Broken Promises

The Kagetsus look out over Burrard Inlet.
Image provided courtesy the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. NNM, 2016.14.1.14.002.

The familiar narrative of the Second World War is that of the Allies triumphing over the Nazis. However, for thousands of Japanese Canadians, their experience of this same event was one of injustice and broken promises.

After the attack on Pearl Harbour by the Japanese military in December 1941, the Canadian government imposed a mandate that all persons of Japanese origin must be registered and carry identification at all times. A few months later in February 1942, a “defense zone” was established from 100 miles of the British Columbia coast. All Japanese Canadians were forcibly removed from the “defense zone,” leaving behind homes, businesses, and much of their personal possessions. At the time of their forced uprooting, 75% of Japanese Canadians (also known as Nikkei) were born or naturalized Canadians.

Each adult was only allowed to take with them 150 pounds worth of personal goods, 75 pounds for children, for a total of 1000 pounds per family. Many families expected to return to their properties after the war and so left behind their best items. Few got any of these items back.

Of the 21,000 Japanese Canadians were forcibly uprooted and placed into internment during 1942, over 2,500 were sent to fill labour shortages on sugar beet fields in southern Alberta. While the Alberta government opposed this plan, members of the Lethbridge Northern Beet Growers in the Picture Butte District gave their unanimous approval. By the start of June 1942, about 370 families had arrived in southern Alberta and were sent to work on beet farms in areas around Picture Butte, Coalhurst, Diamond City, Coaldale, Raymond, and Magrath. By November 1945, 65% of beet labourers were Japanese Canadians which made them an incredibly important part of agricultural production in southern Alberta.

Mrs. Take Akiyama carrying water; Lemon Creek, BC, 1943.
Image provided courtesy the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. NNM, 1996.182.1.2.

Difficult living conditions greeted those forcibly relocated to southern Alberta, with uninsulated and sparse homes provided to them outside city limits. Often 11 people filled a 12 by 20 foot shack without running water. Isolation on sugar beet farms meant getting medical attention was difficult and expenses were high.

For those who had owned their own farms, boats, and businesses, being reduced to back‐breaking, menial labour was humiliating. Opportunities to find work in Lethbridge to supplement their poor pay was limited, as many actively opposed Japanese Canadians leaving the farms to work in the city. In 1943, Lethbridge City Council approved the limited use of Japanese labour in the city by the Broder Canning Company. Even then, they were closely supervised, required to live in dormitories on the Broder property, and had to return to the farms after the canning season.

Learn more about this important part of history by visiting the temporary exhibition Broken Promises on display until September 4, 2023.