Xenophobia In Canada During The Second World War

776 Words2 Pages

econd World War was when Canada and the allies were desperate for victory and would do anything in order to achieve. Most of the time these acts lead to difficult situations among the citizens of the country. For example, xenophobia was a great issue in Canada during the Second World War, especially to immigrants with Japanese and Italian descents. Since Canada was at war against the Axis Powers, the Canadian government had an ultimate fear of betrayal from Japanese and Italian Canadians. This results in the abandonment of rights for enemy aliens. On the other hand, many of the Japanese and Italian Canadians supported the war effort a hundred percent and were not interested in going against Canada and the allies. The cruel treatment of Japanese …show more content…

For this reason, Japanese and Italian Canadians were placed in small internment camps with many other people with the same descents. The internment camps had no running water or electricity and had little amounts of food. 1 In addition, they worked for a long period of time but received such a small amount of money. For instance, the Italian Canadians were paid only 20 cents a day.2 As a consequence the enemy aliens were not even allowed to speak their mother tongue because soldiers feared they may be planning an attack, revenge or escape.3 In general, the Canadian government shamed the Japanese and Italian Canadians just because of their cultures. These enemy aliens were kept in captivity in a country known for freedom. Therefore, all of the mistreatment was due to fear and racism, the Canadian government discriminated the Japanese and Italian …show more content…

For instance, Japanese men served in the Allied forces during the war.7 Likewise, Italians contributed through buying Victory Bonds which helped the Allied forces receive needs in order to fight.8 Furthermore, the Japanese and Italian Canadians pledged allegiance wholeheartedly to Canada and the allies."We were Canadian born and just trying to show that we too were Canadian."9 However, the Canadian government avoided the contributions from the Japanese and Italian Canadians. As a result, the government took advantage of these enemy aliens and interned them even though they were faithful to their country. To conclude, the Japanese and Italian Canadians were treated with no respect despite all they have done for Canada and the

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