Our late colleague, John Sheardown, and his wife, Zena, are featured in a column from the ‘Ottawa Citizen’ of January 19. Their role in sheltering US diplomats in Tehran is recounted in a story about the transfer of archival holdings to the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa.
In 1957, the Government launched a recruitment program to bring university students into the Foreign Service as immigration officers. A CIHS member who was recruited through the program has provided us with a copy of the recruitment brochure which outlines recruitment standards, the career path and working/living conditions. The brochure was printed by the Queen’s…
The Vietnamese Boat People Museum, a project aimed at commemorating the experiences of over 1.5 million refugees who fled Vietnam following the fall of Saigon in 1975, is holding a gala fundraising banquet on Saturday, March 28, 2026. The invitation is extended to all and there is a particular hope that former immigration officers who…
The following article appeared in Bulletin 83 (December 2017). Elvire Westley and her sister, Jacqueline, both worked at the Canadian embassy in Paris following the end of hostilities in 1945. Ms. Westley also kindly provided a collection of photos that can be viewed on our site. The Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21 has also…
On April 27, 1999 the very first Kosovars of the 5000 Canada committed to shelter arrived, followed by the first major evacuation flight on May 4, 1999. This movement – temporary at first, then offering permanent resettlement, is recounted by Dr. Jan Raska of the Canadian Museum of Immigration History at Pier 21. There is also a…
June 20, 2026 is recognized as World Refugee Day by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and by all who work in the refugee protection and resettlement sector.
The ‘Operation Parasol’ anniversary conference that CIHS supported is now online. We have also marked the 25th anniversary of the evacuation to Canada of 7000 Kosovar Albanians with a special Bulletin and a posting of ‘Memories of Kosovo’ (63.7 MB)/ Souvenirs de Kosovo (57MB) , posted courtesy of and with the collaboration of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.