Internment of Italian Canadians

{{Short description|Mass incarceration in Canada during World War II}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

The '''internment of Italian Canadians''' was the forced relocation and incarceration of Italian Canadians during World War II following Italy's declaration of war against the United Kingdom on June 10, 1940.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 10, 1940 |title=Canada declares war on Italy |url=http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/9916/ |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=February 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622052926/http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/9916/ |archive-date=2011-06-22 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Through the ''War Measures Act'', the government of Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King gave itself the power to suspend ''habeas corpus'', revoke rights, seize property and arrest those who were deemed a threat to the safety of Canada—labelling 31,000 Italian Canadians as "enemy aliens".<ref name="DiStefano" /> Between 1940 and 1943, around 600 to 700 Italian-Canadian men were arrested and sent to internment camps as potentially dangerous "enemy aliens" with alleged fascist connections. In the decades that followed, political apologies were made for the internment of Italian Canadians.

==Enemy aliens== [[File:Arrest at Casa d'Italia, Toronto, ON.jpg|thumb|Italian-Canadian man being arrested at ''Casa d'Italia'' in Toronto on June 10, 1940]] thumb|Italian-Canadian men at an internment camp On June 10, 1940, following Italy's declaration of war against the United Kingdom, all fascist organizations in Canada were deemed illegal through the ''War Measures Act''. They included the ''Casa d'Italia'' consulate on Beverley Street, the fascist newspaper ''Il Bollettino'' and the ''Dopolavoro'' ("After Work") social club. ''Casa d'Italia'' was seized by the Custodian of Enemy Property and sold to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).<ref>{{cite web |date=June 10, 1940 |title=Arrest at Casa d'Italia, Toronto, ON |url=http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/collection/details/ldicea2011_0009_0001 |website=Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II |publisher=Columbus Centre |access-date=2017-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920122631/http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/collection/details/ldicea2011_0009_0001 |archive-date=2018-09-20 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''Enemies Within: Italian and Other Internees in Canada and Abroad'', edited by historians Franca Iacovetta, Roberto Perin and Angelo Principe, an estimated 3,500 Italian Canadians were known to have been members of local fascist groups.<ref>{{cite news |last=Petrou |first=Michael |date=May 3, 2021 |title=The harm done by Justin Trudeau's apology to Italian-Canadians might require an apology of its own |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-harm-done-by-justin-trudeaus-apology-to-italian-canadians-might/ |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref>

Newspaper accounts of the day, such as the ''Ottawa Citizen'', stated that the "enemy alien" status was immediately placed on non-resident Italians older than 16 years of age, and on Italian Canadians who became British subjects after September 1929—about 31,000 Italian Canadians.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 15, 1940 |title=R.C.M.P. Warning On Registration Of Enemy Aliens|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xQEvAAAAIBAJ&pg=5182,2978510&dq=italians+enemy+aliens+canada&hl=en |newspaper=The Ottawa Evening Citizen |issue=310 |page=31 |access-date=March 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511203414/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xQEvAAAAIBAJ&pg=5182%2C2978510&dq=italians+enemy+aliens+canada&hl=en |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The category later expanded to include nationals of belligerent states naturalized after 1922. Those affected by the ''War Measures Act'' and ''Defence of Canada Regulations'' were forced to register with the RCMP and report to them on a monthly basis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Under the Law |url=http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/theme/detail/under_the_law |website=Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II |publisher=Columbus Centre |access-date=2015-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002064222/http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/theme/detail/under_the_law |archive-date=2015-10-02 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DiStefano">{{cite magazine |last=DiStefano |first=Daniela |date=August 13, 2012 |title=Tracing the Forgotten History of Italian-Canadian Internment Camps |url=https://www.panoramitalia.com/index.php/2012/08/13/tracing-the-forgotten-history-of-italian-canadian-internment-camps/ |magazine=Panoram Italia |access-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112232801/https://www.panoramitalia.com/index.php/2012/08/13/tracing-the-forgotten-history-of-italian-canadian-internment-camps/ |archive-date=January 12, 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Between 1940 and 1943, around 600 to 700 Italian-Canadian men were arrested and sent to internment camps as potentially dangerous "enemy aliens" with alleged fascist connections. While many Italian Canadians had initially supported fascism and Benito Mussolini's regime for its role in enhancing Italy's presence on the world stage, most Italians in Canada did not harbour any ill will against Canada and few remained committed followers of the fascist ideology.<ref>{{cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca |website=Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II |publisher=Columbus Centre |access-date=2013-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601215600/http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/ |archive-date=2019-06-01 |url-status=live}}{{nonspecific|date=February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.pier21.ca/culture-trunks/italy/history |website=pier21.ca |publisher=Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 |access-date=2017-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721010049/http://www.pier21.ca/culture-trunks/italy/history |archive-date=2017-07-21 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Most of the Italian-Canadian men were interned at Camp Petawawa (Camp 33) in Petawawa, Ontario, as well as camps in Minto, New Brunswick and Kananaskis, Alberta, for several years.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lederman |first=Marsha |date=March 5, 2012 |title=Shining light on a dark secret: The internment of Italian-Canadians |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/shining-light-on-a-dark-secret-the-internment-of-italian-canadians/article551227/ |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |access-date=2020-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927210531/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/shining-light-on-a-dark-secret-the-internment-of-italian-canadians/article551227/ |archive-date=2020-09-27 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A notable internee was Hamilton, Ontario's notorious bootlegger Rocco Perri.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nicaso |first=Antonio |author-link=Antonio Nicaso |year=2004 |title=Rocco Perri: The Story of Canada's Most Notorious Bootlegger |location=Toronto |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd |page=178 |isbn=978-0-470-83526-5}}</ref>

==Legacy== In 1990, prime minister Brian Mulroney apologized for the war internment of Italian Canadians to a Toronto meeting of the National Congress of Italian Canadians: "On behalf of the government and the people of Canada, I offer a full and unqualified apology for the wrongs done to our fellow Canadians of Italian origin during World War II."<ref>{{cite news |last=Galloway |first=Gloria |date=30 April 2010 |title=Italians seek new apology from Canada for wartime internments |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/italians-seek-new-apology-from-canada-for-wartime-internments/article1210950/ |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |access-date=22 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612015038/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/italians-seek-new-apology-from-canada-for-wartime-internments/article1210950/ |archive-date=12 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2009, Massimo Pacetti introduced Bill C-302, an "Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their 'enemy alien' designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian Canadian history [worth $2.5 million]", which was passed by the House of Commons on April 28, 2010.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pacetti |first=Massimo |date=March 3, 2010 – March 26, 2011 |title=Italian-Canadian Recognition and Restitution Act: An Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their “enemy alien” designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian-Canadian history |url=https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/40-3/c-302  |access-date=2025-06-17 |type=Bill |id=40th Parliament, 3rd session, C-302}}</ref> Canada Post was also to issue a commemorative stamp in memory of the internment of Italian-Canadian citizens,<ref>{{cite news |date=May 6, 2010 |title=Apology to interned Italian-Canadians questioned |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/apology-to-interned-italian-canadians-questioned-1.971511 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=2016-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412003352/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/apology-to-interned-italian-canadians-questioned-1.971511 |archive-date=2018-04-12 |url-status=live}}</ref> however, Bill C-302 did not pass through the necessary stages to become law.<ref>{{cite web |title=Redress and Apology |url=http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/theme/detail/redress_apology |website=Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II |publisher=Columbus Centre |access-date=2017-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602031802/http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/theme/detail/redress_apology |archive-date=2019-06-02 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, as a part of the project ''Monument: Italian Canadian War Stories'' of the Columbus Centre in Toronto, funded by Villa Charities Inc. and Citizenship and Immigration Canada, artist Harley Valentine created a monument recognizing the internments called ''Riflessi: Italian Canadian Internment Memorial''.<ref>{{cite press release |date=May 14, 2013 |title=Columbus Centre commissions Harley Valentine for its newest project, ''Monument: Italian Canadian War Stories'' |url=http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/discussion/newsdetails/news_release_may_14_2013_harley_valentine_commissioned_to_build_new_monumen |publisher=Columbus Centre |access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref> The main statue is composed of profiles representing an internee family of Italian Canadians—a father, a pregnant mother, and a child—that combine to form a single figure in mirror polished stainless steel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Riflessi |url=http://harleyvalentine.com/riflessi.php |website=harleyvalentine.com |publisher=HV Studio |access-date=February 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615004300/http://harleyvalentine.com/riflessi.php |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In September 2018, the RCMP planted a tree on the grounds of the Canadian Police College in Ottawa as a show of regret for their involvement with the internment of Italian Canadians.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 19, 2018 |title=RCMP plant tree to remember internment of Italian-Canadians |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/rcmp-regret-italian-canadian-internment-1.4828972 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116100536/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/rcmp-regret-italian-canadian-internment-1.4828972 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On May 27, 2021, prime minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized for the war internment of Italian Canadians, at the House of Commons.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 27, 2021 |title=Trudeau apologizes to Italian Canadians for internment during WW II|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-apology-italians-1.6042194 |publisher=CBC News |access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.nfb.ca/film/barbed_wire_mandolins/ ''Barbed Wire and Mandolins''], a National Film Board of Canada documentary on the Italian-Canadian internment *[https://www.straight.com/article-623996/vancouver/tracing-forgotten-history-italiancanadian-internment-camps/ "Tracing the forgotten history of Italian-Canadian internment camps"] by Doug Sarti, ''The Georgia Straight'', March 5, 2012. *[https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/225553279 ''Antonio''], a National Film Board of Canada documentary by Tony Ianzelo, about his own father's experiences during and after internment. *[https://cjs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cjs/article/view/40255 "Review: Rhonda L. Hinther and Jim Mochoruk, eds. Civilian Internment in Canada: Histories and Legacies"] by Howard Adelman, ''Canadian Jewish Studies'', Vol. 32, fall 2021.

Category:Anti-Italian sentiment Category:Canada in World War II Category:Canada–Italy relations Category:Third premiership of William Lyon Mackenzie King Internment Category:Internments in Canada Category:Italian diaspora in Canada Category:Military history of Canada during World War II Category:Racially motivated violence in Canada Category:Canadian war crimes in World War II