France was a colonial power in North America from the early 16th century, the age of European discoveries and fishing expeditions, to the early 19th century, when Napoléon Bonaparte sold Louisiana to the United States. French presence in North America was marked by economic exchanges with Aboriginal peoples, but also by conflicts, as the French attempted to control this vast territory. The French colonial enterprise was also spurred by religious motivation as well as the desire to establish an effective colony in the St. Lawrence Valley.
Indigenous peoples had been living on this territory for millennia. That is, well before the Vikings ventured so far East (see Norse voyages) at the end of the 10th Century. From the founding of Québec in 1608 to the ceding of Canada to Britain in 1763, France placed its stamp upon the history of the continent, much of whose lands — including Acadia, the vast territory of Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley — lay under its control. The populations it established, especially in the St. Lawrence Valley (see St. Lawrence Lowland), are still full of vitality today.

Founding and Context

France became interested in the North America later than the other Western Christian powers — England, Spain and Portugal — and after the trips made by Christopher Columbus in 1492, John Cabot in 1497 and the Corte-Real brothers (see also Portuguese) in 1501 and 1502. In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano followed the eastern shore of America from Florida to Newfoundland. Jacques Cartier then made three voyages of discovery for France. He took possession of the territory in the name of the king of France by planting a cross on the shores of the Gaspé (see Gaspé Peninsula) in 1534. The next year, he sailed up the St. Lawrence River and visited Aboriginal settlements at Stadacona (site of present-day Québec) and Hochelaga (Montréal). He spent the winter at Stadacona, where 25 of his men died of scurvy, and returned to France in 1536.
In 1541–42 he returned, establishing a short-lived colony, which he called "Charlesbourg- Royal," at the mouth of the rivière du Cap-Rouge (see Cap-Rouge) near Stadacona. Religion gave the impetus to his voyages, but economic motives were even more obvious. The hope of finding a Northwest Passage to the Indies and the fabled Kingdom of the Saguenay was constantly stressed. Cartier brought back to France some minerals from this final voyage that he thought were gold and diamonds, but were only iron pyrite and quartz (see Diamonds of Canada). After these initial disappointments, France turned its attention elsewhere and ignored the distant land until the end of the century.
Meanwhile, some French colonists showed sustained interest in the region's fisheries. There are reports of Basque, Breton and Norman fishermen on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks as early as the first decade of the 16th century. Each year more ships — a dozen or so in the decade 1520–30, about 100 by mid-century — made fishing trips. By 1550, fishermen were drying their catch on the shores, making contact with Aboriginal peoples and taking furs back to France. In the 1580s, ship owners were leaving fishing for the fur trade, an activity that drew the French farther into the continent.
In 1608 Samuel de Champlain, considered the founder of New France, erected a habitation (building) at Québec. He continued Cartier's dream of finding an opening to the Indies, pursued the commercial interests of businessmen in France, his sponsors, and followed the king's wishes. The settlement responded to economic demands: go out to the fur-rich areas, forge close contact with suppliers and try to obtain the right of exploitation. The scale of the operation made it necessary to form private companies.

Commercial Administration of the Colony and Missionary Work

The colony's administration, 1608–63, was entrusted commercial companies that were formed by merchants from various cities in France. Succeeding companies promised to settle and develop the French land in America in return for exclusive rights to its resources. The Compagnie des Cent-Associés, created by the great minister of Louis XIII, Cardinal de Richelieu, ran New France 1627–63, either directly or through subsidiary companies. It did not achieve the desired results. In 1663, the population numbered scarcely 3,000 people, 1,250 of them Canadian-born. Less than one per cent of the granted land was being exploited. Of the 5 million livres' worth of possible annual resources enumerated by Champlain in 1618 — e.g., fish, mines, wood, hemp, cloth and fur — only fur yielded an appreciable return, and it was irregular and disappointing.
Nor was evangelization among Indigenous peoples flourishing. During its first half-century, New France experienced an explosion of missionary fervour (see Missions and Missionaries), as demonstrated by the number and zeal of its apostles, inspired by the Catholic Counter-Reformation (see Catholicism). In 1634, the Jesuits renewed the mission of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons in the western wilds. Ville-Marie, which became Montréal, was the work of mystics and the devoted. But the missionaries managed to convert very few Aboriginal persons.
Various political and military events hindered colonization efforts. The alliances formed by Champlain made enemies of the Iroquois. Québec fell to the freebooting Kirke brothers in 1629. The Iroquois nations grew belligerent as soon as the country was returned to France in 1632. Between 1648 and 1652 they destroyed Huronia, a hub of French commercial and missionary activity. Attacks on the very heart of the colony demonstrated that its survival was in doubt (see Iroquois Wars).
In 1663, Québec was just a commercial branch operation: the fur trade was opposed to agriculture (see History of Agriculture); the French population was small; and the administration of the colony by commercial exploiters was a disaster. The company relinquished control of the colony to the king.

Royal Rule Facilitates Development

Under Louis XIV New France flourished. He made the colony a province of France, giving it a similar hierarchical administrative organization. He watched over its settlement, extended its territory and allowed its enterprises to multiply. However, he had first to guarantee the peace.
Under the marquis de Tracy, the Carignan-Salières Regiment built forts, ravaged Iroquois villages and demonstrated French military power. The Iroquois made peace, and 400 soldiers stayed in the colony as settlers. The king also had 850 young women sent out as brides-to-be, and quick marriages and families were encouraged. When the offspring of these Filles du Roi came of age 20 years later, the demographic situation had changed. In 1663 there had been one woman to every 6 men; now the sexes were roughly equal in number. The colony thereafter replenished 90 per cent of its numbers through childbirth.
Under the authority of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, comptroller general of finances and then navy minister (see Ministère de la Marine), colonial administration was entrusted to a Gouverneur (for military matters and external relations) and an Intendant (for justice, civil administration and finances — i.e., all civil aspects of colonial administration). The Sovereign Council (Superior Council after 1703) acted as a court of appeal and registered the king's edicts.

Exploration and Further Economic Expansion

The imperialism of Louis XIV, the pacification of the Iroquois and the need to rebuild the network of fur-trade treaties led to renewed Explorations into the Great Lakes and Mississippi regions by such exceptional people as François Dollier de Casson, Louis Jolliet, Jacques Marquette and the Cavelier de La Salle. But the Iroquois Wars started again in 1682 and the colony found new heroes, such as Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. Political, military and missionary activity, combined with economic factors, created a need for furs to be acquired from Aboriginal peoples.
Intendant Jean Talon, with Colbert's solid backing and other favourable circumstances, started a vigorous development program. In addition to watching over agriculture and the fur trade, Talon began ventures such as shipbuilding, trade with the West Indies, commercial crops like flax and hemp, fishing industries and a brewery. But by the time he left in 1672, economic circumstances had changed and virtually nothing remained of these premature initiatives.
It is difficult to identify the major elements of this nascent society. For Acadia, familiar features are the quality of its agricultural establishments, the importance of fishing and the alternating British and French regimes. In the St. Lawrence Valley, farmers, though in the majority, were still clearing the land. Craftsmen no longer had the support of major enterprises. Fur traders were being squeezed by increasingly difficult regulations and economic circumstances, yet they provided the colony's only exports. Military officers, thanks to the introduction of coin currency and the presence of opportunities to flaunt themselves, enjoyed some prestige by entering into business and being in the governor's entourage.
The seigneur had little revenue and took his standing from his title and the exercise of functions entirely unrelated to the land (see Seigneurial System). Social mobility was still possible and caused categories and groups to mingle, but there were two worlds: the city and the country.

End of Expansion and Beginning of Economic Crisis

New France reached its greatest territorial extent at the start of the 18th century. About 250 people lived in a dozen settlements in Newfoundland, and there were about 1,500 in Acadia. Several hundred lived around the mouth of the Mississippi and around the Great Lakes. People from the St Lawrence Valley lived on the shoreline of Labrador as fishermen. The Saguenay River Basin (the King's Domain) had a few trading posts. Canada had about 20,000 inhabitants, most of them farmers scattered along a ribbon of settlement between the two urban centres of Québec and Montréal. In the West, a series of trading posts and forts dotted the communication lines. Finally, in the 1740s, the La Vérendrye family carried the exploration of the continent right to the foothills of the Rockies.
Despite this expansion, New France has been described as a "colossus with feet of clay." The British American colonies were 20 times as populous and felt themselves encircled and at risk. Through the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, France yielded Newfoundland, the Acadian peninsula, Hudson Bay and supremacy in trade over the Iroquois to the English. Furthermore the early 18th century brought a major economic crisis in the colony. Its main export item, fur, was hit by a European sales slump, declining quality and less attractive returns. The many young people who had just come to settle the country had no choice but to fall back on the land.

Peacetime Recovery

Recovery was slow, but the economy experienced an unprecedented boom during the long period of peace, 1713–44. France built an imposing fortress at Louisbourg to protect its fishing zones, land and commercial trade with the colony. After 1720, agricultural surpluses were exported to Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) and the French West Indies. Some 200 seigneurs lived in the territory of Canada. A high birthrate led to a rapid population increase, which in turn led to the creation of parishes. Despite the strictures of mercantilism, two major industries were established: the Forges Saint-Maurice and royal shipbuilding (see Shipbuilding and Ship repair).
In 1735, a road linked Québec City and Montréal for the first time. Yet the fur trade still accounted for 70 per cent of the colony's exports. And peace was being used to prepare for war: 80 per cent of the colony's budgets (which never equalled the sums spent on the king's amusements) went to military expenses. Much more was spent on constructing European-style fortifications than on strengthening alliances with Aboriginal peoples.
Colonial society, influenced by the French elite that led it, modelled itself on the mother country, yet increasingly grew apart from it because of the colony's small population and very different, land-based, economic and geographic circumstances. Nobles, the middle class, military officers, seigneurs, civil administrators and traders formed a high society which was extremely sensitive to the favours of the colonial authorities. Eighty percent of the population lived on and by the land. Each generation produced new pioneers who cleared and settled land, acclimatized themselves, managed some new territory and came to know their neighbours. The acquisition of this territory in America by French descendants was characterized by the importance of the land, of inheritance, of economic independence and of analyzed social relationships.

The Conquest

France felt that New France cost much and yielded little. The expensive but inconclusive War of the Austrian Succession, which ended in 1748, saw the destruction of French overseas trade by Britain. The Seven Years’ War found France on the defensive against England, now an aggressive maritime power. The British colonies, with 1.5 million inhabitants, were pitted against a mere 70,000 French colonists, a sign of the very limited success of French colonization in North America.
After some spectacular military successes, the result of strategy well adapted to the local terrain, France fell back on the defensive. On 13 September 1759, the troops of General James Wolfe defeated those of the Marquis de Montcalm in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham near Québec City. Montréal fell the next year. France yielded its colony to England in the Treaty of Paris (1763). It was the end, or nearly so, of French political power in America — but not of French presence. France left a great legacy to America: the Canadiens. They refused assimilation and affirmed their existence. Protected by their language, religion and institutions, concentrated in a limited geographic area, difficult to penetrate, they developed a way of life, social customs and attitudes of their own. Having become Québécois, they continued to strive to develop their nationality.
 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-france/


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History of Canadian nationality law 


Canada established its own nationality law in 1946 with the enactment of the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946, which took effect on 1 January 1947. It was the second nation in the then British Commonwealth to establish its own nationality law; the first was the Irish Free State, which was a Commonwealth member until 1949 and established its own nationality law in 1935.
Under current Canadian law, Canada does not restrict dual citizenship but Passport Canada encourages its citizens to travel abroad on their Canadian passport, so they can access Canadian consular services.


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CANADIAN Citizenship
The Citizenship Act, which is the current nationality legislation in force in Canada, came into effect on 15 February 1977.
Citizenship
The Citizenship Act, which is the current nationality legislation in force in Canada, came into effect on 15 February 1977. It defines "citizen" as "a Canadian citizen" and provides that both native-born and naturalized citizens are equally entitled to all the rights, powers and privileges and subject to all the obligations, duties and liabilities of a citizen, which are governed by numerous provincial and federal laws and the Constitution Act. In all provinces and in the federal jurisdiction, citizens of the age of majority are guaranteed political rights including the right to vote and run for office.
Before 1947
Canada's Naturalization Acts conferred British subject status on immigrants being naturalized in Canada and on native-born alike. The Canadian Citizenship Act, the first nationality statute in Canada to define its people as Canadians, came into force on 1 January 1947. Among other things, the Act gave married women full authority over their nationality status. From 1947 onwards women have neither gained nor lost Canadian nationality status through marriage. Under nationality legislation in effect prior to 1947, a married woman's nationality status in Canada had, for the most part, been linked to that of her husband.
The Citizenship Act of 1976
The Citizenship Act of 1976 recognized the equality of women in citizenship matters and as well removed the remaining differences between groups of people seeking to become citizens. All persons born in Canada are, with minor exceptions (eg, children of diplomats), Canadian citizens at birth.
Children born abroad on or after 15 February 1977 are automatically citizens if either parent was a citizen at the time of birth. However, children born abroad in the second and succeeding generations of children so born from that date are required before the age of 28 to apply to retain citizenship, to register as a citizen and either live in Canada for one year prior to making the application or have established a substantial connection with Canada. Children under the age of majority, one or both of whose parents have become citizens, are also eligible for citizenship, provided an application for citizenship is made on their behalf and they have been admitted to Canada for permanent residence by the immigration authorities. Adult persons who have been admitted to Canada for permanent residence may qualify for citizenship after 3 or more years of residence in Canada and the fulfilment of certain other conditions. The minister responsible for citizenship at present, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, has the discretion to waive some requirements for citizenship and the governor-in-council has the discretionary power to direct the grant of citizenship to any person to alleviate cases of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada. This latter power is rarely used but in a world community aware of human needs it could prove significant.
The 1976 Immigration Act (s4)
Under the 1976 Immigration Act (s4) Canadian citizens have the absolute right to enter and live in Canada. This right also pertains to natives under the Indian Act whether or not they are citizens. Permanent residents and Convention Refugees who are allowed certain rights in Canada are also subject to certain restrictions. Only Canadian citizens are eligible to obtain Canadian passports, although permanent residents may be granted a travel document. Many Canadian professional associations, eg, law societies and medical associations, require practitioners of their profession to be citizens.
At present, an application for the grant, retention, renunciation or resumption of citizenship (except for the grant of citizenship made on behalf of a minor) is initially considered by a citizenship judge. Both the minister and the person concerned have the right to appeal the judge's decision to the federal court, trial division. The governor-in-council may refuse an application for the grant, resumption, or renunciation of citizenship but the grounds for this are narrow. Both the grant of citizenship and the renunciation of citizenship can be revoked by the governor-in-council if obtained by fraud, misrepresentation or concealment of material circumstances. A person who was admitted to Canada for permanent residence under false pretenses is deemed to have obtained Canadian citizenship by false pretenses as well. The revocation is made by the governor-in-council following a report made by the minister which can only be made after the person has been notified of his or her right to have the case referred to the federal court, trial division.
The issue of revocation has acquired notoriety in recent years because of the controversy which surrounds the granting of citizenship to alleged Nazi war criminals. There could be doubt about the constitutionality of revocation, because the possibility creates a distinction between naturalized and native-born citizens which might run afoul of s15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Citizens residing in Canada may not renounce their citizenship unless permitted to do so by the minister. Those who have ceased to be citizens may resume citizenship after being admitted to Canada for permanent residence and residing in Canada for at least one year following such admission and immediately preceding the date of application. Canadian citizens may hold any number of citizenships at the same time, providing the other country or countries concerned also recognize the concept of dual or plural nationality. Citizens of other Commonwealth countries and Ireland are recognized as Commonwealth citizens in Canada, a status which is viewed as symbolic.
A new Citizenship Act is before Parliament (1996). The legislation will attempt to streamline the citizenship process. Proposals in the new legislation include: the elimination of the position of Citizenship judge, the amendment of the oath of Citizenship and the inclusion of a more detailed definition of residency. The ceremonies granting citizenship will take place in community venues and will be presided over by prominent Canadians (eg, recipients of the Order of Canada). The present system of interviews with Citizenship Judges will be replaced with written tests.
Noncitizens
Noncitizens in Canada do not enjoy political rights but generally have all legal rights and are subject to the law in the same way as citizens. Permanent residents are entitled to work in Canada, while visitors usually are not.

CANADA  Immigration
The movement of nationals of one country into another for the purpose of resettlement, is central to Canadian history, from the native peoples, whose ancestors migrated across the Bering Strait from Asia, to the most recent arrivals.
The movement of nationals of one country into another for the purpose of resettlement, is central to Canadian history, from the native peoples, whose ancestors migrated across the Bering Strait from Asia, to the most recent arrivals. The story of Canadian immigration is not one of orderly population growth; it has been and remains both a catalyst to Canadian economic development and a mirror of Canadian attitudes and values; it has often been unashamedly and economically self-serving and ethnically or racially biased.
Immigration to New France
Throughout the 17th and much of the 18th century, European colonial administrations, charged with overseeing what would become Canada, did not consider settlement a priority. French or British governments initially seemed unprepared to expend vast quantities of money or energy necessary to encourage settlement. Nor was migration to the New World popular in France or Britain. Adventurers, explorers and particularly traders acting for British or French interests feared the interference of settlers in the lucrative trade with the native people.
However, policy eventually changed and colonial authorities carefully and slowly encouraged settlement in Canada, hoping that settlers would guarantee the sovereignty of colonial land claims, would Christianize the native peoples, and would exploit the natural resources, often on behalf of European investors. Settlements grew gradually and not without difficulty. New France's population at the time of the British Conquest (1759-60) was about 65 000. In Nova Scotia a transplanted Scottish community was supplemented by German and Swiss settlers, and in the late 1700s Irish settlers reinforced Newfoundland's population.
Although the British victory brought an end to migration from France, it did not instigate a tide of English-speaking immigrants. Except for a handful of British administrators, military personnel and merchants who filled the vacuum left by their departing French counterparts, few English-speaking settlers seemed interested in Canada. Indeed, it is doubtful whether settlers would have been welcomed by the new British administrators, who feared that an influx of English-speaking, Protestant settlers would complicate administration in a recently conquered Roman Catholic, French-speaking territory. Most British immigrants were far more inclined to seek out the more temperate climate and familiar social institutions of the British colonies to the south.
The Loyalist Immigration
Many of Québec's new British rulers, content to leave the colony to languish as a quiet backwater of the Empire, were soon forced to accept many thousands of English-speaking, largely Protestant settlers displaced by the American Revolution. Known as United Empire Loyalists, they were largely political refugees. Many of them migrated northward not by choice but by default, either because they did not wish to become citizens of the new American republic or because they feared retribution for their public support of the British. For these Loyalists, who eventually formed the core of the colony's ruling oligarchies, Canada was a land of second choice, as it would be for countless future immigrants who came because to remain at home was undesirable, and entry elsewhere, often the US, was restricted.
The Loyalist migration was neither uncontrolled nor unassisted, however. Imperial authorities and military personnel offered supplies to the new settlers and organized the distribution of land. Despite the hardships the settlers endured, their plight was undeniably made less severe by the intervention of government agents, a practice to be repeated in Canada many times.
Throughout the mid-19th century, the colonies, Canada West in particular, returned to a pattern of painfully slow and erratic economic growth. Officially encouraged immigration from England, Scotland and even the US gradually filled the better agricultural lands in the colony and bolstered new commercial or administrative towns. The new immigrants were generally of ethnic stock and outlook similar to that of the established community. But the great Irish potato famine and to a lesser degree a series of abortive European rebellions in 1848 sent new waves of immigrants to North America.
Of these tens of thousands, many were Irish settlers, whose arrival in Canada initiated major social and economic changes. In many respects the Irish were Canada's first enormous wave of foreign immigrants. Although they generally spoke English, they did not mirror the social, cultural or religious values of the majority. Roman Catholic intruders in a Protestant domain, their loyalty to the Crown appeared suspect in a Canada where ardent loyalty was demanded as insurance against the threat of American republicanism. Furthermore, after escaping a life in which farm tenancy and capricious nature made agriculture synonymous with poverty and dependency, some of the famine-stricken Irish had little or no enthusiasm for farm life.
Canadian cities and larger towns quickly developed Irish sections or wards. The Anglo-Protestant majority measured the Irish contribution economically and the Irish deficiencies socially, religiously and racially. On the one hand, many of the Irish created a labour force ready and able to fill the seasonal employment demands of a newly expanded canal system, lumber industry and burgeoning railway network; on the other hand, because of their low income, their Catholicism, the seasonal separation from their families and differences in their way of life, they were a conspicuous minority group. They filled working-class neighbourhoods and inflated majority fears of social evils previously dismissed as peculiar to the US.
For some years the Irish supplied the base of a working-class labour force necessary for the slow advance of communication, commerce and industry, but they remained an adjunct to, rather than a central component of, mainstream North American economic and social life - the basis of which was commerce and agricultural activity. Policy tied population increase to land settlement. Gradual commercial and industrial development usually serviced the agricultural sector, and, because many Irish were not farmers, Irish labourers were seen as rootless.
The Great Western Migration
If agricultural roots and commitment were measured, in part, by land tenure, Canada underwent a shock when arable land began to disappear from the market. Without a large industrial base, with a relatively low death rate, a high birthrate and a small but continual inflow of immigration largely from the British Isles, the immediate post-Confederation era had its overpopulation problems. The US, with its seemingly boundless supply of free, fertile land, attracted thousands of new immigrants and Anglo-Canadians, while French Canadians were drawn to jobs in the factories of New England.
Canadian history has been compared to a journey through the Bible, beginning in Lamentations and ending in Exodus, but in the late 19th century Canada's future Prairie provinces were opened to settlement, although it was not until a market developed for the prairie agricultural output that serious settlement began. The demand for farm goods, especially hard wheat, coincided with the election of Wilfrid Laurier's government, which immediately encouraged the settlement of the West with large-scale immigration. Canada's new and aggressive minister of the interior, Clifford Sifton, organized a revamped and far-reaching program and was prepared, if reluctantly, to admit agricultural settlers from places other than the British Isles, Northern Europe and the US, explaining, "A stalwart peasant in a sheepskin coat, born on the soil, whose forefathers have been farmers for ten generations, and a stout wife and a half-dozen children is good quality."
The Sifton comment, however, no matter how often repeated, is not an accurate reflection of government policy. From 1896 to the 1930s, Canadians, their politicians and immigration officials were not receptive to peasants in sheepskin coats. Immigration policy did not involve just an aggressive peopling of the Prairies. It was enacted within the framework of the British Empire, in which Sifton, the Canadian government and most English-speaking Canadians believed.
For English-speaking Canadians the traditional definition of ideal immigrants may have been modified but was not radically altered. Unabashedly colonial, the government defined immigrants who did not originate from the British Isles as foreign; and, unabashedly North American, excluded white, English- speaking immigrants from the US from this category. The ideal immigrants were still British or American independent farmers who would settle in the West. Sifton and the government may only have reflected their times, but Canadian immigration policy and public opinion were nevertheless racist.
Pressed to increase immigration by business and railway interests with visions of an insatiable world demand for Canadian resources, Sifton and his immigration authorities balanced their ethnic anxieties against a frantic search for settlers. They listed ideal settlers in a descending preference. British and American agriculturalists were followed by French, Belgians, Dutch, Scandinavians, Swiss, Finns, Russians, Austro-Hungarians, Germans, Ukrainians and Poles. Close to the bottom of the list came those who were, in both the public and the government's minds, less assimilable and less desirable, eg, Italians, South Slavs, Greeks and Syrians. At the very bottom came Jews, Asians, gypsies and blacks.
Ottawa, however, did not have the only voice when it came to immigration. The British North America Act also gave the provinces a voice in immigration if they chose to run it. Québec, partly in response to the expansion of English-speaking Canada and partly in an effort to stem if not reverse the flow of rural Québec youth to waiting jobs in New England factories, set up its own immigration department. In co-operation with federal authorities, immigration agents were sent into New England to encourage French Canadians to return home to recently opened marginal agricultural lands. The program met with only limited success, but Québec's active determination of its own immigration priorities continued.
In spite of government precautions, not all immigrants committed themselves to resource exploitation or agriculture. Like the Irish before them, many of the "foreign" immigrants, non-English speaking and largely non-Protestant, rejected a life of rural isolation, choosing to work in cities. Furthermore, many of these foreigners saw themselves as living in Canada or North America only temporarily, earning enough money to buy a piece of land at home, to assemble a dowry for a sister or to pay off a family debt. But the many who adopted North American definitions of success or who were unable to return home because of political upheavals established themselves in Canada, bringing wives and children to join them.
If these Jews, Italians, Macedonians, Russians, Finns, Chinese, etc, had been content to play the role reluctantly left for them, if they had accepted rural isolation as the price of their admission into Canada, hostility toward them might have been minimal; but by making their way into Montréal, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton and Vancouver and other centres, they awakened the old ethnic and religious anxieties and prejudices previously reserved for the Irish. They had been allowed into Canada to satisfy the need for a cheap labour force or a pool of skilled craftsmen adaptable to factory and construction.
They were prepared to accept seasonal labour in mining or lumbering (which forced them to drift back into cities during the off-season), but for many Canadians the sudden influx of strange peoples so recently subject to foreign czars, kaisers and gods seemed to threaten the very fabric of Protestant Canadian society. Some Canadians responded with a dignified tolerance. They recognized that these foreigners were here to stay, that their labour and skills were necessary, their living conditions subject to improvement and, perhaps most important, that their children would become integrated, given education and time. But in spite of the vital economic role these immigrants played in urban centres - laying streetcar tracks, labouring in the expanding textile factories and digging the sewer sytems - many Canadians demanded strict enforcement of immigration regulations and restriction of admission along ethnic or racial lines.
During WWI anti-German hysteria erupted in Canada, directed largely against immigrants born in the now enemy countries or those who entered Canada as subjects of enemy monarchs, but also against foreigners who had been born in now allied countries or had come to Canada as subjects of allied monarchs. Despite Canadian military manpower needs, British and Canadian authorities alike felt that, where possible, foreigners belonged in foreign armies. Groups such as Italians, Serbians, Poles and some Jews were encouraged to return to the armies of their mother country or were recruited into specific British army units reserved for allied foreigners of various origins. Without national armies of their own to join, many Jews, Macedonians and Ukrainians volunteered for the Canadian Army.
Once in Canada, many thousands of immigrants did find a place for themselves and their families, but Canadian immigration policy and administration, which bowed to economic necessity by allowing these southern and eastern Europeans into Canada, could not bend enough to admit other would-be immigrants. Head taxes, landing taxes, bilateral restriction agreements and travel restrictions virtually prohibited the immigration of Asians. Canadian authorities refused to allow the settlement of female Asian immigrants, fearing this would encourage Asian men temporarily in Canada as railway or mine labourers to settle permanently and, perhaps more importantly, become the parents of yet another generation of the "yellow peril."
In 1914 almost 400 East Indians aboard the immigrant ship Komagata Maru languished in Vancouver harbour while Canadian authorities debated what to do with them. Canada's new navy, in action for the first time, escorted the ship from Canadian waters while many Vancouver residents cheered approvingly from shore. In 1910 and 1911 rumours had spread that a group of blacks was preparing to migrate to central Alberta. Descendants of freed slaves, they were being pushed from their land in Oklahoma territory, where they had been granted holdings and hoped to build new lives.
Public and political response in Alberta was immediate and predictable. Federal authorities initiated an ingeniously simple scheme. Nothing in the Immigration Act specifically barred black Americans, but any immigrant could effectively be denied access to Canada for health reasons under the Act's medical provisions. The government merely instructed immigration inspectors and their medical aides along the American border to reject all blacks as unfit for admission on medical grounds. There was no appeal. Blacks were warned they should not waste their time and money by considering immigration to Canada.
As a result of the dramatic and devastating economic collapse caused by the Great Depression, the need for the government's selective encouragement of immigration faded. Immigration authorities worked not to stimulate admissions but to prevent them. By 1933 Hitler ruled Germany, and millions of political opponents and Jews might have survived if Canada or other countries had offered innocent victims a home. Although many Canadians responded to the refugees with a mixture of sympathy for their desperate plight and embarrassment at the lack of government aid, others, including the federal Cabinet, many in the diplomatic corps and, of course, immigration policymakers, reacted with alarm to any pressure to accept Jews or political refugees escaping Germany. As a result, few refugees were able to break Canadian immigration restrictions.
The Postwar Era and the Removal of Racial and Ethnic Barriers
At war's end in 1945, Canadian immigration regulations remained unchanged from the restrictive prewar years. But change was not long in coming. Driven by a postwar economic boom, growing job market and a resulting demand for labour, Canada gradually re-opened its doors to European immigration, first to immigrants Canada traditionally preferred - those from the United Kingdom and Western Europe - but eventually to the rest of Europe as well. With the onset of the Cold War, however, immigration from Eastern Europe came to a halt. Borders to the west were closed by the Soviet Union and its allies. However, large numbers of immigrants entered Canada from southern Europe, particularly Italy, Greece and Portugal.
Unlike the mass immigration of an earlier era, this postwar immigration was not streamed exclusively into agricultural or rural-based resource extractive industries such as mining or lumbering. Canada emerged from World War II as an urban, industrial power, and many postwar immigrants soon filled jobs in the new urban-based manufacturing and construction sectors, some building the expanding city infrastructure and others, the better educated immigrants, meeting the strong demand for trained and skilled professionals.
Canadian immigration also underwent other dramatic changes in the postwar years. Canadian governments, federal and provincial, slowly yielded to pressure for human rights reform from an earlier generation of immigrants and their children. Increasingly middle class and politically active, the now well-integrated immigrants had sacrificed in common cause with other Canadians in the war effort and in the postwar era they refused to assume second-class status in the country they had helped to protect. Supported by like-minded Canadians, they rejected legally sanctioned ethnic and racial discrimination in Canada and demanded human rights reform. They forced governments to legislate against discrimination on account of race, religion and origin in such areas as employment, accommodation and education. And, just as Canada was making discrimination illegal at home, the federal government moved to eliminate racial, religious or ethnic barriers to Canadian immigration.
The last vestiges of racial discrimination in immigration were gone from Canadian immigration legislation and regulations by the late 1960s. This opened Canada's doors to many of those who would previously have been rejected as undersirable. In 1971, for the first time in Canadian history, the majority of those immigrating into Canada were of non-European ancestry. This has been the case every year since. As a result, today Canada is not just a multicultural society, it is also a multiracial society to a degree unimaginable to earlier generations of Canadians.
That does not mean that anyone who wishes to enter Canada may do so. Far from it. While restrictions on account of race or national origin are gone, Canada still maintains strict criteria for determining who is and who is not a desirable candidate for Canadian entry. In the late 1960s Canada introduced a point system for determining the desirability of individuals applying to immigrate to Canada.
Under this system, each applicant was awarded points for criteria such as age, education, ability to speak English or French and demand for that particular applicant's job skills. If an applicant was in good health and of good character and scored enough points, he or she was granted admission together with their spouse and dependent children. Those who did not score enough points were denied admission. More recently, Canada has modified its procedures to give preference to the admission of independent, skilled, and perhaps most importantly, immediately employable immigrants.
Once established in Canada, each new arrival, now called a "landed immigrant," has all the rights of born Canadians except political rights, such as the right to vote. After a specified number of years (recently reduced from 5 to 3 years), each landed immigrant may apply for Canadian citizenship and, once granted, has the same political rights as Canadian-born citizens. In addition, landed immigrants, like Canadian citizens, may also apply to sponsor the admission to Canada of close family members who might not otherwise be able to satisfy stringent Canadian admission criteria. The sponsor must agree to ensure anyone brought into Canada will not become an economic burden to Canadian society. For many years, sponsored families of those already in Canada were the single largest group of those admitted into Canada.
Since the end of WWII refugees and others dispossessed by war and violence have become a significant part of Canada's immigration flow. In the postwar labour shortage Canada admitted tens of thousands of displaced persons, individuals made homeless by the war or who, at war's end, found themselves outside of their country of citizenship, to which they refused to return. Among the displaced persons were Jewish Holocaust survivors who had no community or family to which they could return. Other displaced persons refused repatriation back to countries which had fallen under Soviet domination. Many resettled in Canada, where they built new lives.
During the 1960s and 1970s Canada also responded to the plight of refugees from other troubled areas. In the aftermath of the unsuccessful Hungarian uprising of 1967 and the crushing of political reform in Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1973, refugees fled westward. Canada responded by setting aside its normal immigration procedures to admit its share of refugees. In the years that followed, Canada again made special allowance for refugees from political upheavals in Uganda, Chile and elsewhere. In each of these cases, however, the refugees were admitted as an exception to the immigration regulations and without following all the usual immigration procedures.
In 1978, however, Canada enacted a new Immigration Act that, for the first time, affirmed Canada's commitment to the resettlement of refugees from oppression; that is, persons who have a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of citizenship. Accordingly, refugees would no longer be admitted to Canada as an exception to immigration regulations. Admission of refugees was now part of Canadian immigration law and regulations. But refugee admission has remained controversial and difficult to administer.
On the surface the admission of refugees seems simple enough. Every year Canada sets aside a minority portion of the total target number of immigrants it intends to admit for refugees. But there are 2 very different routes by which refugees have arrived in Canada. Most are carefully selected abroad. In co-operation with other countries and international refugee agencies, each Canadian immigration official goes overseas to interview and pick refugees for resettlement in Canada from among those who have found temporary sanctuary outside their country of citizenship, often in a neighbouring country. This process has generally worked smoothly.
The first major refugee resettlement program under this new legislation was during the early 1980s, when Canada led the Western world in its welcome to Southeast Asian refugees and particularly those from Vietnam, often referred to as the "boat people." Many of the boat people were selected from among those who escaped Vietnam in tiny boats and eventually found themselves confined to refugee camps in Thailand or Hong Kong awaiting permanent homes.
The other route refugees have taken into Canada is far more controversial. Canada has had to deal with persons who are not chosen abroad by immigration officials but who somehow make their way to Canada and, once in Canada, declare themselves to be refugees. In recent years these have included persons who claimed refugee status in Canada after disembarking from flights between Eastern Europe and Cuba which land to refuel in Gander, Nfld, and men, women and children who have escaped the horror of war and persecution in Central America, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and China to seek sanctuary in Canada.
Once in Canada each arrival claimed to be a refugee with a legitimate fear of persecution in his or her homeland. In a world in which political torture and murder is all too common, it became the responsibility of Canadian officials to determine if each individual claimant was truly a refugee or not. To do this Canada devised an inland refugee determination process designed to judge each claim. If determined to be a legitimate refugee, the claimant is granted the right to stay in Canada as an immigrant. If not, the claimant may be deported.
Late 20th Century
In the 1980s the number of those entering Canada and applying for refugee status grew steadily and the Canadian determination process was hard-pressed to process applicants quickly. Nor were refugee claimants universally welcomed by Canadians. Some Canadians worried that many of the refugee claimants, including some who successfully made it through the determination process, were not really legitimate refugees but individuals looking for a way around tough Canadian immigration regulations.
Some accused refugees of abusing "the system" and clogging up the immigration and refugee determination process. Still others argued that by allowing persons to claim refugee status from within Canada, Canada was denying itself the opportunity to pick and choose among the pool of refugees abroad and take only those refugees best suited to Canada. Canada, it was argued, should select refugees, not allow refugees to select Canada.
The refugee issue was dramatically brought home to Canadians in the late 1980s, when 2 ships illegally stranded their respective cargoes of Sikh and Tamil refugee claimants on Canada's east coast. Amid greatly exaggerated fears that Canada was about to be flooded with refugees, Parliament and immigration authorities began tightening up refugee regulations and procedures. The result has been a continual streamlining or hardening of the Canadian refugee determination process and a shortening of the time between a refugee claimant's arrival in Canada and the time the claimant is either granted permission to stay or is forced to leave. While some Canadians are concerned that these changes mean that some legitimate refugees are now being denied Canadian sanctuary, Canadian authorities have been working closely with other countries and transportation companies to make it more difficult for individuals who might make a refugee claim to reach Canada. This effort to stop would-be refugee claimants from getting to Canada is called interdiction.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, even as it was seeking to forestall the entry of would-be refugee claimants, Canada opened new avenues for other immigrants to enter the country, especially those with employable skills or significant financial resources. Beginning during the Mulroney Conservative government, those with capital that they were prepared to invest in Canadian enterprises or with money and skills necessary to start business which promised to create new employment and wealth in Canada were invited to apply for Canadian immigration. Many did.
Through much of the 1990s the number of entrepreneurial or business immigrants rose dramatically, eventually reaching 6% of all immigrants entering Canada. Of these, appreciable numbers of entrepreneurial-class immigrants have come from Hong Kong, many seeking a safe harbour for themselves, their families and their assets in advance of the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong in 1997. It was natural that many should respond to Canada's invitation and the opportunities offered for capital investment in Canada. As a result, Canada became a prime destination for Hong Kong and other Chinese immigration and for capital in flight. Hong Kong and other Chinese immigration has been especially pronounced in larger urban areas such as Vancouver and Toronto, where the Chinese community now constitutes the largest immigrant groups. Most of these entrepreneurial-class immigrants did not arrive speaking English or French, and this has led to calls for tougher language requirements for those coming to Canada. An economic slowdown in Asia in the late 1990s reduced the number of immigrants to Canada and was partly responsible for Canada's failure to reach its projected annual target for immigration admissions in the past several years, approximately 220 000 immigrants or 1% of the Canadian population.
In the quickly changing national and international economic climate of the late 1990s, Canadian immigration re-emerged as a topic of public debate. And given the continuing impact of immigration on Canadian society, it is only natural that there be such a debate. While many economists argue that Canada, with its relatively low birth rate and greying population, needs the infusion of population, energy, skills, capital and buying power that immigrants bring to Canada, other Canadians harbour doubts. Talk of the "new economy," with more and more jobs requiring a highly skilled work force, has led some to conclude that immigrants, or at least the kinds of immigrants that Canada welcomed in the past, are no longer necessary. Some fear that without a change in immigrant requirements, immigrants to Canada will not create wealth but take up what few low-paying jobs are available. In addition, with immigrants of non-European origin making up a large majority of those entering Canada, some Canadians express uneasiness at the changing character of urban Canada and the potential for racial tension.
Public debate on immigration in Canada has remained civil, and certainly free of the kind of violence against new arrivals witnessed in France and Germany. Indeed, on the whole, Canadians generally remain supportive of immigration in spite of the reservations expressed by some. As part of the larger public debate on immigration, in the mid-1990s the federal government commissioned a panel to review Canadian immigration legislation and policy. The panel submitted its report in 1998. Not all of its recommendations have been accepted, but as Canada enters a new millennium the government is expected to begin public consultations on recommendations leading to an overhaul of immigration policy which, it is hoped, will bring immigration more in line with Canada's changing economic and social reality.
In particular, it is expected that Canada will put increased emphasis on encouraging the arrival of highly educated immigrants who show the kind of economic flexibility needed to succeed in a constantly changing Canadian job market. It is also expected that Canada will affirm its commitment to remain a leader in refugee resettlement, although the country is likely to continue slowing the arrival of refugee claimants in favour of refugees selection abroad. But even as Canadians debate the future of immigration, they can take pride in Canada's long tradition of immigration, the resourcefulness of immigrants, their readiness to help build Canadian society and the richness of their cultural contribution to the life of their adopted land.
Suggested Reading
  • Donald H. Avery, Reluctant Host: Canada's Response to Immigrant Workers, 1896-1994 (1995); H. Cowen, British Emigration to British North America (1961); E.C. Guillet, The Great Migration (1963); H. Troper, Only Farmers Need Apply (1972); R. Hurney and Harold Troper, Immigrants: A Portrait of the Urban Experience (1975); Gerald E. Dirks, Canada's Refugee Policy (1977); Reg Whitaker, Double Standard: The Secret History of Canadian Immigration (1987).
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/immigration/


Links to other sites





 

CANADA’S FIRST DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE  1929

 

Statute of Westminster: Canada's Declaration of Independence
In the fall of 1929, Canada's Minister of Justice, Ernest Lapointe, traveled to England. He took with him Dr. O. D. Skelton, the country's top public servant. When they were done their negotiations, they had extracted an undertaking from their British hosts.
In the fall of 1929, Canada's Minister of Justice, Ernest Lapointe, traveled to England. He took with him Dr. O. D. Skelton, the country's top public servant. When they were done their negotiations, they had extracted an undertaking from their British hosts. Canada would have its independence from the British Empire.
It was a long time coming. Confederation in 1867 made Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a single self-governing dominion, but also left Canada as a British colony with firm ties and obligations to the Mother Country.
O.D. Skelton (standing right) and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, major figures in Statute of Westminster agreement (photo by Walter J. Turnbull, courtesy Library and Archives Canada / PA-200350).
Automatically committed to the First World War in 1914, Canada fought bravely and brilliantly. Yet everywhere they turned Canadians realized that Britain was in the way. Theirs was a nation that was not yet a nation.
More freedom and international recognition were urgently demanded. Prime Minister Robert Borden's wartime government insisted upon a Canadian signature of the peace treaty, and a seat in the new League of Nations. Liberal leader W. L. Mackenzie King, taking power in 1921, signed treaties without a British countersignature and refused to go along automatically with the empire's foreign and defence policies.
King brought Skelton from Queen's University to head the Department of External Affairs. Taking up the position in 1925, Skelton's mandate was to build an independent Canadian expertise about world affairs, along with a foreign service populated by the best and brightest.
Skelton pushed the King agenda harder than King himself, and he found a powerful ally in Lapointe, the Prime Minister's Quebec lieutenant and closest political confidant.
When Lapointe and Skelton arrived in London in 1929 for the Conference on the Operation of Dominion Legislation, there was still much to do in the work of independence. There was a parcel of British laws that applied to Canada and could not be changed by Canada. And London could still after all these years override Canadian legislation.
The ODL Conference, as it quickly came to be called, was convened to examine the empire's legal structure and make recommendations for improvements. The British greeted contingents from Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Irish Free State with sweet promises and dire warnings.
The ODL opened in the Moses Room at the House of Lords, with its huge mural depicting the biblical handing down of the Tables of the Law. It was a very impressive atmosphere to be in for the first five minutes, Skelton wrote to the Prime Minister, but winter was coming and the heating dated "from the time of King Alfred, minus the fireplace that is sometimes associated with his name."
Two months of difficult discussions ensued, and at different stages right up to the final day the conference's complete disintegration seemed possible. The British identified Skelton as the villain-in-chief, but the Canadian's own candidate for the title was the South African head of delegation, "about the most obstinate Dutchman in history."
Skelton had wide latitude for bargaining. The meetings pivoted around him and Sir Maurice Gwyer, the ablest of the British government's legal minds. They served together on the conference's key committee, drafted much of the final report, and built the coalitions that made ultimate consensus possible. Skelton got tough from time to time, but compromised to make a settlement possible, in part because he knew that the British were needed to pass the legislation "granting what we want."
In the end, the conference recommended the passage of an act by the British Parliament which would completely eliminate Britain's authority to make laws for Canada except in certain areas agreed to by both countries, the Canadian constitution in particular.
The British tried to resist for a while longer, but the ODL's findings had weight and momentum and therefore inevitability. Two years later, on December 11, 1931, royal assent was given to the Statute of Westminster, ensuring that decisions about Canada's future would now be Canada's alone.
The Statute was enacted in Britain, not Canada. It was a dry, brief lawyer's document, with no rhetorical flourishes or promises of great things to come.
But it was Canada's declaration of independence.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/statute-of-westminster-canadas-declaration-of-independence-feature/

 

 




CANADA:  Atlantic Campaign of the War of 1812

The War of 1812 as it was fought on the high seas included a variety of activities related to sea power, including clashes between ships, naval blockades, coastal raids, joint operations with the army and a commerce war involving privateers and letters of marque.
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Atlantic Campaign of the War of 1812

The War of 1812 as it was fought on the high seas included a variety of activities related to sea power, including clashes between ships, naval blockades, coastal raids, joint operations with the army and a commerce war involving privateers and letters of marque.
The maritime war was conducted in three phases, each corresponding to a calendar year. In 1812, the advantages lay with the Americans, who won several spectacular single-ship actions. In 1813, the British naval presence in North America increased as additional ships were sent to Halifax and a blockade of the American coast was implemented. By 1814 the Atlantic seaboard was dominated by the Royal Navy and American trade had dwindled to a fraction of pre-war levels.

Naval Power Before the War of 1812

The United States Navy was formed in 1794 and entered the conflict as the best prepared of the two American services. In 1812, the navy had 7200 sailors and marines; its officers were professional and the volunteer seamen were experienced. Many of the men had seen action during the Quasi-War with France (1798-1800) and in the Barbary Wars of North Africa (1801-1805). However, the navy also suffered from inadequate funding and uncertain doctrine in the pre-war years. Dockyard facilities were limited. In 1812, the ocean-going fleet included 13 vessels. Three of them were the "super frigates," and three were regular frigates; the other vessels included five sloops and two brigs. There were also 165 coastal vessels, 62 of which were in commission.
The Royal Navy was the most powerful naval force of the time. In 1812, it had 145 000 men and 978 ships, of which about 70% were in commission. Despite the decisive victory at Trafalgar in 1805, France continued to challenge Britain's domination of the seas, which kept the Royal Navy in European waters and prevented it from reinforcing the western Atlantic. The number of French ships-of-the-line increased from 34 in 1807 to 80 by 1813, with another 35 under construction. In contrast, the equivalent vessels in the Royal Navy dropped from 113 in 1807 to 98 in 1813. The world-wide commitments of the Royal Navy also dissipated its strength and expertise, resulting in the navy sending many poorly constructed vessels with ill-trained crews to sea. Given these challenges, the sheer weight of the navy could not be employed against the United States until the war in Europe ended.
The Royal Navy maintained two squadrons in North American waters. The North American Squadron was based at Halifax, while the other squadron was based at Newfoundland. Both were considered backwaters. In 1812, the North American Squadron had 27 ships, including one ship-of-the-line, eight frigates and seven sloops.
Before the declaration of war, the United States deployed its warships in the Atlantic. They were to protect their merchantmen, while attempting to seize British commercial vessels and engage naval ships. Between 1812 and 1815, there were 26 encounters between individual ships or combinations of vessels from both fleets. While much is made of the success of the American super frigates against smaller, less well armed British vessels, the total victories were equally divided between the two navies. British losses represented less than one percent of their fleet, while the American navy lost 20% of their men-of-war.

Naval Blockade

The naval blockade of the United States began informally in 1812 and expanded to cut off more ports as the war progressed. Twenty ships were on station in 1812 and 135 were in place by the end of the conflict. In February 1813, the blockade extended from the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. New England was originally exempted from the blockade as the British hoped to foment anti-war sentiment in that region, while enjoying merchants' willingness to sell grain and foodstuffs to the British for use by their army in the Iberian Peninsula. In March 1813, the blockade was expanded to include Savannah, Port Royal, Charleston and New York. In-mid November, it was broadened again to include the entire coast south of Narragansett Bay. In May 1814, following the abdication of Napoleon, and the end of the supply problems with Wellington's army, New England was blockaded.
The blockade made it difficult for American naval vessels to sortie. The blockade also devastated the American economy. Between 1811 and 1814, the value of exports and imports fell from $114 million to $20 million, while custom rates used to finance the war were more than halved from $13 million to $6 million. Many American merchant vessels did not risk leaving port. British trade on the other hand increased significantly, from £91 million in 1811 to £152 million by 1814.
The Royal Navy also damaged American shipping, commerce and communities by staging raids with marines, colonial marines, regular troops, and foreign troops in British service. Campaigns were undertaken in the Chesapeake Bay between March and September 1813 and April and September 1814. The Admiralty was not altogether certain these attacks aided the war effort and the 1814 attacks were designed to support offensives based from the Canadas. The results of the 1814 coastal attacks were mixed: Washington was occupied and its public buildings destroyed, while an attack on Baltimore failed. The Gulf Coast campaign occurred between May 1814 and February 1815 and included four actions near New Orleans and the capture of Fort Bowyer. Between July 1814 and April 1815, much of the Maine coast was occupied by British forces from Halifax.

Privateering

A final activity undertaken by both Britain and the US during the war also sought to diminish each other's trade through the employment of privateers, which were private vessels that were outfitted with guns and given state sanction to raid and capture the opponent's merchantmen. Initially considered as a dubious, sometimes lawless activity, Privateering emerged from the War of 1812 and Napoleonic Wars as a respectable, legitimate and effective means of maritime defence. This activity was a business venture, in which a successful captain could, following a cruise, sell the vessels he had seized for money, which was then shared by the crew. This was different from the "letter of marque," which allowed merchants to arm their vessels for self defence or to take aggressive action to avoid capture.
Privateering was already underway before the War of 1812 began and included a number of participants. British captures were made by the Royal Navy and British, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia privateers. By 1810, the British had taken nearly 1000 American ships, while France had taken 500; another 300 fell to Danish, Neapolitan, Spanish and Dutch flags. Between 1812 and 1815, Britain captured another 500 American vessels. The loss of 2500 vessels over a ten-year period was proportionally more damaging to American trade than the 10 000 British vessels lost over the same period; 2000 of these alone were taken between 1812 and 1815. The Royal Navy recaptured at least 750 prizes, while others were handed back to neutrals or lost at sea.

Compulsory Convoys

One means of reducing losses was the adoption of compulsory convoy, which made it more difficult to locate merchantmen and which also provided protection from escorting warships. By 1808, all shipping leaving Nova Scotia was subject to the Compulsory Convoy Act, which was further improved in 1813.

Naval Goals Met

The maritime War of 1812 on the high seas is difficult to isolate from the larger activity of the war in Europe. It was played in a vast theatre and demonstrated the importance of sea power in achieving war aims. Despite several setbacks, the Royal Navy was able to dominate the high seas and had free range over the American coastline through most of the war. Nonetheless, the United States Navy demonstrated that it had a professional officers' corps, excellent sailors, an aggressive doctrine and good ship designs.






And...

HONOUR OUR 1812 HEROES   :  NOVA SCOTIA


http://www.warof1812.ca/heroes/units.htm

Unit Lists



PERPETUATION OF WAR OF 1812 UNITS BY MODERN UNITS OF THE CANADIAN FORCES



Modern Unit                                                                 1812 Unit

Governor General's Horse Guards, Toronto                     1st York (Button's) Troop of Horse

The Ontario Regiment (RCAC), Oshawa                        Provincial Light Dragoons (Fraser's Troop), 1st Leeds, 2nd Grenville, 1st Lennox, 1st Addington, 1st Prince Edward Troops of Horse

The Queen's York Rangers, Toronto                               1st York (Button's) Troop of Horse

The Sherbrooke Hussars, Sherbrooke                            Canadian Light Dragoons

12e Régiment Blindée du Canada (Milice), Three Rivers   Quebec Volunteer Cavalry, Dorchester Provincial Light Dragoons

1st Hussars, London                                                     1st and 2nd Troops, Niagara Light Dragoons

The Royal Canadian Hussars, Montreal                           Royal Montreal Troop of Cavalry

Windsor Regiment (RCAC)                                             1st Kent and 2nd Essex Troops of Horse

Queen's Own Rifles, Toronto                                          1st York Regiment

Les Voltigeurs de Québec, Québec                                Voltigeurs Canadiens    

Royal Regiment of Canada, Toronto                               1st York Regiment

Canadian Grenadier Guards, Montreal                            1st Battalion, Montreal Militia

Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Hamilton                          2nd York Regiment

Princess of Wales' Own Regiment, Kingston                   1st Frontenac, 1st Lennox and 1st Addington Regiments

Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, Picton                1st Hastings, 1st Prince Edward,1st Northumberland  and 1st Durham Regiments

Lincoln and Welland Regiment, St Catharines                1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Regiment of Lincoln                                                                                          Militia 

4th Battalion/ Royal Canadian Regiment, London             1st Middlesex Regiment and the Norfolk militia

Highland Fusiliers, Cambridge                                        1st Oxford Regiment    

Brockville Rifles, Brockville                                             1st Grenville, 2nd Grenville, 1st Leeds and 2nd    Leeds Regiments

Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, Cornwall  Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles, 1st Glengarry, 2nd Glengarry, 1st Stormont, 1st Prescott and 1st Dundas Regiments

Fusiliers St. Laurent, Rimouski                                       4th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Régiment de la Chaudière, Lévis                                     6th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

4e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment, Montreal                     2nd Battalion, Montreal Militia   

6e  Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment, Drummondville           Frontier Light Infantry

Fusiliers Mont-Royal, Montreal                                       3rd Battalion, Montreal Militia     

Royal New Brunswick Regiment, Fredericton                   104th Regiment of Foot, New Brunswick Fencibles

Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, Montreal                          1st Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Essex and Kent Scottish, Windsor                                 1st Essex, 2nd Essex and 1st Kent Regiments  

48th Highlanders, Toronto                                              3rd York Regiment

Régiment du Saguenay, Jonquière                                 6th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Hamilton                   2nd York Regiment

Lake Superior Scottish, Thunder Bay                            Michigan Fencibles, Mississippi Volunteers, Mississippi Volunteer Artillery, Dease's Mississippi Volunteers, Canadian Volunteers

Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke                              2nd Battalion, Select Embodied Militia  
Royal Montreal Regiment, Montreal                               5th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Toronto Scottish, Toronto                                              3rd York Regiment

Royal Newfoundland Regiment, St. John                        Royal Newfoundland Fencibles



General Perpetuations

All infantry regiments in Nova Scotia                               Nova Scotia Fencibles

All infantry regiments in Quebec                                     Canadian Fencibles

                                                                                    Voltigeurs Canadien

All infantry regiments in southern Ontario                         Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada

Naval Reserve Units in Ontario                                        Provincial Marine



Summary



Honour our 1812 Heroes is a group of concerned Canadians dedicated to:

 a)  secure official recognition of the Canadian military units that fought in the War of 1812; and

 b) perpetuate that recognition through the award of Battle Honours to units of the Canadian Forces.

Our aim is to accomplish these objectives by June 18, 2012, the commencement of the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812. Unlike the United Kingdom and the United States, Canada has never officially recognized our 1812 military heritage in this way.   Achieving our two goals will redress  this longstanding neglect and create a lasting legacy that will make future Canadians proud of their forbearers.

Quick Facts

·     The year 2012 marks the bicentenary of the War of 1812, a seminal event in Canadian history

·     In this conflict English and French Canadian militia regiments fought with valour to repel a foreign invader, and suffered hundreds of casualties

·     By the end of the war, 7,000 Canadian regulars were on active service and another 89,000 militiamen were available if required  (equal to 16% of the population)

·     Sir George Prevost, the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British North America praised the militia and recommended they receive Battle Honours  

·     The British Army was awarded 5 Battle Honours for the War of 1812 –Detroit, Queenston,  Miami, Niagara and Bladensburg, but none was granted to the Canadian militia

·     The Department of National Defence (DND) refuses to authorize the award of Battle Honours for the War of 1812.  An arbitrary decision by DND a century ago refuses to recognize the Canadian military prior to 1855.

·     DND policy refuses to recognize the perpetuation of current Canadian Forces units to War of 1812 units and refuses to award Battle Honours to those units, also stating that these awards cannot be retro-actively awarded.   Yet official DND publications state that the 1812 battalions “can be considered as the forerunners of the regiments today “  (Title CFP 267) and the awarding of Battle Honours for the War of 1812 would fulfill most principles outlined in DND policy (Title CFP 200)

·    Many precedents already exist for the retro-active awarding of Battle Honours.

·     Despite Prime Minister Harper’s direction to DND to “Recognize the War of 1812 heritage embraced by some units”, this recognition has not happened.

In our research section there is a more comprehensive document which goes into great detail all the points made above.   This document begins with a selection of relevant quotes concerning the importance of the forthcoming bicentenary of the War of 1812. It continues with a discussion of the achievements of Canadian soldiers during that conflict and how those achievements have been deliberately slighted by the British and Canadian governments. It concludes with a plan to redress this neglect as we approach the celebration of a major milestone in the history of Canada.



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Canada- USA and Great Britain




Boileau, John. Half-Hearted Enemies: Nova Scotia, New England and the War of 1812. Halifax: Formac Publishing Company, 2005. 176 pages, illustrated, bibliography, index. ISBN# 0887806570. Softcover. C$19.95 (Canadian).

The War of 1812 is a fascinating conflict. Fought between June 1812 and the spring of 1815, it was the last war between the United States and Great Britain. The 1814 Treaty of Ghent resolved none of its causes, leading many to believe that the "Second American War" (the first being the American War of Independence) would be followed by a third and a massive fortifications project was undertaken in Canada in anticipation of that event. The War of 1812 was not limited to a series of skirmishes along the frontier of the interior, but included operations from the area of modern Sault Ste. Marie to the eastern seaboard of the United States from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. Naval engagements occurred on the Great Lakes, the Upper St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Caribbean Sea. It was a significant and complex war that is often lost in the shadow of the struggle against Napoleon, but it is witnessing increased popular and academic interest.

Half-Hearted Enemies focuses on an important, albeit secondary theatre of war, promising to examine Nova Scotia and its "ambiguous wartime" relationship with the New England states. It promises, at least according to the jacket notes, a "new perspective on a key period." Unfortunately, it never really gets there and treads into waters that have limited relation to the overall topic. The book is in effect, a series of essays rather than an overview of a region during wartime.

John Boileau retired as a colonel, having served throughout Canada, the United States, West Germany (as it was then called), Cyprus and Great Britain. He commanded Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians in the late 1980s, and this reviewer's first commanding officer) and later served with the Canadian Defence Liaison Staff (London). An avid history buff, Boileau has, since retirement taken to writing, producing a history of Canadian hydrofoils, several articles and served as consulting editor for A Century of Service: Canada's Armed Forces from the Boer War to East Timor, by Jim Lotz. This is his first book on the War of 1812.

In 1812, Nova Scotia was a separate colony within British North America that with Cape Breton, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, formed Atlantic Command, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke. Halifax was home of the North American Squadron of the Royal Navy. Considered largely a backwater before the war, the North American squadron rapidly grew in strength and prominence and established the blockade of the American coast in 1812. The British Castine Expedition, which culminated in the occupation of a portion of Maine, was launched from Halifax, while the remains of Major-General Robert Ross, who led British troops into Washington and who was killed in September 1814, rest there. Nova Scotia was also base for a large privateer fleet that on the one hand, which seriously damaged the American economy, while continuing trade and smuggling with the United States. Indeed, despite the state of war, the frontier, like that on the Upper St. Lawrence, remained open to social and economic "intercourse" (using the terminology of the time) that was only interrupted when a local commander actively sought to end it. Lieutenant John Coteur, later of the 104th Foot, observed this first hand noting, "how uncomfortably like civil war it seemed."[1] One might indeed think the local populations did not fully support the war, hence the title.

The chapters examine five single-ship engagements fought in the Atlantic, the privateer war, American prisoners held on Prison Island near Halifax, the burning of Washington and the fate of Black refugees. These military, economic and social themes could have supported the thesis but lose focus in their presentation. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to British operations in the Chesapeake, the occupation and burning of Washington and the battle of Baltimore. Why cover this in such detail? Simply to highlight that the remains of the British land force commander, General Ross, rest in Halifax? He and his brigade came from Europe, while the naval vessels were from the Inshore Squadron, based in Bermuda. Its' commander, Rear Admiral George Cockburn suggested Ross make a dash for Washington and then enthusiastically pushed for the city to be torched, but what is the relevance of this to the relations between Nova Scotia and New England? Certainly, Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, commanding at Halifax, had his hand in the devastating raids conducted along the American coast, but this becomes lost by focusing on movements and tactics? Why not discuss the raids Cochrane ordered on New England that were supported by the provinces' governor, Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke? Nothing is said of Cochrane's cancellation of the licences that had made possible a lucrative coastal trade between New England, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

This problem continues with the discussion of the high seas war. Following an overview of naval events from 1793 to 1812, the focus remains on the action, noting American naval strength lay in "the three 44 gun super-frigates … as strong as British ships of the line and faster than any British 38 gun vessel, that seriously challenged the Royal Navy" (p. 30).  American frigates proved more heavily gunned than their nominal rating would suggest, but the lesson of the naval war on the high seas, and the effect on the region in particular, is missed. The Americans achieved several spectacular single-ship victories, but the British later gave as good as they got. Although the Royal Navy and the United States Navy had some 26 encounters on the high seas, they proved a draw. The spectacular events surrounding these duels are overshadowed the fact that the frigate war had little strategic importance. The real American success, at least according to Mahan, lay in the Americans forcing the Halifax squadron to concentrate, thus delaying the implementation of the blockade of the American coast in the early months of the war. The weakness of the blockade continued through 1812 and into 1813, with, one might assume implications on Nova Scotia - New England relations. But this is not discussed.

While these criticisms may not be appropriate for what is purportedly a popular history, they demonstrate the difficulties and dangers of this genre. Historians are often criticized for dry, academic prose and for repeating one another. While certain historians have a knack for turning a phrase that is so good that it must be quoted, over time their work can become less reliable or even dated. This is not their fault, just the reality that historical knowledge advances and as more sources are studied or reexamined in an effort to confirm earlier conclusions. Secondary sources are therefore a reflection of the state of the literature at a particular time and relying on them, without a solid understanding of the literature can be dangerous. Furthermore, while popular authors may be able to craft a readable, even exciting tale, they often achieve this by ensuring the facts do not get in the way of a good story. Having said that, there are popular authors who are capable of writing superb pieces of work.

While it is evident that Boileau made a careful read of his sources, Half-Hearted Enemies does not present the story of Nova Scotia and New England during the War of 1812. Rather it presents a series of vignettes dealing with various aspect of the war. The merit of the book lays with the examination of the prison on Melville Island and the fate of Black refugees that arrived in Nova Scotia. There is little said about New England or the manifestation of opposition to the war, while the Hartford Convention, which threatened secession of the New England states, is not even mentioned. The result is six chapters that give glimpses of the War of 1812 from the perspective of Nova Scotia and does not, as the publisher states on the jacket notes, of offer "a new perspective on a key period in Canadian British and U.S. history."



Reviewed by Major John R. Grodzinski, CD
-------------







It's about time Canada and Canadians learned about Canada's history..... seriously......used to have 7 libaries in our old house.... and all of it was Canadian..... and National Geographic; of course, and Maclean's etc...


Damn Yankees are trying to steal our victory in 1812
As plans are made to commemorate the War of 1812, the U.S. tries to re-write the ending

by Peter Shawn Taylor on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 11:00am - 73 Comments

Fanshawe Pioneer Village, London, Ont. (Colin O'Connor/Maclean's)

Meet Col. Joel Stone, Canada's newest hero of the War of 1812.

Born in Connecticut in 1749, Stone moved to Upper Canada during the tumult of the American Revolution and settled at Gananoque, in eastern Ontario along the St. Lawrence River, where he opened a sawmill and got himself appointed to a variety of government posts, including commander of the local militia. But his quiet life as a gentleman settler ended when the United States declared war in June 1812. Suddenly Col. Stone and his small community found themselves in the midst of the fight for Canada.

The St. Lawrence was the British army's sole supply route to Upper Canada and the Great Lakes. If the American military cut river access, the whole province, from Kingston to what is now Windsor, would inevitably fall to the invaders. If Canada was to exist as an independent country, Col. Stone and the Gananoque militia had to keep their part of this vital supply route open.


A challenge wasn't long in coming. On Sept. 21, 1812, in one of the first engagements of the war, a raiding party led by Capt. Benjamin Forsyth, and comprising 100 skilled riflemen from North Carolina and Virginia, attacked Gananoque in a night raid. Their aim: create havoc, control the river and starve the British army.

"Colonel Joel Stone, commanding the Gananoque militia, successfully defended Gananoque during the first raid into Canada by American troops from Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812," reads a recent release from the federal government, recollecting the efforts of Col. Stone and his men that night long ago. To commemorate this important but little-known battle, Ottawa is paying half of the $600,000 cost to build the Joel Stone Heritage Park-a tribute to "the founder of Gananoque and a local hero of the War of 1812."

With the bicentennial of the war fast approaching, Canadians can expect to hear a lot more about Col. Stone and many other familiar and unfamiliar names from the conflict. It's often said that Canada suffers from an excess of geography and a deficit of history, and so the anniversary is a rare and welcome opportunity for the entire country to celebrate a time of daunting heroes, dangerous invaders, grave perils and miraculous triumphs. Over the next three years, Ottawa is undertaking a massive campaign to remind everyone of the drama and importance of these 200-year-old stories. Expect plenty of period-dress re-enactments, well-publicized investments in existing historical sites, a new national war memorial at Parliament Hill and plenty of money for smaller local commemorations, like Col. Stone's park.

The defence of Canada between 1812 and 1814 should be seen as a foundational moment for modern Canada. What was a disparate group of recent immigrants spread across a broad and lonely frontier became, once the war was over, a burgeoning nation with a distinct Canadian identity. The War of 1812 is as significant to the birth of Canada as Confederation. And considerably more action-packed.

Yet if war is the continuance of politics by other means, the War of 1812 may well prove the opposite is true as well. Canada is not the only former combatant gearing up for the bicentennial. Our former adversaries, those rebellious and aggressive Americans, are planning their own commemorations, and with a different take on the war. They think they won.

If Canada intends to claim victory in the War of 1812 we're going to have to fight for it. All over again.

Often called the "forgotten war" by historians, the War of 1812 has, until now, occupied a rather small corner of the Canadian collective consciousness. Sir Isaac Brock and Laura Secord are well-known names, but largely because they've been appropriated for other purposes-a university and candy company. Keen history buffs may recall a few notable addresses, such as Queenston Heights, Crysler's Farm or Lundy's Lane, but these glimmers of recognition typically pale in comparison to the mighty nation-building narratives built around Confederation, the construction of the CPR or Vimy Ridge.

By the time James Moore, the federal heritage minister, is finished, however, he expects all Canadians to understand the war's importance. "Canadian identity was largely shaped by the War of 1812," says Moore. "It was a fight for Canada and the beginning of our independence."

Unusual for an historical event, the War of 1812 found itself a key plank in the federal Conservatives' recent election platform, which promised a new national memorial in Ottawa, proper interment for soldiers' remains from the battle of Stoney Creek, belated recognition of many Canadian militia units from the war and "hundreds of events and re-enactments across the country." Later this month, Moore will unveil a new federal secretariat to oversee an $11.5-million War of 1812 commemoration fund.

"This war leads directly to Confederation in 1867," Moore explains, ascribing the most basic characteristics of Canada-a constitutional monarchy, the preservation of a French-speaking Quebec, an accommodating native policy and our healthy economic and political relationship with the Americans-to the successful defence of Canada's borders. "We were invaded and we repulsed that invasion. Because of the War of 1812 we grew up to be uniquely Canadian."

Putting the heroes and storylines of the War of 1812 up on a national stage scratches a great many Conservative itches as well. It plays up the resurrected importance of the military in everyday Canadian life, emphasizes our ties to the British Crown and, according to Moore, strikes a blow against efforts of previous Liberal governments to define Canada as a series of modern Liberal accomplishments such as medicare and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "There is this leftist mythology that Canadian history began with the election of Pierre Trudeau and was solidified in 1982 with the signing of the Charter," he gripes. "That's utterly irresponsible. There is a Canadian identity that goes back much farther and we should be very proud of it."

The War of 1812 had its origins in a maritime conflict between America and Britain. The British practice of intercepting American shipping to enforce a blockade against Napoleon Bonaparte's Europe irked American pride and pushed Congress to declare war in June 1812. Britain was keen to avoid such a war, however, and immediately offered to rescind the practice. No matter, U.S. president James Madison authorized multiple invasions of Canada as the means to punish Britain. The main battle zone was to be Ontario, then called Upper Canada.

At the time war was declared, a majority of the 75,000 inhabitants in Upper Canada were recent American immigrants, lured across the border by cheap land and low taxes. Expecting to be greeted as compatriots and liberators, most Americans figured the conquest of Canada would be, to use former president Thomas Jefferson's memorable phrase, "a mere matter of marching."

Getting in the way of this walking holiday was the charismatic and energetic Gen. Brock. Facing invasion by a nation of 7.5 million, Brock had just 1,200 British troops and whatever help he could muster from natives and Canadian settlers to defend Upper Canada.

Despite these odds, Brock pulled off three stunning victories within the first few months of the war. He ordered the capture of the U.S. army outpost Fort Mackinac, at the strategic junction of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, before that garrison even knew war had been declared. Then he stunned the continent by bluffing a nervous U.S. Gen. William Hull into surrendering his entire army at Detroit without firing a shot. Two months later he died on the battlefield at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls, in the process of repelling another American force. Brock's boldness embarrassed the Americans, encouraged Britain's native allies to join the fight and rallied the population to the Union Jack.

The final two years of war proved much less invigorating, perhaps because Brock was no longer around. Each side traded victories and defeats in what became an increasingly bitter struggle. American forces burned Toronto, then called York, as well as Niagara-on-the-Lake. The British torched Buffalo, N.Y., and Washington, pillaged the width and breadth of Chesapeake Bay, and blockaded most of the eastern seaboard.

Significantly, though, every attempted incursion into Canada along the crucial St. Lawrence valley was turned aside, as much due to incompetent U.S. leadership and indifferent troops as to Canadian military prowess. Still, in 1813 a small force of Canadian-born soldiers under the command of Quebecer Charles de Salaberry defeated a far larger American army at Châteauguay, Que. This has become a signature moment in Canadian military mythology; Moore describes it as his favourite moment of the war.

By 1814, both sides were eager for peace. And yet the Treaty of Ghent, crafted on Christmas Eve 1814, was a curious agreement. All borders were left as they were prior to the war. And the original reason for the conflict, maritime law, wasn't mentioned. It was as if the war never happened. To underline the oddity of it all, the biggest and bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of New Orleans, occurred after the peace treaty had been signed.

This absence of a conclusive end to the war had its advantages for Canada. If Britain had kept northern Maine or the other bits of American territory it had captured by 1814, festering American resentment could have easily led to another war. Alternatively, if the War of 1812 had never happened, it's possible Canada might have been overrun by American settlers in the same manner the U.S. grabbed California from Mexico. As it was, the war solidified the existing border, Canadians began to think of themselves as different from their neighbours, and the two countries learned to get along. "Only once the war was over did the settlers really start to consider themselves as Canadian," remarks Alan Taylor, author of the recent political history of the conflict The Civil War of 1812.

This lack of a declared winner, however, has allowed the former combatants considerable licence in interpreting the war however they wish. History has always been subject to lively revision and prejudice, but the War of 1812 seems extraordinary in its diversity of interpretations.

Canadians, with the assistance of Ottawa, quite rightly tell themselves a story of how a few plucky British and Canadian soldiers fought off a massive American invasion and created for themselves a nation. It's David versus Goliath in the woods of Ontario and Quebec.

That's not a story likely to stir much interest south of the border. As aggressors who failed repeatedly in their attempts to conquer Canada, the war has always presented a dilemma for practised American mythmakers. "The land war has never played well in the U.S.," observes Taylor. "So it has been shunted to the side and ignored. For Americans, the 'real war' was fought on the high seas."

In declaring war on Britain, the U.S. put its six frigates up against the mighty 1,000-ship Royal Navy. And in the first few months of the war, this handful of ships scored several surprising one-on-one victories over British frigates. While these victories mattered little from a strategic point of view, they provided a competing David versus Goliath tale that has since allowed the U.S. to remember the entire conflict as a victory.

Stephen Budiansky is the author of last year's Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815, and typical of a long line of American writers who have picked up on this naval underdog narrative. The U.S. navy was the "unambiguous victor of the war," Budiansky writes. He further claims the Americans achieved everything they wanted in the war, evidence of the peace treaty be damned. "We stood up to the mightiest sea power on earth. And after it was over, the British never again tried to mess with American ships," he says in an interview. He then makes a rather bizarre analogy between the Vietnam War and the War of 1812, in which the Americans play the role of the Viet Cong. Whatever it takes to create a winner.

Of course, as Taylor notes, turning the War of 1812 into an American victory at sea requires ignoring everything that happened along the Canadian border. The origins of this national amnesia can be traced back to Theodore Roosevelt. Before he became president in 1901, Roosevelt wrote a celebrated history of the war that focused exclusively on those few American naval victories. Discussing the legendary Canadian defence at Châteauguay, for example, Roosevelt sniffed that "This affair . . . has been, absurdly enough, designated a 'battle' by most British and Canadian historians." Rather, he explained, it barely rated a "small skirmish." Defeat at Châteauguay? Never happened!

"The Americans have been getting away with this nonsense for two centuries," grouses Canadian historian Donald Graves, one of Canada's most prolific writers on the War of 1812. "In their version of the war, the fact that they got defeated doesn't even rate a mention."

This imperative to turn the War of 1812 into a victory for American audiences has carried through to upcoming bicentennial commemorations as well. Maryland has seized on the War of 1812 as a way to sell itself to tourists as the birthplace of the national anthem. Shortly after burning Washington, a British force attempted to take Baltimore, too. But after bombarding a nearby fort with a spectacular, but entirely ineffective, rocket attack, the British gave up. It was during this attack that poet Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the Star-Spangled Banner. A new Maryland promotional video claims this is the moment that "helps America win the war."

That claim proves something of an awkward moment for Bill Pencek, executive director of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission. "Did the U.S. really win the war? Not really," he admits when pressed. "It was more of a draw." Nonetheless, money must be raised and tourists attracted. And no one wants to celebrate a loser.

The same goes at New Orleans, where the 1815 battle is remembered today by the U.S. National Parks Service as proof of "American democracy triumphing over the old European ideas of aristocracy and entitlement."

And as might be expected, the U.S. Navy is also planning a big splash with the War of 1812, on par with its efforts in 1976 recognizing the American bicentennial. "Two hundred years ago we fought for free trade and sailors' rights," says Capt. Patrick Burns, director of the Office of Navy Commemorations. "And we are still doing that today." Capt. Burns emphasizes that both the Canadian and British navies are getting friendly invitations to attend the American ceremonies, although he adds with obvious enthusiasm: "That a six-frigate navy could take on the world's largest superpower at the time is just amazing."

Donald Hickey of Wayne State College in Nebraska is one of the few American historians to call the war a loss for the U.S. Nonetheless, he considers the conflict to be an opiate of history. "Everybody's happy with the outcome of the War of 1812," Hickey notes wryly. "Americans are happy because they think they won. Canadians are happier because they know they won. And the British are happiest of all because they've forgotten all about it."

In fact, British historians have recently risen to defend their national honour. In How Britain Won the War of 1812, author Brian Arthur argues that the British naval blockade strangled the American economy (no pennies were minted in 1815 because the country had ran out of copper) and forced Washington to sue for peace. "Britain won the war because the Americans simply ran out of money," he says. Of course this version also ignores the Canadian land war.

Against these entrenched positions, Canada does have one advantage. Of the three former combatant nations, only Canada's federal government is investing heavily to commemorate the war. Maryland is rare among states in giving it major play. Many historic sites in the former battle zones of New York and Michigan are facing budget cuts and layoffs due to financial stresses. And despite the efforts of the U.S. Navy, there is no U.S. federal office to recognize the war as there is in Canada. This gives us a rare opportunity to finally out-point our neighbours on North American history. "You already won the war once," quips Hickey. "Now you get to win it all over again."

Not that the Canadian government intends to rub it in. While promising to "make the most of this moment in Canadian history," Heritage Minister Moore promises to avoid gloating for fear of antagonizing our sensitive southern neighbours. "This is not a competition," he says of the upcoming commemorations. "One of the great outcomes of the war is the very healthy relationship we've had with the U.S. ever since it ended." Indeed, every press release from Ottawa regarding the War of 1812 includes at least one boilerplate reference "celebrating two centuries of peaceful coexistence with the United States."

Then again, if the Americans insist on imaginatively claiming they won the war, Canadians aren't above a little creative mythologizing of our own. Consider once more Col. Stone, recently honoured with a park by the federal government for "successfully defending" Gananoque from attack early in the war. The fact is, that's not exactly what happened on Sept. 21, 1812.

When American invaders waded ashore that night, Col. Stone was nowhere to be found. His leaderless militia fired one volley at the American raiders and then scampered into the woods, after which Capt. Forsyth's men set fire to the government storehouse, shot up Col. Stone's house (wounding Mrs. Stone, who was at home) and absconded with all the loot they could carry-30 barrels of flour, 12 prisoners, 41 muskets and a large supply of Stone's personal belongings. "They plundered the place pretty thoroughly," notes historian Taylor.

For the rest of the war, however, Col. Stone and his militia did keep the vital St. Lawrence supply route open for the most part. If his decidedly unsuccessful defence of Gananoque on Sept. 21, 1812 is remembered today by Ottawa as a triumph worth celebrating, it must be because history is written by the victors.







------




It's about time Canada and Canadians learned about Canada's history..... seriously......used to have 7 libaries in our old house.... and all of it was Canadian..... and National Geographic; of course, and Maclean's etc...


Damn Yankees are trying to steal our victory in 1812
As plans are made to commemorate the War of 1812, the U.S. tries to re-write the ending

by Peter Shawn Taylor on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 11:00am - 73 Comments

Fanshawe Pioneer Village, London, Ont. (Colin O'Connor/Maclean's)

Meet Col. Joel Stone, Canada's newest hero of the War of 1812.

Born in Connecticut in 1749, Stone moved to Upper Canada during the tumult of the American Revolution and settled at Gananoque, in eastern Ontario along the St. Lawrence River, where he opened a sawmill and got himself appointed to a variety of government posts, including commander of the local militia. But his quiet life as a gentleman settler ended when the United States declared war in June 1812. Suddenly Col. Stone and his small community found themselves in the midst of the fight for Canada.

The St. Lawrence was the British army's sole supply route to Upper Canada and the Great Lakes. If the American military cut river access, the whole province, from Kingston to what is now Windsor, would inevitably fall to the invaders. If Canada was to exist as an independent country, Col. Stone and the Gananoque militia had to keep their part of this vital supply route open.


A challenge wasn't long in coming. On Sept. 21, 1812, in one of the first engagements of the war, a raiding party led by Capt. Benjamin Forsyth, and comprising 100 skilled riflemen from North Carolina and Virginia, attacked Gananoque in a night raid. Their aim: create havoc, control the river and starve the British army.

"Colonel Joel Stone, commanding the Gananoque militia, successfully defended Gananoque during the first raid into Canada by American troops from Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812," reads a recent release from the federal government, recollecting the efforts of Col. Stone and his men that night long ago. To commemorate this important but little-known battle, Ottawa is paying half of the $600,000 cost to build the Joel Stone Heritage Park-a tribute to "the founder of Gananoque and a local hero of the War of 1812."

With the bicentennial of the war fast approaching, Canadians can expect to hear a lot more about Col. Stone and many other familiar and unfamiliar names from the conflict. It's often said that Canada suffers from an excess of geography and a deficit of history, and so the anniversary is a rare and welcome opportunity for the entire country to celebrate a time of daunting heroes, dangerous invaders, grave perils and miraculous triumphs. Over the next three years, Ottawa is undertaking a massive campaign to remind everyone of the drama and importance of these 200-year-old stories. Expect plenty of period-dress re-enactments, well-publicized investments in existing historical sites, a new national war memorial at Parliament Hill and plenty of money for smaller local commemorations, like Col. Stone's park.

The defence of Canada between 1812 and 1814 should be seen as a foundational moment for modern Canada. What was a disparate group of recent immigrants spread across a broad and lonely frontier became, once the war was over, a burgeoning nation with a distinct Canadian identity. The War of 1812 is as significant to the birth of Canada as Confederation. And considerably more action-packed.

Yet if war is the continuance of politics by other means, the War of 1812 may well prove the opposite is true as well. Canada is not the only former combatant gearing up for the bicentennial. Our former adversaries, those rebellious and aggressive Americans, are planning their own commemorations, and with a different take on the war. They think they won.

If Canada intends to claim victory in the War of 1812 we're going to have to fight for it. All over again.

Often called the "forgotten war" by historians, the War of 1812 has, until now, occupied a rather small corner of the Canadian collective consciousness. Sir Isaac Brock and Laura Secord are well-known names, but largely because they've been appropriated for other purposes-a university and candy company. Keen history buffs may recall a few notable addresses, such as Queenston Heights, Crysler's Farm or Lundy's Lane, but these glimmers of recognition typically pale in comparison to the mighty nation-building narratives built around Confederation, the construction of the CPR or Vimy Ridge.

By the time James Moore, the federal heritage minister, is finished, however, he expects all Canadians to understand the war's importance. "Canadian identity was largely shaped by the War of 1812," says Moore. "It was a fight for Canada and the beginning of our independence."

Unusual for an historical event, the War of 1812 found itself a key plank in the federal Conservatives' recent election platform, which promised a new national memorial in Ottawa, proper interment for soldiers' remains from the battle of Stoney Creek, belated recognition of many Canadian militia units from the war and "hundreds of events and re-enactments across the country." Later this month, Moore will unveil a new federal secretariat to oversee an $11.5-million War of 1812 commemoration fund.

"This war leads directly to Confederation in 1867," Moore explains, ascribing the most basic characteristics of Canada-a constitutional monarchy, the preservation of a French-speaking Quebec, an accommodating native policy and our healthy economic and political relationship with the Americans-to the successful defence of Canada's borders. "We were invaded and we repulsed that invasion. Because of the War of 1812 we grew up to be uniquely Canadian."

Putting the heroes and storylines of the War of 1812 up on a national stage scratches a great many Conservative itches as well. It plays up the resurrected importance of the military in everyday Canadian life, emphasizes our ties to the British Crown and, according to Moore, strikes a blow against efforts of previous Liberal governments to define Canada as a series of modern Liberal accomplishments such as medicare and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "There is this leftist mythology that Canadian history began with the election of Pierre Trudeau and was solidified in 1982 with the signing of the Charter," he gripes. "That's utterly irresponsible. There is a Canadian identity that goes back much farther and we should be very proud of it."

The War of 1812 had its origins in a maritime conflict between America and Britain. The British practice of intercepting American shipping to enforce a blockade against Napoleon Bonaparte's Europe irked American pride and pushed Congress to declare war in June 1812. Britain was keen to avoid such a war, however, and immediately offered to rescind the practice. No matter, U.S. president James Madison authorized multiple invasions of Canada as the means to punish Britain. The main battle zone was to be Ontario, then called Upper Canada.

At the time war was declared, a majority of the 75,000 inhabitants in Upper Canada were recent American immigrants, lured across the border by cheap land and low taxes. Expecting to be greeted as compatriots and liberators, most Americans figured the conquest of Canada would be, to use former president Thomas Jefferson's memorable phrase, "a mere matter of marching."

Getting in the way of this walking holiday was the charismatic and energetic Gen. Brock. Facing invasion by a nation of 7.5 million, Brock had just 1,200 British troops and whatever help he could muster from natives and Canadian settlers to defend Upper Canada.

Despite these odds, Brock pulled off three stunning victories within the first few months of the war. He ordered the capture of the U.S. army outpost Fort Mackinac, at the strategic junction of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, before that garrison even knew war had been declared. Then he stunned the continent by bluffing a nervous U.S. Gen. William Hull into surrendering his entire army at Detroit without firing a shot. Two months later he died on the battlefield at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls, in the process of repelling another American force. Brock's boldness embarrassed the Americans, encouraged Britain's native allies to join the fight and rallied the population to the Union Jack.

The final two years of war proved much less invigorating, perhaps because Brock was no longer around. Each side traded victories and defeats in what became an increasingly bitter struggle. American forces burned Toronto, then called York, as well as Niagara-on-the-Lake. The British torched Buffalo, N.Y., and Washington, pillaged the width and breadth of Chesapeake Bay, and blockaded most of the eastern seaboard.

Significantly, though, every attempted incursion into Canada along the crucial St. Lawrence valley was turned aside, as much due to incompetent U.S. leadership and indifferent troops as to Canadian military prowess. Still, in 1813 a small force of Canadian-born soldiers under the command of Quebecer Charles de Salaberry defeated a far larger American army at Châteauguay, Que. This has become a signature moment in Canadian military mythology; Moore describes it as his favourite moment of the war.

By 1814, both sides were eager for peace. And yet the Treaty of Ghent, crafted on Christmas Eve 1814, was a curious agreement. All borders were left as they were prior to the war. And the original reason for the conflict, maritime law, wasn't mentioned. It was as if the war never happened. To underline the oddity of it all, the biggest and bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of New Orleans, occurred after the peace treaty had been signed.

This absence of a conclusive end to the war had its advantages for Canada. If Britain had kept northern Maine or the other bits of American territory it had captured by 1814, festering American resentment could have easily led to another war. Alternatively, if the War of 1812 had never happened, it's possible Canada might have been overrun by American settlers in the same manner the U.S. grabbed California from Mexico. As it was, the war solidified the existing border, Canadians began to think of themselves as different from their neighbours, and the two countries learned to get along. "Only once the war was over did the settlers really start to consider themselves as Canadian," remarks Alan Taylor, author of the recent political history of the conflict The Civil War of 1812.

This lack of a declared winner, however, has allowed the former combatants considerable licence in interpreting the war however they wish. History has always been subject to lively revision and prejudice, but the War of 1812 seems extraordinary in its diversity of interpretations.

Canadians, with the assistance of Ottawa, quite rightly tell themselves a story of how a few plucky British and Canadian soldiers fought off a massive American invasion and created for themselves a nation. It's David versus Goliath in the woods of Ontario and Quebec.

That's not a story likely to stir much interest south of the border. As aggressors who failed repeatedly in their attempts to conquer Canada, the war has always presented a dilemma for practised American mythmakers. "The land war has never played well in the U.S.," observes Taylor. "So it has been shunted to the side and ignored. For Americans, the 'real war' was fought on the high seas."

In declaring war on Britain, the U.S. put its six frigates up against the mighty 1,000-ship Royal Navy. And in the first few months of the war, this handful of ships scored several surprising one-on-one victories over British frigates. While these victories mattered little from a strategic point of view, they provided a competing David versus Goliath tale that has since allowed the U.S. to remember the entire conflict as a victory.

Stephen Budiansky is the author of last year's Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815, and typical of a long line of American writers who have picked up on this naval underdog narrative. The U.S. navy was the "unambiguous victor of the war," Budiansky writes. He further claims the Americans achieved everything they wanted in the war, evidence of the peace treaty be damned. "We stood up to the mightiest sea power on earth. And after it was over, the British never again tried to mess with American ships," he says in an interview. He then makes a rather bizarre analogy between the Vietnam War and the War of 1812, in which the Americans play the role of the Viet Cong. Whatever it takes to create a winner.

Of course, as Taylor notes, turning the War of 1812 into an American victory at sea requires ignoring everything that happened along the Canadian border. The origins of this national amnesia can be traced back to Theodore Roosevelt. Before he became president in 1901, Roosevelt wrote a celebrated history of the war that focused exclusively on those few American naval victories. Discussing the legendary Canadian defence at Châteauguay, for example, Roosevelt sniffed that "This affair . . . has been, absurdly enough, designated a 'battle' by most British and Canadian historians." Rather, he explained, it barely rated a "small skirmish." Defeat at Châteauguay? Never happened!

"The Americans have been getting away with this nonsense for two centuries," grouses Canadian historian Donald Graves, one of Canada's most prolific writers on the War of 1812. "In their version of the war, the fact that they got defeated doesn't even rate a mention."

This imperative to turn the War of 1812 into a victory for American audiences has carried through to upcoming bicentennial commemorations as well. Maryland has seized on the War of 1812 as a way to sell itself to tourists as the birthplace of the national anthem. Shortly after burning Washington, a British force attempted to take Baltimore, too. But after bombarding a nearby fort with a spectacular, but entirely ineffective, rocket attack, the British gave up. It was during this attack that poet Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the Star-Spangled Banner. A new Maryland promotional video claims this is the moment that "helps America win the war."

That claim proves something of an awkward moment for Bill Pencek, executive director of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission. "Did the U.S. really win the war? Not really," he admits when pressed. "It was more of a draw." Nonetheless, money must be raised and tourists attracted. And no one wants to celebrate a loser.

The same goes at New Orleans, where the 1815 battle is remembered today by the U.S. National Parks Service as proof of "American democracy triumphing over the old European ideas of aristocracy and entitlement."

And as might be expected, the U.S. Navy is also planning a big splash with the War of 1812, on par with its efforts in 1976 recognizing the American bicentennial. "Two hundred years ago we fought for free trade and sailors' rights," says Capt. Patrick Burns, director of the Office of Navy Commemorations. "And we are still doing that today." Capt. Burns emphasizes that both the Canadian and British navies are getting friendly invitations to attend the American ceremonies, although he adds with obvious enthusiasm: "That a six-frigate navy could take on the world's largest superpower at the time is just amazing."

Donald Hickey of Wayne State College in Nebraska is one of the few American historians to call the war a loss for the U.S. Nonetheless, he considers the conflict to be an opiate of history. "Everybody's happy with the outcome of the War of 1812," Hickey notes wryly. "Americans are happy because they think they won. Canadians are happier because they know they won. And the British are happiest of all because they've forgotten all about it."

In fact, British historians have recently risen to defend their national honour. In How Britain Won the War of 1812, author Brian Arthur argues that the British naval blockade strangled the American economy (no pennies were minted in 1815 because the country had ran out of copper) and forced Washington to sue for peace. "Britain won the war because the Americans simply ran out of money," he says. Of course this version also ignores the Canadian land war.

Against these entrenched positions, Canada does have one advantage. Of the three former combatant nations, only Canada's federal government is investing heavily to commemorate the war. Maryland is rare among states in giving it major play. Many historic sites in the former battle zones of New York and Michigan are facing budget cuts and layoffs due to financial stresses. And despite the efforts of the U.S. Navy, there is no U.S. federal office to recognize the war as there is in Canada. This gives us a rare opportunity to finally out-point our neighbours on North American history. "You already won the war once," quips Hickey. "Now you get to win it all over again."

Not that the Canadian government intends to rub it in. While promising to "make the most of this moment in Canadian history," Heritage Minister Moore promises to avoid gloating for fear of antagonizing our sensitive southern neighbours. "This is not a competition," he says of the upcoming commemorations. "One of the great outcomes of the war is the very healthy relationship we've had with the U.S. ever since it ended." Indeed, every press release from Ottawa regarding the War of 1812 includes at least one boilerplate reference "celebrating two centuries of peaceful coexistence with the United States."

Then again, if the Americans insist on imaginatively claiming they won the war, Canadians aren't above a little creative mythologizing of our own. Consider once more Col. Stone, recently honoured with a park by the federal government for "successfully defending" Gananoque from attack early in the war. The fact is, that's not exactly what happened on Sept. 21, 1812.

When American invaders waded ashore that night, Col. Stone was nowhere to be found. His leaderless militia fired one volley at the American raiders and then scampered into the woods, after which Capt. Forsyth's men set fire to the government storehouse, shot up Col. Stone's house (wounding Mrs. Stone, who was at home) and absconded with all the loot they could carry-30 barrels of flour, 12 prisoners, 41 muskets and a large supply of Stone's personal belongings. "They plundered the place pretty thoroughly," notes historian Taylor.

For the rest of the war, however, Col. Stone and his militia did keep the vital St. Lawrence supply route open for the most part. If his decidedly unsuccessful defence of Gananoque on Sept. 21, 1812 is remembered today by Ottawa as a triumph worth celebrating, it must be because history is written by the victors.




-------


CANADA WAR 1812-   NOVA SCOTIA

Photographs of
Deadman's Island
(actually a peninsula, not an island)

War of 1812
1812 - 1814
Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450 people from
around the world...prisoners of war...quarantine patients...
refugees...brought to Melville Island to be housed by
the Royal Navy...a considerable number died...
- Debate, Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004





Northwest Arm
Halifax
Nova Scotia

GPS location
Entrance:   44°38'00"N   63°36'33"W
Memorial:   44°38'05"N   63°36'41"W







Photographed on 31 May 2005
the day after the official commemorative ceremony
on United States Memorial Day 2005





The view from Deadman's Island looking toward Melville Island
Photographed on 31 May 2005





Photographed at high tide on 31 May 2005





Photographed on 26 December 2003


"2.5 acres of forlorn bogland surmounted by a spruce knoll"
- Boston Globe, 12 May 2000




Photographed on 28 September 2004





Entrance to Deadman's Island, Pinehaven Drive
Photographed on 31 May 2005





Entrance to Deadman's Island, Pinehaven Drive
Photographed on 26 December 2003





Improving the entrance to Deadman's Island
Photographed on 13 May 2005


Links to Relevant Websites
Deadman's Island
Old war's victims forgotten no longer:
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe page A01 (front page), 12 May 2000
What started as a very local controversy over this land became a
history lesson that reverberated on both sides of the border...
US veterans groups and historical societies got wind of the island's
past, and they were soon pressing Congress, Canada's ambassador, and
the US State Department to protect Deadman's Island. The Sons of the
American Revolution passed a resolution that "any desecration of
this sacred place would dishonor the memory of these patriots"...
    http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Old war's victims forgotten no longer
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
Boston Globe, 12 May 2000

Archived: 2000 September 02
http://web.archive.org/web/20000902095607/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2001 August 20
http://web.archive.org/web/20010820100340/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2002 October 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20021021012014/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2003 December 11
http://web.archive.org/web/20031211131128/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2004 September 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20040905090314/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2005 June 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20050619083931/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2006 April 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20060405112425/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2007 February 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20070205075311/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2008 January 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20080116024233/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Old war's victims forgotten no longer: Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe Staff, 12 May 2000
[another copy of the above item]
    http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/BOWIE/2000-05/0958305382




City Buys Deadman's Island
Halifax NovaNewsNet, 14 February 2000
    http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
City Buys Deadman's Island
NovaNewsNet Digest, 14 February 2000

Archived: 2002 July 23
http://web.archive.org/web/20020723190406/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

Archived: 2003 May 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20030521141458/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Internet alerted American 'War of 1812' buffs of fallen brethren
Halifax NovaNewsNet, 14 February 2000
    http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Internet alerted American 'War of 1812' buffs
of fallen brethren
NovaNewsNet Digest, 14 February 2000

Archived: 2002 July 23
http://web.archive.org/web/20020723190406/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm#link3

Archived: 2003 May 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20030521141458/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm#link3

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Monument Created for N.S. Burial Ground of U.S. PoWs from War of 1812
On 30 May 2005, a colour party from the USS USS Constitution,
the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat, took part in
a ceremony on a tiny island at Halifax...
    http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/050530/n0530141A.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Monument Created for N.S. Burial Ground
of U.S. PoWs from War of 1812

Archived: 2006 January 04
http://web.archive.org/web/20060104125150/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/
      National/050530/n0530141A.html

Archived: 2006 May 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20060516162915/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/
      National/050530/n0530141A.html

Archived: 2007 March 14
http://web.archive.org/web/20070314024801/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/
      National/050530/n0530141A.html

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Deadman's Island monument honours War of 1812 POWs
Trident: Maritime Forces Atlantic newspaper, 13 June 2005
    http://tridentnews.ca/Portals/0/pdfarchives/2005/jun13_2005.pdf



Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead
Intelligencer-Journal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 30 May 2005
    http://ap.lancasteronline.com/4/canada_us_memorial

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead
Intelligencer-Journal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 30 May 2005

Archived: 2006 January 14
http://web.archive.org/web/20060114110852/http://ap.lancasteronline.com/
      4/canada_us_memorial

Archived: 2006 February 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20060219025707/http://ap.lancasteronline.com/
      4/canada_us_memorial

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead
Calkins Newspapers Inc., Levittown, Pennsylvania
The Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer,
The Record and the Burlington County Times
    http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/articlePrint.cfm?id=496195



War of 1812 U.S. PoWs Honoured in N.S.
    http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/05/30/1063516-cp.html



Nova Scotia Honours Graves of U.S. PoWs - 1800-1815
    http://genforum.genealogy.com/warof1812/messages/4624.html



HRM News Release: Ceremony to Commemorate U.S. Military Prisoners
20 April 2005
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/
        050420DeadmansIsland.html



HRM News Release:
"Old Ironsides" Colour Party to Attend Commemorative Ceremony
12 May 2005
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/
        050512DeadmanIslandCeremony.html



HRM News Release: Commemorative Ceremony for Unmarked Graves
24 May 2005
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/
        050524DeadmansIslandCeremony.html



HRM Notice to Editors: Commemorative ceremony on Memorial Day
(Monday, May 30, 2005) for the close to 200 American War of 1812
prisoners who died while imprisoned at Halifax, Nova Scotia
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/
      pr2005/050526DeadmanIslandnoticetoeditors.html




Deadman's Island, by Harrison Scott Baker II
President (1996-1999), War of 1812 Society in the State of Ohio
    http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Deadman's Island, by Harrison Scott Baker II
President (1996-1999), War of 1812 Society in the State of Ohi

Archived: 2000 Oct 31   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20001031112824/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2000 Dec 10   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20001210172700/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

Archived: 2001 Nov 23   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20011123115409/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2002 Apr 15   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20020415050802/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

Archived: 2002 Jun 16   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20020616211814/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2003 Mar 17   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20030317224057/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2004 Feb 24   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20040224033730/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2004 Aug 06   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20040806182603/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htmp

Archived: 2005 Apr 03   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20050403164903/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2006 Mar 04   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20060304102100/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

Archived: 2006 Jun 20   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20060620021447/http://udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2007 Aug 05   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20070805210146/http://udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2007 Oct 23   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20071023233040/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Where Dead Men Sleep: Halifax's newest park
by Kelly Shiers, Halifax Sunday Herald, 30 November 2003
    http://www.halifaxherald.com/stories/2003/11/30/fYourTime184.raw.html

The Wayback Machine has an archived copy of:
Where Dead Men Sleep: Halifax's newest park
Halifax Sunday Herald, 30 November 2003

Archived: 2003 December 23
http://web.archive.org/web/20031223130243/http://
    www.halifaxherald.com/stories/2003/11/30/fYourTime184.raw.html

This link was accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Deadman's Island S. S. G. S. News, 20 March 2000
South Shore Genealogical Society
The battle for an historical North West Arm site is finally over.
The Halifax Regional Municipality has reached an agreement to purchase
the peninsula known as Deadman's Island. The Deadman's story caught
the eye of an influential newspaper in the US because as many as
188 American prisoners of war likely were buried on the woody knoll
during the War of 1812. About 8,000 Amerrican soldiers captured during
the War of 1812 served time in the Melville Island military prison...
    http://www.rootsweb.com/~nslssgs/newsmar0.htm



Graves on Development Site S. S. G. S. News, July 1998
South Shore Genealogical Society
After a preliminary survey of the site, an independent archaeologist
concluded it might contain 35 burial sites. "There was little doubt that
Deadman's Island was used as a burying ground from the early-to-mid-19th
century," he wrote in his report, which indicates that from 1804 to
at least 1856, Deadmans Island was a likely burial site for French and
American prisoners of war, refugee blacks from America, Irish and European
immigrants, and British military prisoners...
    http://www.rootsweb.com/~nslssgs/newsjul8.htm



Melville Island by Iris Shea
originally published in the Lake Erie Ledger, October 1998
...Melville Island Prison became "home" to more than 8000 Americans
between 1812 and 1815, 1, 200 of whom served with the US Army Land Forces.
The prison became a place of death for more than 100 American prisoners.
A burial ground nearby, now known as Deadman's Island, may contain the
remains of those Americans. No longer an island, nor is there evidence
it ever was an island, Deadman's Island is actually a peninsula situated
on the shores of the North West Arm in Halifax, Nova Scotia, within
a stone's throw of Melville Island...



Deadman's Island in Jeopardy Summer 1998
    http://www.mcnabsisland.ca/RuckSack/RS7_Summer1998.htm#Island



Deadman's Island by Mike Campbell
...The people of Halifax purchased the property in the year 2000 to protect
its special significance as a war grave and local historic site...Members of
the 164th Civil Engineering Squadron, Memphis, Tennessee Air National Guard
were working with Canadian colleagues on joint exercises in Nova Scotia when
they learned of the grave site. On June 23, 2000, they went to the site and
installed 188 small American POW/MIA flags...
    http://www.mikecampbell.net/deadmansisland.htm



Deadman's Island NovaNewsNet Digest for Feb. 10, 2000
Halifax Regional Council has agreed to buy Deadman's Island on Halifax's
Northwest Arm. Halifax Regional Municipality will pay $200,000 for the island,
which is the graveyard of historic Melville Island prison. There may be up
to 400 soldiers buried on the island, most of them American PoWs captured by
British Forces during the War of 1812. Deadman's Island has been the subject
of several development proposals, including a plan in 1998 for a 60-unit
apartment building...
    http://lists.spine.cx/archives/nnn/2000-February/000015.html


Deadman's Island in Hansard
Deadman's Island: Nova Scotia Legislature, 26 May 1998
Resolution No. 114: Whereas the proposed development
of Deadmans Island in the Northwest Arm has aroused opposition...
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/
        han57-1/h98may26.htm#[Page%20182]



Deadman's Island: Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004
...We asked the question, why is it called Deadmans Island, did the research,
and although the City of Halifax felt that it was not worth the designation of
heritage and the province by extension because of somewhat weak municipal
heritage laws, although that was not worthy of designation as heritage, at the
moment the American Foreign Legion is preparing to erect a monument there.
The French Government is interested and the Spanish Government is
interested, as well, because Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450
- I won't break it down for you - people from around the world, because
people from around the world at different times, either as prisoners, as
quarantine patients, or as refugees, were brought to Melville Island to be
housed by the Royal Navy, either as prisoners or receiving sanctuary and of
those people, a good number died.  Those people were buried in unmarked
graves on Deadman's Island, a place not worthy of heritage designation.
Luckily, that much at least is now being corrected, but it is as a result of the
pressure of governments from outside this province...
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/
        han59-1/house_04apr29.htm#H[Page%202886]


War of 1812: Battles at Sea
War of 1812: The War on the Waters
...In only one case, that of HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake did the
British prevail, and the victor brought the unfortunate Chesapeake
to Halifax harbour...
    http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/13/h13-5010-e.html



American Vessels Captured by the British American Revolution and War of 1812
Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, Nova Scotia
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/halifax_prizes.html



American Vessels Captured by the British
A list of American prizes recorded on the Halifax station
American Revolution and War of 1812
(These webpages only cover ship's names beginning with the letter A)
Prize List A1
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/prize_A.html
Prize List A2
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/prize_A2.html
Prize List A3
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/prize_A3.html



The Standing Interrogatories
The 32 questions listed here are the Standing Interrogatories which were
used in the War of 1812.  They are the questions which were put to the
captured crew of a prize vessel and give a good indication of the range of
material which can be found in Prize court records.  To be administered
on behalf of Our Sovereign Lord George the Third... To all Commanders,
Masters, Officers, mariners, and other Persons found on board any Ships
and Vessels, which may have been, or shall be seized or taken as Prize by
any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels... examined as Witnesses in
preparatory during the present hostilities with the United States of
America.  Let each witness be interrogated to every of the following
Questions; and their answers to each Interrogatory written down...
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/interrog.html



The Canadian Privateering Homepage by Dan Conlin
    http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~jacktar/privateering.html



Prince of Neufchatel, American Privateer in the War of 1812
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/princeINDEX.html



Overview: American Privateer, Prince of Neufchatel
...The American frigates were bigger, faster, tougher, and more lethal
than their British counterparts and could defeat them in one-on-one conflict.
However, British numbers were far superior, and a British blockade eventually
tied the frigates up in harbor...
    http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/
        life/war1812/privateer/overview.htm



William James
A writer on naval history, William James was from 1801 to 1813 enrolled
among the attorneys of the supreme court of Jamaica, and practised as a
proctor in the vice-admiralty court.  In 1812 he was in the United States,
and on the declaration of war with England was detained as a prisoner.
After several month's captivity he effected his escape, and reached Halifax
towards the end of 1813...In March 1816 he published a pamphlet entitled
"An Inquiry into the Merits of the Principal Naval Actions between
Great Britain and the United States"...The excitement which the pamphlet
caused both in Nova Scotia and the States was considerable...
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/james.html





The information below was compiled
by William James
from contemporary accounts



Naval Actions

USS Constitution
 HMS Guerriere
 19 August 1812

USS Wasp
 HMS Frolic
 18 September 1812

USS United-States
 HMS Macedonian
 25 October 1812

USS Constitution
 HMS Java
 28 December 1812

USS Hornet
 HMS Peacock
 24 February 1813

USS Chesapeake
 HMS Shannon
 1 June 1813

USS Argus
 HMS Pelican
 14 August 1813

USS Enterprise
 HMS Boxer
 5 September 1813

USS Essex
 HMS Phoebe
 28 March 1814

USS Frolic
 HMS Orpheus
 20 April 1814

USS Peacock
 HMS Epervier
 29 April 1814

USS Wasp
 HMS Reindeer
 28 June 1814

USS Wasp
 HMS Avon
 1 September 1814

USS President
 HMS Endymion
 15 January 1815

USS Constitution
 HMS Levant & Cyane
 20 February 1815

USS Hornet
 HMS Penguin
 23 March 1815

USS Peacock
 HEICS Nautilus
 30 June 1815

HEIC: Honourable East India Company
HMS: His Majesty's Ship
USS: United States Ship

  
Privateer Actions

Saratoga
 Rachel
 11 December 1812

Decatur
 HMS Dominica
 5 August 1813

Chasseur
 HMS St. Lawrence
 26 February 1815





Events of the War of 1812: A Chronology compiled by Robert Henderson
    http://www.warof1812.ca/1812events.htm

Chapter 6: The War of 1812 American Military History, Army Historical Series
Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army
To Great Britain the War of 1812 was simply a burdensome adjunct of its
greater struggle against Napoleonic France.  To the Canadians it was
clearly a case of naked American aggression.  But to the Americans it
was neither simple nor clear.  The United States entered the war with
confused objectives and divided loyalties...
    http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/amh/AMH-06.htm



War of 1812: Official Documents
International Treaties, etc.
A Provisional Agreement, for the Exchange of Naval Prisoners of War
November 28, 1812
by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
The Government of the United States of America having sent to Halifax
JOHN MITCHELL, Esquire, late Consul of the United States of America at
St. Jago de Cuba, to act as Agent on the Part of the United States of
America, for the purpose of adjusting with the Admiral Commanding at
Halifax and the West-Indies the Exchange of Prisoners taken at sea;
And His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir JOHN BORLASE WARREN,
a Privy Counsellor in the United Kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland,
Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Knight of the Crescent,
Admiral of the Blue, and Commander in Chief of all His Majesty's Ships
of War stationed on the coasts of North America and the West-Indies,
having appointed RICHARD JOHN UNIACKE, Esquire, a Member of the
Honourable His Majesty's Council, and the Attorney and Advocate General
of His Majesty for the Province of Nova-Scotia, and WILLIAM MILLER,
Esquire, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and Agent for Prisoners of War
at Halifax, as Agents to treat with the said JOHN MITCHELL on the part
of His Majesty's Government for the Exchange of such of His Majesty's
Subjects as have been or may hereafter be captured at sea, by the public
or private Ships of War belonging to the United States of America, for
the American Prisoners which have been or hereafter may be taken at sea
by His Majesty's Ships of War and Privateers; and the said Agents having
met and discussed the Matters to them referred, have agreed upon the
following Articles...
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/cartpre.htm

Cartel for the Exchange of Prisoners of War Between Great Britain and
the United States of America May 12, 1813
by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
The Provisional agreement for the exchange of naval prisoners of war,
made and concluded at Halifax in the province of Nova Scotia on the
28th day of November 1812 between the Honourable Richard John Uniacke
His Britannic Majestys attorney and advocate General for the province
of Nova Scotia and William Miller Esquire Lieutenant in the Royal navy
and agent for Prisoners of War at Halifax; and John Mitchell Esquire
late consul of the united states at St Jago de Cuba, american agent
for Prisoners of war at Halifax, having been transmitted to the
Department of state of the United States for approval and John Mason
Esquire Commissary General for Prisoners for the United States having
been duely authorised to meet Thomas Barclay Esquire his Britanic
Majestys agent for Prisoners of war and for carrying on an exchange
of Prisoners for the purpose of considering and revising the said
provisional agreement and the articles of the said agreement having
been by them considered and discussed-it has been agreed by the said
Thomas Barclay and John Mason subject to the ratification of both
their governments that the said provisional agreement shall be so
altered and revised as to stand expressed in the following words...

    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/cart1812.htm

Decision of the Commissioners under Article 4 of the Treaty of Ghent,
signed at New York November 24, 1817
by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
Commissioners, appointed by virtue of the fourth Article of the
Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and The
United States of America concluded at Ghent on the twenty fourth
day of december One Thousand eight hundred and fourteen to decide
to which of the two Contracting parties to the said Treaty the
several Islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy which is part of the
Bay of Fundy and the Island of Grand Menan in the said Bay of Fundy
do respectively belong in conformity with the true intent of the
second Article of the Treaty of Peace of One Thousand seven hundred
and eighty three between His said Britannic Majesty and the
aforesaid United States of America...
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/ghentcom.htm



War of 1812
Records Relating to
American Prisoners of War
Records Relating to American Prisoners of War, (1812-1815)
eleven microfilm reels
Special Collections Division, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri -
The records relating to Americans taken prisoner by British forces
during the War of 1812 form a portion of the Admiralty records in the
Public Records Office. The largest group of material is Medical Department:
Registers. This consists of ledgers of information on American
prisoners-of-war for prison ships and depots. The records were generated
in the process of receiving and housing prisoners and monitoring their
passage through the prison system. The ledgers recorded prisoners by
number, name, place of birth, age, and physical attributes. They also
recorded how the prisoners were taken, time and place of capture,
ship from which prisoners were taken, supplies issued, and disposition
of the prisoners. American prisoners were detained in
England (8 locations), Canada (3 locations), Bermuda, New Providence,
Barbadoes, Jamaica, Gibraltar, Malta, and Cape of Good Hope.
    http://system.missouri.edu/spec/britrecmf.htm





http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/deadmansnd.html


------------------


DUAL CITIZENSHIP CANADA

Dual Citizenship
Canada and the UK accept dual citizenship (also called “dual nationality”). A person may hold both citizenships and may carry both British and Canadian passports if they so desire.
A Canadian citizen may retain Canadian citizenship, unless (s)he voluntarily applies to renounce it and the application has been approved by the citizenship judge.
The present Act makes it possible to have two or more citizenships and allegiances at the same time for an indefinite period.
Additional details can be found in the Dual Citizenship section of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.


LIVING/WORKING ABROAD- Canada

Living abroad – A Canadian's guide to working, studying, volunteering or retiring in a foreign country
Contents
Introduction
Before leaving Canada
While living abroad
Coming back to Canada
Other formats
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Living Abroad
Introduction
The world beyond our borders is home to about three million Canadians. Like you, they each have their own reasons for choosing to live in a foreign land, whether to work, study, volunteer, retire or pursue other opportunities. Residing abroad – either permanently or temporarily – can be a rich and rewarding experience.
It can also be challenging, particularly if you move to another country based on a dream, without considering the risks and responsibilities. The decision to leave familiar surroundings and adapt to another social and cultural environment should not be taken lightly. It requires thorough research, knowledge and planning. The better prepared you are before leaving Canada, the better your experience abroad will be.
The Government of Canada assists thousands of Canadians residing in foreign countries each year. With more than 260 offices in 150 countries worldwide – plus an Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa – we’re at your service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. While there are limits to the help we can give you, we offer a vast range of consular services, from replacing lost passports and sharing information on local laws to lending support during natural disasters and medical emergencies.
We’re well aware of the challenges you’ll face while living abroad. That’s why we’ve developed this booklet to help you:
inform and prepare yourself before leaving Canada;
take care of yourself and your loved ones while abroad;
know what to do if things don’t work out as expected; and
plan for your eventual return.
Questions about foreign travel?
Is it safe to go there?
Could I get sick?
Who can I contact for emergency help?
Can the Government of Canada get me out of a foreign jail?
What should I do if I lose my passport?
Do I have to pay taxes on foreign income?
What can I bring back to Canada?
Answers: Travel.gc.ca
We urge you to read this booklet as well as our main publication, Bon voyage, but… essential information for Canadian travellers. Also be sure to visit Travel.gc.ca – your official source of information on international travel. And have a safe, healthy and happy stay abroad!
Before leaving Canada
Complete a risk assessment
It’s important to consider not only the rewards but also the risks of relocating abroad. Be sure to complete a risk assessment of each possible host country in order to identify a safe and suitable destination. If you’re daunted by the perils and inconveniences of a particular destination, then rule it out.
A risk assessment will pinpoint concerns you should be aware of, such as safety and security, health conditions and the political, economic, cultural and natural environment, as well as precautions you can take. For example:
Some countries experience continuing wars, insurgencies and civil unrest.
Others are subject to extreme temperatures and natural disasters, such as typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The pace of life may be very different from what you’re used to, affecting your work habits and well-being.
Safe and comfortable housing may be scarce or prohibitively expensive.
There may be no wheelchair access or allowances for people with hearing, sight or other special needs.
The consumption of alcohol may be illegal, or persons convicted of drug-related offences may face capital punishment.
Children may be tried, convicted and incarcerated as adults for their crimes.
To carry out a risk assessment:
Start by consulting the travel advice for your prospective host country to see if an official Government of Canada Travel Advisory is in effect and to obtain information on safety and security, local laws and customs, health conditions and entry requirements.
Consult the Country Insights page on the Centre for Intercultural Learning website for cultural information, facts and advice on showing sensitivity to local customs around the world.
Visit our Travel health and safety page and the World Health Organization’s website for country-specific information on health conditions and standards of medical care.
Get weather and climate information on countries worldwide on the World Weather Information Service website.
Supplement these resources with guidebooks, newsletters, magazines and websites for expatriates. They offer insight into the health, safety, cultural and emotional issues experienced by Canadians living abroad.
Read up, register, reach us
The Government of Canada encourages Canadians to follow the Three Rs of international travel:
Read up on safety and security, local laws and customs, entry requirements, health conditions and other key travel topics by consulting our Country travel advice and advisories.
Register with us through the Registration of Canadians Abroad service before leaving Canada, so we can contact and assist you in an emergency abroad, such as a hurricane or civil unrest, or inform you about an emergency at home.
Reach us at our Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa for urgent assistance while abroad.
Carefully evaluate opportunities abroad
A wide range of work, study, volunteer and retirement opportunities can be found outside Canada. To ensure a successful experience abroad, be sure to thoroughly evaluate any opportunity before moving forward:
Beware of international fraud. Steer clear of overseas recruitment agencies that operate solely by email or telephone and organizations that charge placement fees. Bogus groups offering international education opportunities have cheated students out of large sums of money under the pretext of securing admissions, financial aid and study permits. Likewise, phony volunteer placement agencies have charged unsuspecting recruits for opportunities that never pan out. And there’s no lack of international scammers who target retirees with empty promises of romance, friendship and financial rewards in faraway lands. 
If you’re a woman, be especially wary of offers that sound too good to be true. Beware of the danger of getting trapped into sex or labour trafficking. Criminals often recruit foreign women through fraudulent ads to work as hostesses, models, entertainers, nannies, maids or in other seemingly legitimate jobs.
Find out everything you can about any agency that’s offering you an opportunity abroad. Ask for references, visit its website and call your local Better Business Bureau (if the organization is Canadian). Contact others who’ve worked for the organization or speak to someone currently employed there.
Never accept a job overseas if the details won’t be spelled out until you arrive. Examine the terms of your contract carefully and have it reviewed by a lawyer if possible. Verify the conditions to break your contract if things don’t work out.
Make sure you fully understand the financial conditions of any job offer. Know when you’ll receive your first paycheque and in what currency you’ll be paid. Receiving your salary in Canadian or U.S. dollars could prevent problems caused by exchange rate fluctuations. If you’ll be paid in the local currency, find out if it’s convertible and if there are restrictions on taking funds out of the country. Check if your employer will cover expenses, such as airfares, residency permits, language training, school tuition, and health and dental insurance (including coverage for family members).
If your contract provides for accommodations, ask for photos or a detailed description, floor plan and furniture inventory in advance. “Western” and “furnished” have different meanings in different countries. Ask about the neighbourhood and local transport. Check whether you’ll be sharing accommodations with someone else.
Note that, while some employers and volunteer agencies may promise to pay for your return flight to Canada upon completion of a contract, this commitment will not necessarily be honoured. It’s best to request an open-ended return ticket in advance.
Are you ready for a cross-cultural move?
Many Canadians who live abroad for the first time are surprised at the cultural isolation they experience, making the transition even more stressful. Before you leave Canada, make an effort to understand the social environment where you’ll be living. Are you at ease with stark cultural differences? Are you prepared to be in a minority and to be treated as a foreigner? Do you make new friends easily? Are you open to different ways of doing things? Can you handle a much slower – or faster – pace of life?
International Experience Canada
Young Canadians can choose from thousands of opportunities to travel and work in foreign countries. These programs are made possible through reciprocal arrangements negotiated with host countries by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. Participants aged 18 to 35 can enjoy the many benefits of living and working abroad, while gaining valuable global experience and skills.
For more information, call 1-877-461-2346, email experience@international.gc.ca or visit the International Experience Canada website.
A little planning goes a long way
Forward thinking is the key to a safe and successful stay abroad. The following steps will help you pull the pieces together before leaving Canada.
Read our safe-travel booklet Bon voyage, but… essential information for Canadian travellers, which offers the knowledge and advice you need to travel responsibly and with confidence, while avoiding the pitfalls you could experience in foreign countries. It also outlines consular services available to you around the world.
Ensure that you and all accompanying family members have a Canadian passport that’s valid for at least six months beyond your intended return to Canada. Obtain any work, study, volunteer, visitor or other visas required by your host country well in advance. Know the terms of each visa, as you could be arrested for violating visa conditions in some countries. See Moving abroad with children and Required travel documents for more information.
Leave copies of important travel documents with family or friends in Canada in case of loss or theft. Scan these documents, if possible, and send them to yourself at an email address you can access anywhere.
Make sure you have travel health insurance that covers all medical expenses for illness or injury (including hospitalization abroad and medical evacuation), plus insurance for loss or theft of valuables, damage to baggage, and flight cancellations or interruptions.
Sign up for the Registration of Canadians Abroad service, so that the Government of Canada can contact and assist you in case of an emergency. Once you’ve registered, remember to keep your account up to date.
Carry an Emergency contact card with the coordinates of the nearest Canadian government office in your host country, in case you have problems while abroad.
Arrange in advance for safe accommodations in your host country. Suitable housing may be scarce and expensive in locations with low vacancy rates, and you may have to book through an agency. If you can’t find long-term lodgings beforehand, at least make plans for temporary housing. Before paying a deposit for student housing or other lodgings advertised online, be sure to confirm that the address exists. See A roof over your head for further advice.
Find out well in advance what you’re allowed to take with you. Keep in mind that most countries have stringent import controls. Obtain any necessary adapters for electrical appliances you intend to bring. If you’re bringing valuable items, take advantage of a free service offered by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) offices to identify items with serial numbers or other unique markings. The CBSA can apply a sticker to other items so they can be identified for customs purposes upon your return to Canada.
If you’re taking a pet overseas, contact the embassy or consulate of your host country to obtain information on all requirements. Your pet will need a detailed health certificate and may require an import permit. It may also need to undergo a quarantine period before entering the country.
Make sure your mail is moving with you. Submit a change of address request to Canada Post and inform all your contacts of your new address.
Make a will before you leave Canada. If the worst happens, it will reduce the complications associated with a death abroad. Consider making two wills – one for Canada and one for the host country – since different legislation will apply.
Registration of Canadians Abroad
A free service that could save your life
If you’ll be travelling or living abroad, sign up for the Registration of Canadians Abroad service. Registration enables us to reach you in case of an emergency abroad, such as an earthquake or civil unrest, or inform you about an emergency at home.
Sign up online, by mail, by fax or in person. For more information, visit our Registration of Canadians Abroad page or call 1-800-267-6788 (in Canada and the U.S.) or 613-944-6788.
*Information obtained through registration is confidential and is used in accordance with the provisions of Canada’s Privacy Act.
Dual citizenship – blessing or burden?
You’re allowed by Canadian law to have more than one nationality. Having dual or multiple citizenships can offer advantages, including employment opportunities, unrestricted residency, property ownership, and entitlement to education, health care, pensions and other social programs abroad.
There are also disadvantages. Your Canadian citizenship may not be recognized in the country of your other nationality, whose authorities may prevent Canada from providing you with consular assistance. This situation is especially likely if you enter that country as one of its citizens, rather than using your Canadian passport. As a citizen, you may be subject to laws that would not apply to a foreigner, compelled to do military service, required to pay taxes, liable for reimbursing educational costs or subject to heightened scrutiny by immigration and security officials. Being a citizen of another country doesn’t necessarily mean you can work there. You may not meet the residency requirements. Or you may have lost your citizenship status when you became Canadian. Dual citizenship can also cause problems in a third country if there’s confusion over which citizenship you used to gain entry.
Temporary versus permanent residency
Most Canadians who intend to live abroad for a temporary study period, volunteer service or seasonal retirement will choose to maintain their Canadian residency. Those who don’t plan to return regularly to Canada, and who can obtain sufficient health-care protection abroad, may opt for permanent residency – or even citizenship – in their host country. Doing so means establishing legal status in the other country, which entails a variety of conditions, requirements and obligations well beyond those of a tourist or visitor. It could also have serious consequences. For example, Canadian consular officials may be unable to assist you if you run into problems in a foreign country where you have legal status.
You can minimize the risks of living in the country of your other nationality by taking these steps:
Confirm your citizenship status – and that of accompanying family members – and address your concerns to appropriate officials of the country in question through its embassy or consulate in Canada.
Find out if you have obligations to that country, such as taxes, military service or repayment of educational costs. Ask for written confirmation.
If permitted by the laws of the other country, use your Canadian passport to gain entry and present yourself as a Canadian citizen to local authorities.
Contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate immediately if you run into problems associated with dual citizenship.
For more information, see our publication Dual citizenship – what you need to know.
Did you know...?
You cannot use a Certificate of Canadian Citizenship instead of a Canadian passport to travel abroad. A Certificate of Canadian Citizenship is not a travel document. A Canadian passport is the only reliable and universally accepted travel and identification document available to Canadians for the purpose of international travel. Canadian citizens returning to Canada who present other documents, such as a Certificate of Canadian Citizenship, birth certificate, provincial driver’s licence or foreign passport, instead of a Canadian passport, may face delays or be denied boarding by transport companies.
Your health on the move
No matter where in the world you live, your health is your highest priority. Be sure to plan for long-term health needs before leaving Canada.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recommends that you and each family member visit a travel health clinic or your health-care provider – preferably six weeks before departure – for a health assessment. This examination will determine your need for immunizations, preventive medication and any precautions to help avoid disease while abroad. A health assessment could also include check-ups with a dentist and optometrist, as well as a psychological evaluation to help prepare for life in a new environment.
In case of an emergency...
Consular assistance is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you run into problems while living abroad:
Contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate.
Phone our Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa at 613-996-8885 (call collect where service is available).
Email us at sos@international.gc.ca.
Or complete an Emergency Contact Form.
Consular assistance is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you run into problems while living abroad:
Contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate.
Phone our Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa at 613-996-8885 (call collect where service is available).
Email us at sos@international.gc.ca.
Or complete an Emergency Contact Form.

Vaccinations
Living in a foreign country could expose you and accompanying family members to infectious diseases that are rarely, if ever, seen in Canada. Based on your current health status, immunization history and anticipated itinerary, a health-care provider can assess your individual health risks and advise you on vaccination requirements, your need for preventive medication (e.g., for malaria) and personal protective measures.
Make sure your routine immunizations – tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), polio, measles, mumps and rubella – are up to date. Proof of yellow fever vaccination in the past 10 years and an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis may be required to enter some countries. Be aware that some vaccinations and preventive medications can take time to become effective.
If you’re moving abroad with infants or children, you may need to arrange an alternative or accelerated childhood immunization schedule for them. Consult your pediatrician, family doctor or travel health practitioner. For more information, visit our Travel health and safety page.
Medication
If you take medication, pack an extra supply – or arrange for refills – since you’ll be abroad for an extended period. Carry a duplicate of your prescription, showing the product’s generic and trade names, in case your medication is stolen or lost. Also keep any optical prescriptions on hand for easier replacement of eyeglasses or contacts.
Never try to save luggage space by combining medications in one container. Keep all medications in their original, labelled containers to avoid customs problems.
Some medications sold over the counter in Canada are illegal or require a prescription in other countries. Find out whether your medication is legal in your host country. Obtain a note from your doctor stating the medical reasons for your prescription and the recommended dosage.
If you need syringes for a medical condition or an autoinjector for life-threatening allergies, it’s important to take along adequate supplies or to have a plan to replenish them. Also carry a medical certificate confirming that these items are for medical use.
If you have a pre-existing medical condition or allergies that could flare up while you’re abroad, consider wearing a MedicAlert® bracelet or necklace, which will be linked to your medical records and make them accessible 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world.
STI prevention
Carry a supply of condoms to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections and to guard against unwanted pregnancy, even if you don’t expect to meet a new partner abroad. Condoms may not be available in your destination country or may not meet the safety standards set by the World Health Organization. For more information, see our Sexually transmitted infections (STI) page.
Well on your way.
Would you like to learn more about protecting your health while abroad? Our publication "Well on your way" offers valuable advice on how to:
assess travel health risks;
take preventive measures before, during and after international travel;
choose an appropriate travel health insurance plan;
cope with a health emergency abroad; and
obtain consular services in the event of a medical emergency.
To order your booklet today, call 1-800-267-8376 (in Canada) or 613-944-4000, or download a copy.
Pregnancy and birth
If you’ll be pregnant while living abroad or expect to give birth in a foreign country, be sure to see your doctor before leaving Canada. Make sure your supplementary health insurance covers pregnancy-related conditions, pre-term and full-term birth and neonatal care. Try to avoid malarial zones, as expectant mothers are particularly vulnerable to the illness, which could put their pregnancy at risk. If you’re going to give birth outside Canada, identify beforehand a local hospital or birthing facility that’s up to Canadian standards, if possible. For information on the citizenship of children born to Canadian parents abroad, see Canadian birthright.
More information on travelling while pregnant can be found on our Travelling while pregnant page and in our booklet Her own way: a woman’s safe-travel guide.
Accessibility for disabled travellers
Many countries don’t provide specific access for people in wheelchairs or assist those with hearing, sight or other physical requirements. You may need to make special arrangements abroad to obtain the services you’d normally expect in Canada. For country-specific information on accessibility for disabled travellers, consult the website of Disabled Peoples’ International.
Holders of disabled parking permits in Canada may use them in member or associate member countries of the International Transport Forum (ITF). Be sure to check with local authorities to confirm your entitlement. Parking permits for disabled Canadians are rarely recognized in non-ITF countries. For details, see the ITF website.
Further information on government services for disabled travellers, meeting special needs, parking privileges and travelling with a service animal is available on our Travelling with disabilities page.
Purchase the best insurance you can afford
Don’t expect your provincial or territorial health plan to cover the costs if you get sick or are injured while living abroad. Out-of-country medical bills can be steep and result in a heavy financial burden. There’s nothing worse than being ill in a foreign country while worrying about spiralling medical costs. Your provincial or territorial health plan will cover only part, if any, of medical expenses outside Canada and will not pay up front. Furthermore, it will become invalid if you live elsewhere beyond a certain length of time – generally six to eight months, depending on your province or territory. For more information, contact your regional health authority.
No matter how long you’ll be living abroad, be sure to purchase the best health insurance you can afford. It’s one of the most important investments you can make as an expatriate. Make sure you understand the terms of your policy. It should cover your personal health needs and those of any dependants. If you’ll be working in your destination country, check whether your employer will provide health insurance that meets your requirements.
Always carry proof of your insurance while abroad, along with contact information for your insurer. Leave a copy with a friend or relative in Canada. If you pay for your own medical care, obtain a detailed invoice from the doctor or hospital in order to make a claim later. Most insurers will not accept copies or faxes.
Supplemental insurance versus replacement insurance
Two types of private health-care insurance are available to expatriates. Supplemental insurance provides added benefits to those covered by a provincial or territorial plan. Replacement insurance provides full coverage for those who stay abroad long enough to become ineligible for a Canadian plan.
Full replacement insurance is less readily available than supplemental insurance, but a number of companies do provide insurance specifically designed for expatriates. When considering replacement insurance, carefully assess your own situation, taking into account your age, pre-existing medical conditions and potential needs in the event of a major or long-term illness. Be sure to arrange for replacement insurance before leaving Canada and check that the policy is valid in the country where you plan to stay.
Two types of private health-care insurance are available to expatriates. Supplemental insurance provides added benefits to those covered by a provincial or territorial plan. Replacement insurance provides full coverage for those who stay abroad long enough to become ineligible for a Canadian plan.
Full replacement insurance is less readily available than supplemental insurance, but a number of companies do provide insurance specifically designed for expatriates. When considering replacement insurance, carefully assess your own situation, taking into account your age, pre-existing medical conditions and potential needs in the event of a major or long-term illness. Be sure to arrange for replacement insurance before leaving Canada and check that the policy is valid in the country where you plan to stay.

