Pier 21

Steven Schwinghamer is a historian at the Canadian Museum of Immigration and holds an MA in History from Saint Mary’s University. His research and writing focuses on the immigration facility at Pier 21.

"Pier 21: A History is an energetic effort by Steven Schwinghamer and Jan Raska, two resident historians of the museum, to share representative stories of countless would‑be Canadians — among them thousands of Italians like my father, uncle, and grandparents — who came through this gateway. It is also the story of evolving immigration policies, which were gradually liberalized within the narrow parameters of twentieth-century Canada. And though it was not the authors’ intention, a reflection on our nation’s immigration history and the hard-earned march toward greater cultural openness feels especially pertinent in the wake of COVID‑19, which has closed down international borders, paused global migration almost entirely, and brought a spike in anti-foreigner sentiment. (…) Schwinghamer and Raska’s clear-eyed examination of immigration policies, through the lens of a single port of entry, demonstrates the impressive and hard-won gains of our modern immigration system."

• Land AcknowledgmentList of Illustrations  IntroductionCHAPTER 1 - Immigrating to Canada through Pier 21, 1928–1971CHAPTER 2 - Pier 2 and the Early Years of Pier 21, 1890–1939CHAPTER 3 - Pier 21 at War, 1939–1946CHAPTER 4 - Height of Postwar Immigration at Pier 21, 1946–1955CHAPTER 5 - Final Years of Pier 21, 1955–1971Conclusion AcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsNotesBibliographyIndex