Japanese Internment in Canada | The Brian Mulroney Institute of Government

The treatment of Japanese Canadians prior to, during, and following the Second World War remains a dark chapter in Canada's history.
Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour, the onset of the Second World War, and Canada's declaration of war against Japan in December of 1941, dramatically changed the way Japanese Canadians were treated within the country.
Japanese Canadians, who made up a sizable population in British Columbia in particular, were quickly forced to register as 'enemy aliens' as part of Order-in-Council P.C. 9591 and P.C. 9760 under the War Measures Act.
Order-in-Council 365 was implemented to create a 'protected area' on the Coast of British Columbia and in late February 1942, Order-in-Council 1486 gave the Canadian Government the authority to uproot and relocate any persons of Japanese origins away from this area (Order 1664 put this internment policy into legal effect).
Approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians were expelled from the coast of British Columbia with their property, homes, and businesses eventually being liquidated by the federal government.
Even following the war, the many Japanese Canadians were forced to deport (even if they were born in Canada) and the rest were unable to return for years.
While this period of time is often referred to as Japanese Internment, this terminology has been condemned as many of the Japanese detainees were Canadian citizens.