News & Events

News Articles

2019

'The Stories Were Not Told: Canada's First World War Internment Camps' author Sandra Semchuk
February 7, 2019

From 1914 to 1920, thousands of men who immigrated to Canada from Europe were called 'enemy aliens' and sent to internment camps during the First World War. Some families were imprisoned as well. Sandra Semchuk explores that dark period in our history in her new book, 'The Stories Were Not Told: Canada's First World War Internment Camps' -- inspired by a stop at Castle Mountain near Banff. Sandra joined host Doug Dirks in studio.

2018

Ukrainian-Canadian internment operations detailed in new documentary
The Canadian Press
November 8, 2018

Sask.-raised filmmaker Boyko explores a 'shocking' Canadian history
Regina Leader-Post
By Ashley Martin, November 8, 2018

‘Yes, this happened': How Lubomyr Luciuk found out about the internment camp in his hometown
By Lubomyr Luciuk, November 8, 2018

Did you know Ukrainian Canadians were interned during the First World War?
The little known story is now the subject of a film
The Canadian Press
By Victoria Ahearn, November 7, 2018

‘That Never Happened: Canada’s First National Internment’ director talks about documentary
Global News Morning Saskatoon
November 6, 2018

Fernie marks 100th anniversary of internment camp closure
"It was hell on earth" - PhD candidate, historian reveal conditions inside camp on 100th anniversary
By Kimberley Vlasic, October 27, 2018

Ryan Boyko joins Global News Morning Calgary to talk about a documentary he directed charting Canada’s first national internment operation
Global News Morning Calgary
October 23, 2018

'That Never Happened': Documentary screening in Calgary shines light on cruel Ukrainian internment
By Jon Roe, October 22, 2018

#REVIEW That Never Happened
The Extra Mile
October 18, 2018

Discovering Rewritten History
Brandon Sun
By David McConkey, September 24, 2018

Prisoners of the promised land
LEDEVOIR
By Catherine Lefebvre, September 8, 2018

"That never happened:" Film reveals the hidden history of Canada’s First World War internment operations
Canadian Geographic
By Katherine Lissitsa, September 6, 2018

Canadian Geographic is a magazine of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society is dedicated to making Canada better known to Canadians, and the world.

Uncovering a Canadian Injustice
Canadian Museums Association
September/October 2018

The Internment of Ukrainian Canadians During the First World War
By Patricia Grimshaw, August 11, 2018

New museum exhibit shows history of Canada's internment camps
The Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives' latest exhibit "Enemy Aliens" traveled from the Canadian War Museum and explores a part of the nation's First World War history that's not often discussed.
By Sabrina Doyle, August 8, 2018

Memorial garden to offer education on Eaton Internment Camp
On Friday, May 25, the Eaton Internment Camp Memorial Garden was officially dedicated, beginning a year of remembrance for the camp
By Alexa Lawlor, May 26, 2018

Researcher uncovers details about Vernon's WW I internment camp
Amateur historian, Don McNair, has been researching Vernon's internment camp for 2 years
By Christine Coulter, CBC News, March 3, 2018

Dark history on big screen
By Darren Handschuh, February 27, 2018

Vernon’s war internment history remembered in documentary
By Megan Turcato, North Okanagan Reporter, Global News
February 27, 2018

A dark history revealed
By Darren Handschuh, February 20, 2018
Castanet – Vernon News

Book offers glimpse into internment camp
Vernon Internment Camp in operation from 1914-1920
By Roger Knox, February 15, 2018

2017

That Never Happened
By Maxim Bozhilov, Bulgarian Horizons Newspaper
December 18, 2017

Film on Canada's internment camps shows another side of Banff history
By Spencer Van Dyk, Crag & Canyon
Friday, November 24, 2017

Refuge of a Scoundrel: Patriotism and William Bowser
by Wayne Norton, October 17th, 2017

Everything you need to know about the Valley Film Festival
Los Angeles Daily News by Sandra Barrera, October 20, 2017

Also premiering is filmmaker Ryan Boyko’s award-winning documentary “That Never Happened.”

The featured film, screening 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 as part of the Perils of Immigrant Life documentary program, chronicles Canada’s internment operations in which thousands of Ukrainian and other European immigrants were incarcerated in camps, from 1914 to 1920, because of where they were from.

Public records were destroyed in the 1950s.

Thirty years later, people began reclaiming this lost chapter in Canadian history to ensure it never happens again.

Internees remembered as plaque unveiled
August 20, 2017
By Mary Giuliano

Canadian History Hall receives support from Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund
July 19, 2017

B.C. was home to notorious First World War internment camp for Europeans
May 2, 2017
Randy Shore, Vancouver Sun

'No Free Man' Wins 2017 Saskatchewan Book Award for Scholarly Writing

Montreal's Launch of Bohdan Kordan's "No Free Man"
By New Pathway
March 27, 2017

Remembering the Internment of Ukrainians A Peoples' History of Canada Column
OPINIONS by Natalia Fedosieieva
January 23, 2017

2016

Doc looks at dark history
October 20, 2016
Darren Handschuh, Castanet.net

A long way to go: Healing requires admission of Saskatchewan's racist past, present
October 8, 2016
Jason Warick, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Opinion: First World War "enemy alien" measures reminder of how not to treat our neighbours
Mark Minenko, Edmonton Journal, 23 September 2016
Mark Minenko is Edmonton lawyer currently researching the War Measures Act and the administration of justice in Canada during the First World War.

Monashee Mountain Camp Internees Remembered
July 2016
The Cherryvillan

Plaque pays honour to internees
July 13, 2016
Vernon Morning Star

Calgary teacher explores dark period in Canada's past with debut novel, Kalyna
June 25, 2016
By Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald

No request for apology
Re: "Cult of apologies raises issues," June 4.

Canada's Ukrainian community never requested an apology from Ottawa for what other Europeans and Ukrainians endured during this country's first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920. Instead, our efforts reflected the wishes of one of the last known survivors, Mary Manko Haskett. She was a Montreal-born child whose family was transported into the Abitibi wilderness where they found themselves behind Canadian barbed wire at the Spirit Lake internment camp. Her sister, Nellie, perished there. Even so, Mary wanted our redress campaign to be "about memory, not money." It took nearly a quarter of a century of work before the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund was established, in 2008. It provides grants for educational and commemorative initiatives focused on the need for remaining vigilant in defence of civil liberties and human rights in times of domestic and international crisis. Membership on the Endowment Council administering this fund has always been inclusive of the many communities harmed by these internment operations and related state-sanctioned censures.

As for exposing what really happened to Ukrainians and other "enemy aliens" in Canada during the Great War, that is not an attempt at rewriting history but rather an exercise in illuminating it.

Lubomyr Luciuk,
Member, Endowment Council, Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund

Ryan Boyko's, “The Camps” series in the news in Ukraine!
View Now

Spirit Lake: the federal cemetery that Ottawa forgot
Monday, March 14, 2016

Group Demands Restoration of Former Internment Camp Cemetery
February 19, 2016
Written by New Canadian Media

Campaign revived to designate Quebec wartime cemetery a historic site
February 19, 2016
By Alan Hustak, Catholic Register Special

Tribute to Spirit Lake Internment Captured in Musical Compositions
February 9, 2016
New Pathway

2015

Laurier House National Historic Site Gifted Bust on the 174th Anniversary of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Birth
November 20, 2015 - Ottawa
Parks Canada Agency

Opinion: A well deserved birthday honour for Sir Wilfrid Laurier
LUCIUK, SPECIAL TO MONTREAL GAZETTE
Published on: November 19, 2015
Last Updated: November 19, 2015 3:28 PM ES

Remember Canada's internment camps
By Peter Manastyrsky, Winnipeg Sun
Tuesday, November 10, 2015

In the Patriarchal Cathedral Church consecrated the table
"in memory of the first internment operations in Canada"
October 28, 2015
http://ugcc.kiev.ua/blog/v-patriarshomu-sobori-osvyatyly-tablytsyu-v-pamyat-
pro-pershi-operatsiji-internuvannya-v-kanadi/

http://news.ugcc.ua/video/v_patr%D1%96arshomu_sobor%D1%96_osvyatili_tablitsyu_v_
pamyat_pro_persh%D1%96_operats%D1%96i_%D1%96nternuvannya_v_kanad%D1%96_75169.html

Plaque Unveiling in Kyiv
October 28, 2015

UCCLF: Canada's First World War Internment Operations Remembered in Ukraine
October 27, 2015

History film a new look at Banff internment camp
By Michelle Ferguson, Bow Valley Crag & Canyon
Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Our History: Island mine strike fuelled wartime racism
Wayne Norton - Times Colonist
June 21, 2015

Remembering the history of interned miners
July 2015 marks the centennial anniversary of Fernie internment camps
Submitted by Wayne Norton - The Free Press
June 4, 2015

Museum to commemorate Morrissey Internment
By Sarah Kucharski - The Free Press
June 4, 2015

100 years since first death in Kapuskasing internment camp
'They had been victims of paranoia and xenophobia in a so-called civil society,' historian says
CBC News
June 1, 2015

Remembering the history of interned miners
Submitted by Wayne Norton
June 1, 2015

Première Guerre mondiale : l'histoire d'un prisonnier en Ontario
Un texte de Daniel Blanchette Pelletier
Lundi 1 juin 2015

Memorial unveiled
By Staff Writer - Vernon Morning Star
May 29, 2015

VIDEO: Vernon WW1 Internees Remembered (6:35)
Global TV Okanagan
May 23, 2015

Museum to commemorate Morrissey Internment
By Sarah Kucharski - The Free Press
May 20, 2015

A forgotten past is remembered
By Contributed - Vernon Morning Star
May 17, 2015

The stories that aren't told
By Megan Stacey, Woodstock Sentinel-Review
May 13, 2015

Spirit Lake Internment Centre Receives Second Award
New Pathway
April 29, 2015

Workshop organized by Brandon U prof aims to raise awareness of civilian internment
History of civilian detention in Canada particularly relevant in light of current events, says organizer.
By Léo Charbonneau
April 1, 2015

Spirit Lake Centre marks 100th anniversary of internment camp
Ukrainian News
February 26, 2015

Il y a 100 ans, les premiers prisonniers arrivaient au camp d'internement de Spirit Lake en Abitibi
Mardi 13 janvier 2015

This is what happened to our people
By Boaz Joseph - Surrey North Delta Leader
January 5, 2015

2014

Il y a 100 ans, des détenus arrivaient en Abitibi
David Prince

Author brings WWI internment camps to light
By Robin Tarnowetzki - Journal Staff Writer
October 29, 2014

Daughter of WWI internment victim hopes to educate others
By Jonathan Charlton - The StarPhoenix
October 29, 2014

Open Letter from Concerned Canadians to Mr. Stuart Murray, CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

WWI Ukrainian internment: a ‘sad chapter in our history’
By Kent Spencer - The Province
August 21, 2014

100 plaques to be unveiled across Canada on the anniversary of the War Measures Act being implemented
By Trevor Robb - Edmonton Sun
August 20, 2014

Plaques will mark Canada's first internment operations
By Trevor Robb - Edmonton Sun
August 20, 2014

Plaques to provide much-needed recognition
By Cheryl Girard - Winnipeg Free Press
August 19, 2014

Canada’s First World War internment camps to be remembered
By Johnna Ruocco - The Graphic
August 19, 2014

HISTORY: 'Alien enemies' sent to internment camps
By Karen Bachmann - The Daily Press-freelance
August 17, 2014

A great injustice
By Bob Tymczyszyn - St. Catharines Standard
August 17, 2014

Dark memories endure of Canada’s internment of ‘enemy aliens’
By Dan Barnes - Edmonton Journal
August 16, 2014

Vernon's dark past recognized
Vernon Morning Star
August 15, 2014

Forever remembering a dark time
Plaques marking Ukrainian internment to be unveiled Aug. 22
By Dan Falloon - Winnipeg Free Press
August 13, 2014

Amherst first site of plaques to honour WWI ‘enemy aliens’
Mary Ellen MacIntyre - The Chronicle Herald
August 13, 2014

A dark past unearthed
By Carmen Weld - Castanet Vernon
August 13, 2014

Plaques mark internment camps
By Chloe Sobel - Kingston Whig Standard
Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Grave restoration shines spotlight on dark period of Vernon history
By Jim Lenton - Global Okanagan News
August 11, 2014

Neglected graves garner respect
By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star
August 10, 2014

Niagara churches to mark signing of War Measures Act
100 plaques to be unveiled coast to coast Aug. 22
By Amanda Moore - Grimsby Lincoln News
August 8, 2014

First World War internment camps a dark chapter in Canadian history
By Jesse Tahirali - CTVNews.ca
Sunday, August 3, 2014

• Une guerre qui a mis la région sur la carte Il y a 100 ans la Première Guerre Mondiale
  By Guy Lacroix
  August 1, 2014
  
  Remembering Canada's First World War internment camps
  By Michelle Ruby - Brantford Expositor
  Thursday, July 31, 2014

• Plaque acknowledges Nanaimo internment Camp
  By Tamara Cunningham - Nanaimo News Bulletin
  July 31, 2014
  
  Author unveils book about internment camps at plaque ceremony
  By Anam Latif - The Record.com
  July 20, 2014

Ukrainian Project Cto will commemorate Canadian internment camps
By Natascia Lypny, Leader-Post
June 30, 2014

Plaques will mark memory of "enemy aliens"
By Trevor Robb, Edmonton Sun
June 28, 2014

Plaque-unveiling will mark 100 years since Ukrainian internment camps
By Anam Latif - Waterloo Region Record
June 25, 2014

Internment camps: A dark shadow in war-time Canada
By Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
June 20, 2014

First World War internment novel gets new life
By Cam Fuller, The StarPhoenix
May 7, 2014

2013

Petawawa: Council considers historic plaque commemorating internment of Ukrainian Canadians
By Sean Chase, Daily Observer
November 14, 2013

Enemy aliens were imprisoned in Toronto during the First World War.
By David Wencer
November 9, 2013

Dark piece of the past
By Katie May, Lethbridge Herald
October 30, 2013

Internment camp memorial unveiled at Exhibition Park
By Quinn Campbell, Global Okanagan
October 29, 2013

Memorial to mark war internments at Lethbridge site
By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald
October 21, 2013

Speaker sheds light on hidden chapter of history
By Richard McGuire
October 2, 2013

Unique 1916 Artifact Donated to Spirit Lake Internment Interpretive Centre, Quebec
October 3, 2013, Abitibi, Trecesson (La Ferme), Quebec

First World War internment camps exhibit in Banff officially opens
By Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
September 14, 2013

Banff Pavilion Highlights WW1 Internment Camps
CBC News Calgary

First World War exhibit opens in Banff National Park
CTV News Calgary

Federal internment camp exhibit opens in Banff
By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
Global Okanagan

Internment camp exhibit highlights dark era of Canadian history
The Globe and Mail
September 14, 2013

Exhibit into First World War internment camps in Banff officially opens
By Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
September 14, 2013

First World War internment camps exhibit opens in Banff
Postmedia News
September 14, 2013

Government of Canada Opens Exhibit on First World War Internment in Canada in Banff National Park

Banff Exhibit On Internment Camps During First World War Opens (VIDEO)
CP | By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Ottawa opens exhibit on First World War internment camps in Banff, Alta.
By: Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
September 13, 2013

Exhibit on First World War internment camps opened in Banff
Red Deer Advocate by The Canadian Press
September 13, 2013

Hidden no more
It's time Canada commemorates Ukrainian internment in labour camps
By: Lubomyr Luciuk, Winnipeg Free Press
June 19, 2013

Les Ukrainiens du Québec traduit en français
Publié le 18 Juin 2013
Marc-André Landry RSS Feed
Abitibi Express

Les Ukrainiens du Québec s'ouvrent à la culture francophone
Par Mathieu Proulx
Publié le: Lundi 17 juin 2013

Spirit Lake Interment Mural Unveiled in Amos, QC
The New Pathway
June 13, 2013

Internment Exhibit Opens
Posted on June 17, 2013 by roman.brytan

Controversy dogs exhibit on First World War internment
By Dawn Walton
Calgary - The Globe and Mail
Monday, June 10, 2013

Cave & Basin to open exhibit on lost chapter of local history
By Tera Swanson
Banff Crag and Canyon
Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Redress Required - Why Canada's Treatment of Ukrainians During WW1 Still Matters
By Lionel Hughes
Prairies North Magazine - Summer 2013 edition

Painting the Past, Michelle Loughery Internment Mural
Vernon Morning Star
May 24, 2013

Remembering injustice
By Borys Sydoruk, Calgary Herald
Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Ryan Boyko's Movie "Enemy Aliens"
May 18, 2013

Ryan Boyko – Film maker producing film on Ukrainian internment
The Dauphin Herald
Tuesday, March 12, 2013

News Release — Minister Kenney marks achievements of the Canadian Historical Recognition Program (CHRP)
Toronto, February 18, 2013

National Launch of internment mural project called, the Sunflower Project
February 20, 2013
Media Release
Photo (Photo details: Photo left to right: Lois Campbell, educational liaison; Ryan Robson; Ruth Hoyte, President of the Downtown Vernon Association; Roman Chez, President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Vernon Branch; Sophia Kniaz, President of the Vernon Women's Association, Vernon Branch; Michelle Loughery, muralist and internee descendant; Mayor Rob Sawatzky, City of Vernon; Lindsay Mitchell Bridges Community Development; Andrea Malysh, representative of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation; Katie Sanders, Sunflower project coordinator.)

Internment murals focus of Vernon launch
Vernon Morning Star, February 10, 2013

2012

Internment mural planned for Vernon
Vernon Morning Star, November 16, 2012
By Richard Rolke

Feature Film receives support from Ukrainian Foundation
October 16, 2012

Internee Plaque Unveiled at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church, Nova Scotia
UCCLA Media Release, October 2, 2012

Dark chapter of Cape Breton history illuminated
Cape Breton Post, September 21, 2012
By Ken MacLeod

First World War internment camps a 'difficult scar' for Canadian Ukrainians
The Canadian Press, September 2, 2012
By Bill Graveland

Home needed for new mural
Vernon Morning Star, July 27, 2012

Communiqué for April 2012

Shadows of the Past Revealed at CNC
The Prince George Citizen, April 5, 2012
By Christine Hinzmann

Shadows of the Past - Powerful Reminder
Grant recipient, Betty Kovacic unveils internment art mural at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George, B.C.
By 250 News, April 5, 2012

2011

Spirit Lake Internment Interpretive Centre officially opened
Ukrainian News, December 8-31, 2011

Opening of the Spirit Lake Camp Interpretative Centre, Spirit Lake, Quebec
Friday, November 24, 2011
Produced by MML Inc. www.yluhovy.com

Internment Camp Artifacts Sought
The Lethbridge Herald, City - Friday, October 7, 2011, p. A5 b
By Katie May

Camp Anniversary Marked
Vernon Morning Star – September 18, 2011
By Cara Brady

Grant Recipients
Verkhovyna Ukrainian Song and Dance Ensemble of Edmonton performs, "The Letter, The Internment of Ukrainian Canadians during WW1," at the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival on September 16th to 18th, 2011.

Artifacts Sought by Katherine Fernandez-Blance of the Kingston
Whig-Standard– August 22, 2011

Edgewood community working to establish interpretive centre
The Valley Voice – Edgewood, B.C. – July 27, 2011
By Art Joyce

Remembering WW1 Internees in Banff
Banff Crag & Canyon – July 13, 2011
By Jesse Winter

Project Aims to Preserve History of Local Internment Camp
Sicamous Eagle Valley News - June 1, 2011
By Lachlan Labere

Internment Cemetery Project Funding
Corporation of the Town of Kapuskasing - June 1, 2011
KAPUSKASING, ONTARIO: The Town of Kapuskasing and the Ron Morel Memorial Museum are pleased to announce that each of the graves of deceased internees in the Internment Cemetery will receive a new granite headstone.

Financement Pour Le Projet Du Cimetière Des Prisonniers De Guerre
Corporation de la Ville de Kapuskasing, 1 juin 2011
KAPUSKASING, ONTARIO: La ville de Kapuskasing ainsi que Ie musee commemoratif Ron Morel sont heureux de vous informer part que les tombes des defunts dans Ie cimetiere des prisonniers de guerre recevront tous une nouvelle pierre tombale.

Yearend Communiqué for 2010-2011

May 2011 Communiqué

Looking Back at a Dark Chapter of History
Amherst Part of Canada's Internment Past
Amherst Daily News - April 20, 2011
By Darrell Cole

Global News Maritimes on the Amherst Internment Camp

Appointment of Dr. Ted Sosiak
20 April, 2011
The Board of Directors of the Shevchenko Foundation wish to announce the appointment of Dr. Ted Sosiak to the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund as the Internee Descendant Representative. Dr. Sosiak is of Polish descent and his grandfather, Nicholas (Nikola) Szady was interned at Fort Henry, Kingston.

History of the Point: The Jasper Internment Camp - Part Two
The Fitzhugh, 10 February 2011
by ANNALEE GRANT, Photojournalist

History of the Point: The Jasper Internment Camp - Part One
The Fitzhugh, 3 February 2011
by ANNALEE GRANT, Photojournalist

2010

Group Says Rights Museum Slights Suffering of Ukrainians
Globe and Mail, 10 December 2010
By James Adams

Woman Digs into History of Internees
The Sault Star News, 19 November 2010
By Michael Purvis

Canadian Author Skyrpuch Researching Interned Turks of 1914
The Armenian Weekly, 25 Sep 2010
By Betty Apigian-Kesse

New Internment Memorial Embodies Spirit of Original
The Northern Times, 8 September 2010

Kapuskasing Internee Cemetery Restoration Project
The Northern Times, 18 August 2010

Symposium of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund, Kingston, Ontario

A Magyar Köztársaság Nagykövetsége: Emlékezés az elsõ világháborúban internáltakra
június 18-19-én

Kanadai Magyar Hírlap: Konferencia és megemlékezés az elsõ világháborúban internáltakról
Posted in Multikulturalizmus, Történelem by Christopher Adam on július 6, 2010

Launch of Quebec Internment Spirit Lake Interpretive Centre
La Ferme, Quebec, 19 August 2010

National Symposium on Internment Operations
by Marta Iwanek

Symposium at Queen's University: Canadian Internment Operations, 1914-1920
Voice of Canadian Serbs, 29 July 2010

The Kingston Symposium - An Opportunity to Remember
Ukrainian News, 24 June 2010
by Nancy Lyzaniwski

Kovacic Going Big With Painting Project
Prince George Community Free Press, 26 February 2010

An Early Muslim Community In Brantford, Ontario
CANADATURK, 15 January 2010

2009

'Mysterious group' subject of research
Brantford Expositor, 31 December 2009
by Heather Ibbotson

"Grim history lurks beneath the new Exhibition Place hotel"
The Globe and Mail, 4 December 2009
by Ian Merringer

THE REDRESS ENDOWMENT
The Ukrainian Weekly, 27 September 2009

Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund: Grant opportunities for scholars, writers and artists
Voice of Canadian Serbs, 24 September 2009

INTERNMENT CAMP PROJECT ACKNOWLEDGES PAST HISTORY: MANY LURED WITH PROMISE OF A BETTER LIFE
The Daily News, Nanaimo, Tuesday, 15 September 2009
by Darrell Bellaart

INTERNEES' STORIES CAN FINALLY BE TOLD
Globe and Mail, 12 September 2009
by Elizabeth Church

TWENTY-YEAR PROJECT COMES TO FRUITION
The Whig Standard, 11 September 2009
by Ian Elliot

2008

Umesto slobode ropstvo: Srbi u kanadskim logorima
Voice of Canadian Serbs, 27 November 2008