Shop around for the best health insurance for a long-term stay abroad. Ask if the policy:
provides coverage whether or not your provincial/territorial health plan remains in effect;
offers a worldwide 24-hour/seven-day emergency contact number in English and translation services for health-care providers in your host country;
pays immediately for foreign medical costs or requires you to pay up front and seek reimbursement later;
provides a cash deposit in advance if required by a hospital;
covers both health and dental care for the full duration of your stay abroad;
covers pre-existing medical conditions, such as borderline diabetes and heart disease (ask for written confirmation);
includes coverage for injuries resulting from adventure activities, such as mountaineering and scuba-diving;
provides for a medical evacuation to Canada or the nearest location with appropriate medical facilities;
covers premature births and related neonatal care;
pays expenses associated with a death abroad, including the repatriation to Canada of the ashes or remains of the deceased;
provides coverage during visits to Canada or other travel while abroad; and
covers the period before your provincial/territorial plan is renewed upon your return to Canada.
Did you know…?
In addition to health insurance, you should consider getting enhanced life and disability insurance. You’ll also need insurance that offers coverage for flight cancellation, trip interruption and lost luggage, as well as cargo insurance for automobiles, household goods and other personal effects. Insurance coverage can prevent major disruptions and additional costs when relocating abroad.
For more suggestions on what to look for when buying travel health insurance, consult our booklet Well on your way: a Canadian’s guide to healthy travel abroad.
Did you know…?
Some insurance companies will not honour medical claims made for injuries suffered in a country where a Government of Canada Travel Advisory is in effect.
Moving abroad with children
Moving to a foreign country can be one of the most enriching experiences a child will ever have, giving rise to greater confidence, adaptability and intercultural awareness. But meeting your children’s needs can also add stress to the already considerable challenges of relocating abroad. Before leaving Canada, take steps to ensure a smooth transition for you and your family.
Be sure to have an open discussion with your children so they can express their feelings and concerns about moving abroad.
Arrange for appropriate daycare or schooling. Make sure you’re satisfied with the standards of daycare offered in your destination country. Contact the country’s education authorities for information about the school system. In addition to public and private schools, most countries have international schools, attended mainly by expatriate children. Have copies of your children’s school records in case they’re needed.
Remember that immigration officials are vigilant about documentation for children crossing international borders. Unless children under 18 are accompanied by both parents, we strongly recommend that they carry a consent letter proving they have permission to travel from every person with the legal right to make major decisions on their behalf. We advise you to have the consent letter certified, stamped or sealed by an official with the authority to administer an oath or solemn declaration. A sample consent letter, as well as an interactive form that you can use to compose your own letter, are available here.
Make sure each child has a valid Canadian passport and supporting identification, such as a birth certificate or citizenship card. Check with the destination country’s embassy or consulate in Canada regarding additional entry conditions and documentation that may be required, including divorce papers, custody court orders or a death certificate (if one parent is deceased).
Keep additional identification in your child’s pocket in case you’re separated. Carry recent photographs of the child for emergency identification purposes.
Seek advice from a lawyer if a custody dispute might develop while your child is living abroad. Custody arrangements in Canada may not be recognized in another country. In extreme cases, you or your child may not be allowed to return to Canada. Check with the destination country’s embassy or consulate in Canada before moving abroad.
Consult with a pediatrician on how best to protect your child’s health while living abroad.
For more information, consultour page Children and travel.
Required travel documents
Make sure your passport, necessary visas and other documents are in order before leaving Canada.
Your Canadian passport
A Canadian passport is the only reliable and universally accepted travel and identification document for Canadians. You and each family member must have a valid passport to travel or reside outside Canada.
Canadian passports for children up to 15 years of age are valid for five years. Passports for persons 16 years of age and older are valid for five or 10 years, depending on the chosen validity period.
Contact the embassy or consulate of your destination country to determine its rules and restrictions concerning passport validity. Some countries require that your passport be valid for at least six months beyond the date of your expected return to Canada. Plan to renew your passport before your return date if it will expire while you’re abroad.
If you need to apply for or renew your passport, start the process well before your planned departure from Canada. Allow more time if you need a visa, since you’ll need to obtain a passport first.
Application forms are available online on the Passport Canada website and in person at all Passport Canada offices, Service Canada centres, Canada Post outlets and Canadian government offices abroad.
Keep the following items on hand to make it easier to replace a passport that’s lost or stolen while you’re abroad:
a photocopy of the identification (photo) page of your passport;
the original of your birth or citizenship certificate;
a copy of at least one other document to support your identity;
contact information for a Canadian government office in your destination country; and
two recent photos meeting Passport Canada specifications (taken within one year and reflecting your current appearance).
If your passport is lost or stolen while you’re outside Canada, report the incident to the local police and to Passport Canada or the nearest Canadian government office abroad.
For more information on how to apply for, care for or replace a Canadian passport, consult our Passport page.
Did you know…?
Only the government of your host country has the authority to grant you a visa. The Government of Canada cannot intervene on your behalf.
Visas
You need a visa to stay in most countries for more than three months. The most common categories are work, student, volunteer and residency visas. However, you may also need a tourist, business, visitor or other visa for a short-term stay.
If you plan to exit and re-enter your host country during your stay, inquire about a multiple-entry visa to avoid future problems. Be sure to obtain visas well in advance. Don’t count on entering a country as a tourist in hopes of changing your visa classification later on. Understand and respect visa terms and conditions. Staying in a country without the right visa or overstaying a visa expiry date is illegal and may result in imprisonment, a stiff fine and/or deportation.
Requirements and processing times will vary, depending on the type of visa you need. In order to grant you a visa, some countries require:
a certified criminal record check through the RCMP or your local police;
a medical certificate signed by a doctor, demonstrating that you’re in good health and free of specific contagious diseases;
a certificate of a negative test for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); and
a yellow fever vaccination certificate (if you’re arriving from an infected area).
Further details on visa requirements are available on the Country travel advice and advisories page or from the embassy or consulate of your destination country. Remember to check the visa requirements of countries you may transit en route to your host country or visit during your stay abroad.
Work visa or permit: All countries require you to have special permission to enter if you’ll be employed while living there. Your prospective employer may have to sponsor you for a work visa or permit. It may also be your employer’s responsibility to obtain the document, or you may have to do so yourself through your host country’s embassy or consulate in Canada. It can take months to obtain a work visa, so start the process well before your departure. Know the implications if you decide to change jobs after your arrival. Doing so may render your visa invalid, or you may have to leave and re-enter the country under a different one.
Working holiday visa: Canada has reciprocal agreements with numerous countries to encourage cultural exchanges by enabling travellers to experience living abroad while undertaking short-term employment.
Student visa: Most countries require you to have a student visa to undertake temporary or long-term studies. A residency visa or permit may also be required.
Volunteer visa: Some countries require you to have a volunteer visa to undertake unpaid or charitable activities. Others demand a work visa or permit, even if you’re a volunteer.
Residency visa or permit: If you stay in a country beyond the period allowed by a typical tourist visa (usually three to six months) for reasons such as retirement abroad, you’ll need a residency visa or permit.
Marriage or spousal visa: Some countries will grant you a marriage or spousal visa, usually with a specific validity period, if you’re married to – or intend to marry – one of their citizens or permanent residents.
Alien registration card: Upon arrival in your host country, you may be required to obtain an alien registration card. You’ll have to carry it at all times for identification purposes and as proof of your status, then return it to local authorities before your departure.
Calculate the costs
Before leaving Canada, make sure you can afford to relocate abroad.
Look into the cost of living in your destination country, since an average salary in Canada isn’t adequate everywhere. Allow for inflation and exchange rate fluctuations that will likely occur while you’re abroad.
Know the cost of shipping personal and household effects. Take only what you need and find out what you can buy in your destination country. If you’ll be working or volunteering, find out if your employer or recruiter will cover the cost of moving your belongings or provide you with essentials when you arrive.
Make sure you have enough money to get properly settled, including funds to cover expenses such as a rental security deposit and utility connections. Good accommodations are expensive in many countries, especially if you need a furnished home.
Establish an emergency fund or make arrangements with family or friends to assist you in case you run out of money while abroad or need to return home unexpectedly.
Take into account all duties, fees and taxes you’ll pay on retirement income or other revenue. Non-residents of Canada are taxed on income received from sources in Canada and may also be subject to taxation in their host country.
Keep in mind not only the cost of travelling to your host country but also the cost of returning to Canada, possibly on a regular basis. Many countries require foreign visitors to have a valid return ticket with a departure date within the time limits allowed by immigration authorities. If you have to make an unplanned trip home, be prepared to pay much more than the average economy airfare.
See Manage your money for tips on banking, budgeting and other financial issues while living abroad.
While living abroad
Stay safe
No matter how secure you may feel in your host country, it’s essential to crime-proof yourself:
Stay alert and aware of your surroundings. Minimize alcohol consumption and don’t use, carry or get involved with illegal drugs.
Always pack your own luggage and never let it out of your sight. Never carry another person’s luggage or transport anything – even an envelope – across a border or through customs for anyone else. Conceal in a money belt or neck pouch necessities that can’t be easily replaced: your passport, credit and debit cards, cash, airline and train tickets, a copy of your insurance policy, medical prescriptions and contact information for your doctor. Keep copies of all important documents in a secure place, in case the originals are stolen or lost.
Watch out for criminals who target foreigners. They may work individually or in teams, often posing as good Samaritans or creating distractions to steal belongings. Be wary of new “friends,” including locals, fellow foreigners and even Canadians you meet abroad.
Make an effort not to stand out or to give the impression that you’re lost or vulnerable. Know where you’re going, what you’re doing and how to find your way back. Always carry the address of your accommodations. Study a street map before going out. Avoid opening a map in a public area or keep it hidden under a newspaper. Steer clear of isolated areas.
Avoid displaying expensive-looking cameras, jewellery and other showy accessories that mark you as a wealthy foreigner.
Use only legal and reputable taxis. Never hire a taxi if the driver approaches you in an airport arrival area. Such services are usually illegal and may be unsafe. Ask someone you trust to recommend taxi services and avoid the risk of hailing an unlicensed cab on the street.
Beware of credit card fraud. Never let your credit card out of your sight. If you use an ATM, do so during business hours at a location inside a bank, supermarket or large commercial building. Make note of credit and debit card numbers so they can be cancelled quickly.
Drugs and travel
Most countries impose severe penalties for the possession of only a minuscule amount of illegal drugs. Even prescription drugs and syringes used for legitimate medical purposes come under intense scrutiny and should have proper accompanying documentation. For more information, consult our Alcohol, drugs and travel page.
A roof over your head
Chances are you’ll need temporary accommodations before you get settled in your host country. Exercise caution when choosing both short-term and long-term lodgings:
Make sure you feel comfortable about your accommodations and their location. Do the doors lock properly? Are there fire alarms and escape routes? Don’t stay anywhere unless you feel safe.
Avoid lodgings on the ground floor or with easy access from the outside, such as from a balcony or fire escape.
Understand the risks of staying in low-budget accommodations, such as youth hostels and dormitories. Never leave valuables or travel documents behind in your room. Keep them close to you if you sleep in a dorm. Bear in mind that accepting lodgings from a stranger could be an invitation to danger.
Even if you choose luxury accommodations, you should always be vigilant. Ensure that the door of your room is locked, even when you’re inside. Never open your door to anyone without looking through the peephole, using a door chain or confirming the visitor’s identity.
Never leave your window open, especially if your lodgings are on the ground floor or have a balcony.
Did you know…
Some countries require visitors to carry photo identification, such as a passport or resident card, at all times. Failure to do so could result in arrest, a fine or other serious consequences.
Health care
If you spend a significant period abroad, you may be more exposed to health risks than a short-term traveller. You may need to learn how to shop for and prepare food safely, in addition to ensuring access to safe and potable water. You’ll also have to arrange for health care for yourself and accompanying family members.
Health care is a serious issue for Canadian expatriates because few countries have systems as comprehensive or as inexpensive as Canada’s. Some countries have comprehensive health-care plans that will cover you, after a waiting period, if you immigrate. However, most countries don’t offer such programs.
Many developing countries provide free health care to citizens and permanent residents. But most Canadians living in these countries seek private health care, which is usually of a higher quality and involves shorter wait times. Private medical facilities are reasonably advanced in most countries and will usually see you immediately for a fee. Faced with these trade-offs, most Canadians choose the private alternative and make sure they’re well covered by supplemental or replacement insurance. See Purchase the best insurance you can afford for more information.
Did you know…
When you arrive in your host country, you should make a point of locating the nearest reputable clinic or hospital and noting the hours of operation. Don’t wait for an emergency – it may be too late! Contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate for a list of local doctors and hospitals.
Keep in mind that it’s best to avoid hospitals and dental facilities in countries with poor hygiene standards. For country-specific information, see our Country travel advice and advisories page.
Culture shock
Most people living abroad experience a period of adaptation known as culture shock. This form of psychological stress affects even seasoned expatriates and occurs when familiar cues and patterns are no longer present.
The symptoms may be fleeting or last several months, and their intensity varies from person to person. Individuals facing mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, prior to departure are most at risk. It’s important to recognize the symptoms of culture shock, which usually follow a familiar pattern.
During the first phase, often described as the “honeymoon stage,” most encounters in the new country are perceived as exciting and positive.
During the second phase, sometimes called the “emptiness stage,” foreigners typically feel a sense of dislocation and unease. Symptoms may include:
feelings of anger, frustration and irritability, especially a loss of one’s sense of humour;
negative feelings about the people and culture of the host country; and
boredom, fatigue and inability to concentrate or work effectively.
During the third and final phase, foreigners start to accept their surroundings and make a compromise between the honeymoon and emptiness stages.
Cushioning the impact
The best strategy for coping with culture shock is to make a conscious effort to adjust to your new environment:
Learn the social do’s and don’ts of your host country and make an effort to meet the locals. Communication will be easier if you know how to greet people, how to dress and how to behave.
Take time to study the language. It will make life simpler and show your desire to be part of the community. Start with a few simple phrases, then gradually expand your vocabulary.
Get involved in some aspect of the local culture, such as the music or cuisine, or learn a new sport or martial art. You’ll meet new people and get a greater sense of belonging.
Maintain contact with family and friends back home. Sharing your experiences and problems can help you adapt to the local environment.
Take care of yourself. Be sure to eat well, exercise and get enough sleep, and avoid heavy alcohol consumption. If you take medication for a mental health condition, don’t reduce or discontinue your dosage during this period.
Take time to travel and explore the country’s sights and attractions.
Avoid idealizing life back home. Make the most of your stay and keep an open mind.
Consider getting involved with the Canadian expatriate community to lessen your sense of isolation.
Manage your money
Managing your finances – from budgeting and banking to paying taxes and purchasing property – is an integral part of living abroad. It may be difficult to assess how much money you can spend due to unforeseen expenses or unfamiliarity with local currency and costs. If you’re paid in the local currency, you may be vulnerable to inflation and currency fluctuations. Among the factors that could diminish your income are recessions, stock market crashes and the devaluation of the currency in which your pension or other benefits are paid. Ensure that your income is, and remains, enough to live on.
It’s also a good idea to consult a private financial planner, who can provide advice on such matters as contributing to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan and the Canada Pension Plan while you’re abroad.
Opening a foreign bank account
You’ll almost certainly want to set up a bank account in your host country, preferably one that can be fed by funds from a Canadian account. To do so, you’ll need to go to a local foreign exchange bank with your passport, residency permit and Canadian banking information (including your branch and account number). Usually someone who can speak English will be available to assist you. The process can be complicated and time-consuming, so ensure that you have an alternative source of funds during this period.
Additional tips on banking abroad
Advise your Canadian bank and credit card company about the period you’ll be abroad.
Look into the feasibility of transferring money between accounts in Canada and your host country. Know how much money you’re allowed to send home. The amount may be strictly regulated by your host country.
Retain all receipts, transaction records and documentation on financial transfers.
Exchange money using only authorized agents to avoid violating local laws.
Have a variety of ways of accessing your money overseas, such as credit cards, debit cards and cash.
Receiving a public pension abroad
Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefits may be paid to you while living abroad, subject to certain conditions.
CPP and QPP benefits are paid outside Canada, as long as all conditions of eligibility are met. OAS is paid outside Canada if the pensioner lived in Canada for at least 20 years after age 18. The OAS system is intended to guarantee a minimum income to seniors. Eligibility is determined by an income test. To receive OAS benefits outside Canada, you’re generally required to file an annual tax return reporting your worldwide income. For details, see the Canada Benefits website.
Online banking
Most financial institutions allow you to access your account to check balances, pay bills and transfer funds anywhere in the world. It’s not advisable to conduct transactions in cybercafés or other areas where Internet service is available to the public, as it’s difficult to ensure that computers are free of hacking programs that can capture personal and account information. If you must complete transactions on a public computer, be sure to erase all traces afterwards by clearing the Internet browser’s cache.
Taxation
Your tax obligations while living abroad depend largely on whether you’re a resident or non-resident of Canada. Your status is determined by a number of factors, including the purpose and permanence of your stay abroad, the duration and frequency of your visits to Canada and whether you’ve severed your residential ties with Canada. Be sure to review your situation with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to avoid surprises.
For information to determine your residency status, see CRA's "Individuals - leaving or entering Canada and non-residents". Once you've confirmed your residency status, you can find information specific to your situation as a Canadian living abroad, such as the tax package you should use; your eligibility for the Foreign Tax Credit and Overseas Employment Tax Credit; your entitlement to other credits and benefits as a Canadian living abroad; and details on tax treaties between Canada and certain countries, which will allow you to avoid being taxed in two countries on the same income.
The CRA’s International Tax Services Office processes income tax returns for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada, including Canadians working abroad. It also provides assistance by telephone and postal correspondence and looks after all non-resident tax withholding accounts.
See our Taxation for Canadians Travelling, Living or Working Outside Canada page for more information.
Did you know…?
As a rule, you cannot receive welfare, disability or other forms of social assistance while living abroad. Contact your provincial or territorial authorities for details.
Legal matters
While abroad, you’re subject to the laws and regulations of your host country. Your Canadian citizenship offers no immunity. When in doubt, seek professional legal advice. The nearest Canadian embassy or consulate can provide you with a list of English-speaking lawyers who may be able to assist you.
Did you know…?
If a child custody dispute arises while you’re abroad, you can contact Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada through our Emergency Watch and Response Centre. Visit our Request emergency assistance page for contact information.
Marriage and divorce
Laws and procedures regarding marriage and divorce vary widely from country to country, often resulting in unexpected complications.
If you plan to marry while living abroad, understand that some countries enforce tight restrictions on a woman’s right to seek property entitlement, inheritance, divorce, alimony and child custody. A husband may be entitled to impose strict controls on his wife and children, preventing their return to Canada without his permission.
Make sure you understand the laws and conventions of your host country regarding relationships and marriage, as well as their implications for children. In case of separation or divorce, investigate the rules concerning child custody and property settlement. If your spouse is a citizen of your host country, he or she may have more rights than you do as a foreigner. You could also be at a disadvantage if the country has a tradition of deciding child custody cases on the basis of gender or religious belief. Contact a legal representative or the appropriate authorities of your host country for more information.
Find out if a marriage or divorce performed in your host country will be legally recognized upon your return to Canada by consulting with the vital statistics office of the province or territory where you will live.
If your future spouse is not Canadian, confirm if he or she will be eligible to return to Canada with you on a temporary or permanent basis by contacting the nearest Citizenship and Immigration Canada office abroad.
For additional details, see our Marriage overseas page.
Did you know…?
While same-sex marriages are legal in Canada, they aren’t recognized in many countries. Same-sex civil unions are more widely recognized abroad. Canadians attempting to visit a foreign country as a same-sex married couple may be refused entry by border officials. Moreover, homosexual activity is a criminal offence in certain countries and could result in severe punishment, including imprisonment or the death penalty. For country-specific information, consult our Country travel advice and advisories page or your host country’s embassy or consulate in Canada.
Buying property
Purchasing property in another country is a major decision. The laws and customs pertaining to real estate can be very different abroad than at home, resulting in unforeseen risks and problems with ownership rights. For example, in Mexico, foreigners require a special permit to purchase land and can only buy property in coastal and border zones through a bank trust.
Did you know…?
Not all countries regulate lawyers and real estate agents as scrupulously as Canada does. For example, rules governing conflict of interest by lawyers can be lax in many parts of the world. Real estate agents in Latin America and the Caribbean generally require no qualifications and aren’t prevented from promoting sales in which they have an undisclosed interest. Furthermore, local authorities may disregard complaints from foreign residents about crooked dealings, especially if the lawyer or agent concerned is an established member of the community.
Proceed with caution if you plan to buy property. It’s usually best to rent for a while before committing to purchase a home. Research local property laws and investigate all aspects of the purchase, including such claims as “beach access,” which may be false. Consult our Country travel advice and advisories page to find out if problems, such as real estate fraud, are widespread in your host country.
Hire a legal representative with expertise in local real estate law, who only represents you and is independent of anyone else involved in the transaction (e.g., a real estate agent or vendor). If possible, appoint a Canadian lawyer with expertise in the laws of your host country. Never sign anything that hasn’t been carefully reviewed by your lawyer. If things go wrong, remember that property disputes are private legal matters that can only be resolved through local courts. The Government of Canada cannot intervene.
Make a will to avoid creating problems for heirs to your property or other assets you hold abroad.
Bribery?
Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act prohibits Canadian citizens or businesses from bribing foreign public officials to obtain or retain a business advantage. A Canadian who gives or offers a loan, reward, advantage or any other benefit to a foreign public official (or another person on behalf of an official) can be prosecuted in a Canadian or foreign court. Violation of the act is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment for up to five years.
Immigration and citizenship
You may wish to seek permanent residency, citizenship status or both, depending on the immigration regulations of the country you live in. Either involves establishing legal status beyond that of a short-term visitor. Be aware of the implications, including the likelihood of being prevented from obtaining Canadian consular assistance in your host country. For more information, see Dual citizenship – blessing or burden?, or consult our publication Dual citizenship: what you need to know.
Regulations for immigrants
Immigration regulations vary enormously from country to country, but are usually based on three principles: employment, investment and family connections. Some countries accept individuals with adequate guaranteed income – including pension benefits – as potential immigrants. For example, Mexico classifies an eligible retiree or other permanent resident as an inmigrante rentista, or long-term immigrant. However, the United States doesn’t recognize retirement as a reason for establishing permanent residency.
Many countries require you to apply to immigrate before you arrive. Others will allow you to enter as a tourist and apply for immigration later. Contact the immigration authorities of your destination country for details.
Regulations for temporary visitors
Seasonal retirees, volunteers, students and other Canadians who reside abroad for less than six months each year can visit many countries as tourists. A valid passport is often the only entry requirement.
However, some countries impose tight restrictions on the length of time temporary visitors can stay. For example, Costa Rica limits tourists to a maximum stay of 90 days. Students must obtain an appropriate visa from Costa Rican immigration authorities and provide confirmation of enrolment in an accredited institution.
Think twice about settling in a country where you can only enter as a tourist, especially if you’re planning to purchase a home. Instead, you may wish to apply for legal residency, which removes restrictions on the length of your stay and gives reasonable assurance that you’ll be able to re-enter the country at any time. Taking out legal residency in another country doesn’t prevent you from maintaining Canadian residency.
Canadian birthright
Canadian parents are not required to register the birth of a child abroad. Even so, you may wish to get proof of your baby’s citizenship, as it will be needed to obtain a Canadian passport. Contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate abroad to apply for a Certificate of Canadian Citizenship as well as a passport for your child. Start the process early, as it may take a while. For more information, see Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s website.
Driving
Traffic accidents are the leading cause of injury and death among international travellers. Take special precautions when driving abroad:
Find out if you’re required by local laws to hold an International Driving Permit (IDP). Available through the Canadian Automobile Association, the IDP is proof that you hold a valid driver’s licence in Canada. Keep in mind that the IDP is valid for only one year from the date of issue or until your Canadian licence expires, whichever comes first. Remember to safeguard your Canadian licence and renew it before the expiry date, as it may be difficult to replace from abroad. Note that some countries require foreign drivers to obtain a local licence after a specified period.
Confirm that you’re insured to drive abroad and have comprehensive coverage for loss or damage, liability, collision, medical expenses resulting from an accident and other risks.
Educate yourself on local traffic laws and comply with speed limits, legal alcohol levels, road safety procedures and mechanical requirements.
Drive defensively. Motorist habits and road conditions vary markedly from country to country. Carefully plan road trips in advance and know where you’re going at all times. Always lock the doors to prevent carjackers and thieves from getting in with you.
If you operate a vehicle imported from Canada, ensure that it’s equipped for local driving – for example, headlight converters for left-hand driving, an approved emergency breakdown kit, an oval sticker on the rear indicating “CDN” (the licence plate country code for Canada).
Before buying an automobile abroad, confirm if you’re allowed to bring it home. For details, see the Canada Border Services Agency publication Importing a Vehicle into Canada.
Consular services
Canadian consular officials are ready to assist you at embassies and consulates around the world.
We can:
Arrange help in a medical emergency by providing you with a list of local doctors and hospitals.
Help coordinate a medical evacuation if a necessary treatment is not available locally (fees apply).
Provide advice and contact information on local police and medical services to victims of robbery, sexual assault or other violence.
Supply you with a list of local lawyers.
Provide you with sources of information about local laws and regulations.
Seek to ensure you’re treated fairly under the country’s laws if you’re arrested or detained.
Replace a lost, stolen, damaged or expired passport (fees apply).
Contact relatives or friends to request assistance in sending you money or airline tickets.
Contact next of kin, with your authorization, if you have an accident or are detained by police.
Provide advice about burying a Canadian abroad or assist in repatriating the remains to Canada (fees apply).
However, we cannot:
Intervene in private legal matters.
Investigate a crime or death.
Ask local authorities to give you preferential treatment.
Make travel arrangements.
Assist with job hunting.
Help you find accommodations.
A complete list of services we can and cannot provide is available on our Consular services page. See our Embassies and consulates page for a list of Canadian embassies and consulates worldwide.
Have an emergency plan
When living abroad, it’s essential for you and your loved ones to have an emergency plan. It will help you:
know what to do in case of a major crisis, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest;
identify escape routes from your home and workplace and a safe meeting place to reunite; and
build a 72-hour emergency kit, including food, water, a flashlight and other essentials.
For more information on creating an emergency plan, visit the Government of Canada website Get Prepared.
Death abroad
If a Canadian relative or friend dies abroad, you should contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate or our Emergency Watch and Response Centre immediately. Consular officials can assist you in making the necessary arrangements to:
register the death with local and Canadian provincial or territorial authorities;
obtain documentation, including a death certificate, autopsy report or police report;
acquire information on the circumstances surrounding the death; and
return the remains of your loved one to Canada.
Fees may apply. For more information, see our Consular services page.
Did you know…?
Emergency consular assistance is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. See “In case of an emergency…” for more information.
Voting
Eligible Canadians can vote in federal elections while temporarily living abroad. To vote by special mail-in ballot, you must first send an Application for Registration and Special Ballot form to Elections Canada. At the call of an election, you’ll receive a voting kit with instructions. For further details, see our Elections (voting from abroad) page.
Keep connected
Despite the enchantment of living abroad, you may find that you depend more than ever on contact with Canada. Sharing your experiences and problems with family and friends and receiving news from home can have a stabilizing influence while you’re getting accustomed to being a foreigner in a faraway land. Having a strong support network in Canada will also make your eventual homecoming easier.
Keep your contacts in Canada informed of your whereabouts and any changes in your plans. Canadian consular officials receive countless calls from distraught friends and family who haven’t heard from loved ones abroad. Don’t expect communications to be as advanced in every corner of the world as in Canada.
Did you know…?
Telephone: Telecommunications services in many countries are unreliable and more expensive than in Canada. You may be unable to get a land line immediately. Waiting times in some countries can run into months, and large cash deposits may be required, especially from foreigners. A cell phone is often a better bet than a land line in countries with mobile services.
Internet: Web access is widely available worldwide but is limited by each country’s infrastructure and networking technologies. Private Internet connections may be difficult to obtain. Don’t expect the same high-speed access in developing nations as you would in Canada.
Television and radio: Canadian television broadcasts are available worldwide via Internet and satellite. Tune in to Radio Canada International at rcinet.ca for online programming about Canada.
Mail: Postal services tend to be slow and undependable in developing countries. It may be more practical to have your mail sent to a forwarding service in Canada, then periodically couriered to you.
Canadian expatriate community: Plugging into the expat network can soften your sense of culture shock and give you vital support while you’re settling into your new environment and seeking connections.
Travel information: Get the latest information through our Country travel advice and advisories, Latest news and warnings, Travel updates, RSS feeds or by connecting with us through Twitter, Facebook or Foursquare.
Coming back to Canada
Planning for your return
Expect to face a period of readjustment when returning to Canada. You may experience a reverse form of culture shock, including feelings of anxiety, groundlessness and even depression. A little planning can go a long way to facilitate your homecoming.
Departure clearance and tax
It’s important to settle any obligations before leaving your host country. Make sure you’ve paid your local bills or made arrangements to do so. If you’ve obtained citizenship, permanent residency or any other form of legal status in the country, you may need departure clearance to leave. Approval usually depends on the satisfactory inspection of travel documents, permits or other official forms. For example, some countries ask for a statement from local tax authorities that you’ve met all obligations. Others will terminate your residency permit if you’re leaving for good or for an extended period.
Be prepared to pay a departure tax in the local currency when you leave. Other countries you pass through en route to Canada may also charge fees.
Importing pets
When returning to Canada with a dog or cat, you’ll have to present a certificate stating that the animal has been vaccinated for rabies. Other pets may require an import permit. For more information, see our Travelling with animals page.
Bringing it home
Depending on how long you’ve lived abroad, you may be subject to import provisions for personal belongings and household goods upon your return to Canada. Declare all items acquired abroad, whether they’re intended for you or as gifts. Keep original receipts for possible inspection.
There are no restrictions on how much money you can bring into Canada, but you must report a sum of $10,000 or more to a customs officer.
For more information on what you can bring home, see our Customs page.
Did you know...?
If you become sick or feel unwell after returning to Canada, you should see your doctor immediately. Remember to mention that you’ve been living abroad, what countries you’ve visited, if you were ill while outside Canada and what medical treatment you received.
Illegal souvenirs
There are restrictions on bringing certain goods into Canada. If you’re thinking of importing meat, eggs, dairy products, fresh fruits or vegetables, plants, animals or items made from their feathers or skins, contact the Canada Border Services Agency beforehand for guidance. For accurate and timely information on import requirements, see our Customs page.
Many items brought illegally into Canada, such as elephant ivory, coral jewellery and sea turtle shells, are made from endangered animals and plants. They’re among the 34,000 species regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). A violation of CITES could lead to seizure of your purchase, as well as a fine and/or prison term. Consult Environment Canada’s CITES website for details.
Also, be aware that it may be illegal to bring home cultural property, such as antiques and fossils, whose export is banned or controlled by your host country. Strict penalties may be imposed, and cultural property may be confiscated and returned to the country of origin. For more information, consult with your host country’s border authorities or Canadian Heritage.
Did you know…?
It’s illegal to bring obscene materials, child pornography or hate propaganda of any kind into Canada.
Products banned in Canada due to safety hazards are listed on Health Canada’s website.
Information on importing weapons is available on the Canadian Firearms Program website.
Social insurance number
If you’ve live abroad for an extended period and haven’t filed a tax return in Canada for at least five years, your social insurance number (SIN) may be deactivated. To have it reactivated, you’ll need to provide proof of identity and an acceptable explanation for the period of inactivity. For more information, consult the Service Canada website, visit the nearest Service Canada office or call 1-800-206-7218 (in Canada) or 506-548-7961(from abroad).
Provincial/territorial health insurance
Your provincial or territorial health plan will become invalid if you’ve been abroad beyond a certain length of time, typically six months. There could be a requalification period before your coverage is reinstated. This period may be covered by any replacement insurance you purchased while abroad. If not, health insurance plans are available for temporary visitors to Canada, usually purchased upon arrival.
Be sure to apply for reinstatement of your provincial/territorial health plan upon your return to Canada. For more information or to find out what conditions apply to you, contact your regional healthcare authority. For links to the official government websites of Canada’s provinces and territories, visit the Moving back to Canada page.
Living abroad checklist
Remember to take these important steps before leaving Canada:
Assess your readiness to live abroad by weighing the rewards and risks of adapting to another language, pace of life, laws and customs, climate and security conditions.
Confirm the legitimacy of work, study, volunteer, retirement or other opportunities abroad.
Consult our Country travel advice and advisories and the publication Bon voyage, but… essential information for Canadian travellers.
Ensure you can afford to move abroad by calculating the costs (e.g., transportation, shipping household effects, settling into a new home, the cost of living).
Plan for long-term health needs by obtaining a pre-departure health assessment, vaccinations, prescriptions, medical supplies, extra eyeglasses, supplemental or replacement insurance.
Check whether dual citizenship could cause complications for you in your host country.
Obtain all required travel documentation (e.g., passports, visas, medical certificates, criminal record checks). Leave copies of your documents and insurance policy with friends or family in Canada.
If you’re moving abroad with children, carry a consent letter proving they have permission to travel from every non-accompanying person with the legal right to make major decisions on their behalf; check with your host country’s immigration authorities regarding additional entry requirements; arrange for appropriate daycare or schooling.
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Published by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.
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http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/publications/living-abroad

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