December 8, 1941 - Japanese Canadians rights denied

Japanese Canadians rights denied in declaration of war. Immediately following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Canada declared war against Japan, having earlier declared war on Hungary, Finland and Romania due to their alliance with Nazi Germany. Fearing that Canadians of Japanese descent would assist Japan’s war efforts, the federal government seized more than 1,200 Canadian fishing boats owned by Japanese Canadians. The Canadian Pacific Railway fired all its Japanese employees, and many other companies followed their lead. After the Japanese attacked Hong Kong and killed or captured more than 2,000 Canadian troops, the pressure on Japanese Canadians intensified. In January 1942, the government created a 100-mile zone on the west coast from which Japanese Canadians were forcibly removed. Thousands were sent to internment camps and their property sold off. Not until 1949 were they allowed to return to the coast.

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