner or later it will have to be atoned for."

Swedish Consul-General Inspects Internment Camps. The Morning Albertan. August 14, 1917

Finds More Austrians in Alberta Than Any Other Class of Alien Enemies

Closing Banff Camp. Edmonton Journal. Page 10. July 16, 1917

J.B. Harkin, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, June 20, 1917

"We have as many aliens as we can get on the golf-links, but they work absurdly slow…"

Internment Camp Polled Good Vote. Calgary Albertan. Page 6. June 8, 1917

Interned Aliens Work As Miners. Ottawa Citizen. Page 7. June 6, 1917

But Only so Long as They Obey Laws and Abstain From Seditious Deeds

Claims Against Alien Enemies, Crag and Canyon, June 2, 1917

H.J. Clarke, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, May 8, 1917

"have taken gang off recreation grounds to augment links…"

W. Thomson, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, May 8, 1917

"In reference to the matter of the additional holes I wired Mr. Clarke upon receipt of your letter to place as many aliens as possible upon this work."

Clarke, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, May 8, 1917

"I wired you on Saturday suggesting that you put as many aliens as possible upon work of extension of the golf links."

S.J. Clarke, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, May 8, 1917

"Have taken gang off recreation ground to augment links."

This Man Didn't Get A Christian Burial. Calgary Herald. Page 16. May 5, 1917

At Least That is the Opinion of the Coroner's Jury

J.B. Harkin, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, May 5, 1917

"Put as large force of aliens as possible on Golf Course work in order that construction be rushed."

Aliens Reporting. Calgary Herald. Page 9. April 18, 1917

S.J. Clarke, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff

"…twenty seven clearing new golf course doing good work."

S.J. Clarke, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, April 12, 1917

"He reports that the Aliens are making good progress, the first hole having been cleared today and a start being made with the second tomorrow."

Superintendent Clark, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, April 2, 1917

"…you will put a gang of aliens at work clearing up the ground."

Too Many Alien Enemies Land In The Cities. Calgary Herald. Page 1. March 30, 1917

Winnipeg Would Have Them Rounded Up and Placed in Internment

J.B. Harkin - 2, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, March 30, 1917

"Could you arrange immediately to Banff few days to lay out work re additional nine holes. Want aliens begin it immediately."

J.B. Harkin, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, March 30, 1917

"Have asked him go Banff for few days to lay out additional nine holes. Put aliens on it immediately."

F.L. Wanklyn, Library and Archives Canada, RG84-A-2-a, Vol 70 File R313 Rocky Mountain Park – Golf Links at Banff, March 9, 1917

"We have a number of interned aliens at Banff who could be employed in the work of clearing and preparation for the extension of the (golf) course…"

Premier Explains Aliens' Release. Daily Province. Page 13. October 20, 1916

Mr. Borden Replies to Protest Lodged by South Vancouver Council

Few Alien Enemies On Railway Work. Daily News Advertiser. Page 3. October 18, 1916

Never Employed When Other Labour Could Be Secured - Harvesters Coming Back Now

Strange Condition. Calgary Herald. Page 6. September 28, 1916

Frank Scherle is Acquitted. Vernon News. Page 1. September 14, 1916

Man Accused of Assisting German Prisoners to Escape is Released From Custody.

Prisoners Escape From Internment Camp. Vernon News. Page 1. September 7, 1916

Sensational Get-away of Twelve Aliens on Saturday Night

Interned Men Make Escape. The Province. Page 7. September 7, 1916

Wholesale Delivery from Vernon Camp is Narrowly Averted

German Prisoner Disregarded Order, Shot Dead. Calgary Albertan. Page 12. August 26, 1916

Three Other Escaped Prisoners Brought Back to Internment Camp

Three Captured, Fourth Is Killed. Edmonton Bulletin. Page 1. August 26, 1916

Short Liberty For Four German Prisoners Escaping From Internment Camp

The Adventure of a Lawyer. Lethbridge Telegram. Page 1. July 27, 1916

More Aliens For Castle. Calgary Albertan. Page 5. July 26, 1916

Internment Camp at Brandon Is to Be Closed

The Duke Of Connaught Holds Military Review. Vernon News. Page 1. July 20, 1916

Distributing Internment Prisoners From Brandon. Calgary Herald. July 13, 1916

Close Internment Camp. Edmonton Bulletin. Page 1. July 13, 1916

Game Guardian Is Shot By Banff Internment Guard. Edmonton Journal. Page 2. June 30, 1916

Lieut. Col. Aitchinson Appointed. Toronto Star. Page 5. June 24, 1916

Inquiry Needed. Calgary Herald. Page 4. May 1, 1916

Escape of six German prisoners from Lethbridge Internment camp

Six German Internes Tunnel Their Way Out Of Lethbridge Prison. Calgary Herald. Page 1 and 16. April 29, 1916

By Cleverly Conceived Plot Huns Make Clean Getaway From Internment Detention House and Have Not Been Seen Since

Natives Protest Help Of Aliens. Winnipeg Tribune. Page 9. April 21, 1916

Austrians from Internment Camp Cause Outbreak In Tannery - Are Sent Back

Major General Otter Sees Internment Camp. Calgary Herald. Page 1. April 15, 1916

Make Huns Work At Bayonet Point is Wells' Advice. Calgary Herald. April 6, 1916

More Recruits Are Added To Strength Of The Kilties. Calgary Albertan. Page 2. March 10, 1916

Guards Wanted For Banff Internment Camp

Speech By Austrian-Born. Calgary Albertan. Page 8, March 1, 1916

Hang the Traitors

Remedy for Ills. Edmonton Journal. Page 9. March 1. 1916

Officer Arrested On Charge Of Fraud In Banff. Calgary Albertan. Page 4. March 1, 1916

New Internment Camp at Jasper Park is Opened. Calgary Herald. Page 9. February 23, 1916

Visits Internment Camps. Edmonton Journal. Page 1, February 21, 1916

Internment of Alien Enemies Accomplished. Edmonton Journal. February 19, 1916

Big Program of Work Laid Out - Golf Course Under Projection at Jasper

German Officer is Arrested at Winnipeg Hotel. Saskatoon Daily Star. February 18, 1916

Will be placed at Internment Camp at Brandon

Why Not This? Calgary Herald. Page 6. February 16, 1916

Burning of the Parliament Buildings. The Red Deer News. Page 1. February 16, 1916

Officer Blamed. Edmonton Bulletin. Page 1. February 14, 1916

Is Accused of Helping Aliens to Escape From Internment Camp at Amherst

Dug a Tunnel 150 Feet and Escaped By It. Saskatoon Daily Star. Page 7. January 19, 1916

Returned Soldiers Sign Up As Guards At Jasper Park. Edmonton Journal. Page 1. January 15, 1916

Construction Work Is Making Good Headway Despite Cold Weather

Major A.E. Hopkins To Be Commandant At Internment Camp. Edmonton Journal. Page 1. December 10, 1915

Takes Charge of Aliens At Jasper Park, To Be Placed There January 10

For Internment Camp. Calgary Albertan. Page 1. December 10, 1915

New Battalions Are Inspected By Gen. Cruikshank. Edmonton Bulletin. December 24, 1915

General Otter, Head of the Internment Camps, In the City. Calgary Albertan. Page 5. November 29, 1915

Spends Few Hours Between Trains. Confers With Military Authorities

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