A total of 24 prisoner of war camps were established in Canada during the Great War. They have been sorted provincially, in alphabetical order.
Three data points are provided for each of the Great War camps:
1. The physical location of the camp within its respective province.
2. The facility or alternate housing that was used to secure the POWs.
3. The camp’s opening and closing dates.
ALBERTA
Four camps were located in Alberta. The first of these camps opened in September, 1914, only two months after the start of the war. The final camp to close did so four months after the war ended.
Banff-Castle: Cave and Basin (tents)
14-JUL-1915 to 15-JUL-1917
Jasper: Dominion Parks Building
8-FEB-1916 to 31-AUG-1916
Lethbridge: Exhibition Building
30-SEP-1914 to 7-NOV-1916
Munson-Eaton: Railway cars
13-OCT-1918 to 21-MAR-1919
BRITISH COLUMBIA
There were six camps located within British Columbia. The first two opened within the first two months of the war. The last camp to close did so in February of 1920, more than a year after the war had ended.
Edgewood: Bunkhouses
19-AUG-1915 to 23-SEP-1915
Fernie/Morrissey: Rented premises
9-JUN-1915 to 21-OCT-1918
Monashee/Mara Lake: Tents and bunkhouses
2-JUN-1915 to 29-JUL-1917
Nanaimo: Provincial Government Building
20-SEP-1914 to 17-SEP-1915
Revelstoke/Field: Otter Bunkhouses
6-SEP-1915 to 23-OCT-1916
Vernon: Provincial Government Building
18-SEP-1914 to 20-FEB-1920
MANITOBA
The two camps that were established in Manitoba were short-lived. Both opened within the first two months of the war, but were closed on the same day less than two years later.
Brandon: Exhibition Building
22-SEP-1914 to 29-JUL-1916
Winnipeg: Fort Garry
1-SEP-1914 to 29-JUL-1916
NOVA SCOTIA
Two camps were set up in Nova Scotia. One operated for only two years, the second for more than four years.
Amherst: Malleable Iron Works
17-APR-1915 to 27-SEP-1919
Halifax: The Citadel
8-SEP-1914 to 3-OCT-1916
ONTARIO
Ontario along with British Columbia had the largest number of camps (six). The bunkhouse camp in Kapuskasing was the final camp in Canada to close, 15 months after the war had ended.
Kapuskasing: Bunkhouses
14-DEC-1914 to 24-FEB-1920
Kingston: Fort Henry
18-AUG-1914 to 3-MAY-1917
Niagara Falls: The Armoury
15-DEC-1914 to 31-AUG-1918
Petawawa: Militia Camp
10-DEC-1914 to 8-MAY-1916
Sault Ste. Marie: The Armoury
13-JAN-1915 to 29-JUN-1916
Toronto: Stanley Barracks
14-DEC-1914 to 2-OCT-1916
QUEBEC
Four POW camps were in operation in Quebec. The first was opened shortly after the outbreak of war, and the final one to close mere weeks after its conclusion.
Beauport: The Armoury
28-DEC-1914 to 22-JUN-1916
Montreal: Immigration Building
13-AUG-1914 to 30-NOV-1918
Spirit Lake: Bunkhouses
13-JAN-1915 to 28-JAN-1917
Valcartier: Militia Camp
24-APR-1915 to 23-OCT-1915
ALBERTA
5 camps (total capacity 24,150)
CAMP 130
Kananaskis (Seebe) (Eau Clair Camp)
(formerly Camp K)
6 September, 1939 – 28 June, 1946
Huts (capacity 650) – Civilians, merchant navy seamen, and military officers
NOTES
Camp 130 used a former unemployment relief camp at Kananaskis, 100 kilometers west of Calgary.
It interred Canadian residents of enemy alien origin, mostly German, who were apprehended by the RCMP in the four western provinces. In June 1940, there were joined by members of the Communist Party and Canadians of Italian origin.
December, 1944: Designated a “super black” camp for officers
POW TRANSFERS
May, 1940: 14 internees arrived from Camp 33 (Petawawa)
July, 1940: 150 internees arrived from Camp 33 (Petawawa)
September, 1940: 25 internees arrived from Camp 33 (Petawawa)
12 October, 1940: 57 Seamen from the Weser arrived from Vancouver
May, 1941: 53 Seamen from the Hermonthis and four civilian pilots arrived
July, 1941: 542 transferred to Camp 70 (Fredericton) and 169 transferred to Petawawa
October, 1941: 507 German internees, mostly merchant navy seamen (EMS), arrived from Camp R (Red Rock)
February and March, 1942: 53 Canadian residents of Japanese origin arrived from Vancouver
10 April, 1942: Japanese were transferred to Petawawa
20 April, 1942: 70 merchant navy seamen arrived from UK
27 November, 1942: 10 EMS arrived from South Africa
30 May, 1943: 21 EMS arrived from Camp 132 (Medicine Hat)
June and August, 1943: 56 EMS arrived from Medicine Hat
July, 1944: All EMS (approximately 612) transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
31 July, 1944: 30 arrived from Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
30 September, 1944: 50 more
To be servants for officers expected from Europe
4 August, 1944: 279 officers and 40 enlisted ranks arrived from Europe
5 October, 1944: 203 officers arrived from Europe
28 January, 1945: 404 “grey officers”, 106 “grey” enlisted ranks, and 15 civilian internees transferred to Camp 135 (Wainwright)
6 February, 1945: 231 officers and 17 other ranks transferred from Camp 44 (Grande Ligne)
March-April, 1945: 124 arrived from Camp 30 (Bowmanville)
19 May, 1946: 75 officers and one enlisted man left for repatriation
25 May, 1946: 250 arrived from Wainwright
6 – 8 June, 1946: 623 left for repatriation
CAMP 132
Medicine Hat
1 January, 1943 – 30 April, 1946
Barracks (capacity 10,000) – Enlisted ranks
NOTES
December, 1944: Designated a camp for “grey” enlisted ranks
POW TRANSERS
8 May, 1943: First 500 POWs arrived from Libya
May – June, 1943: Approximately 900 more arrived from Libya
15 May, 1943: 2,329 arrived from Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
May – August, 1943: 43 merchant navy seamen transferred to Camp 130 (Seebe)
15 July, 1943: 1,225 arrived from Libya
February – March, 1944: 27 transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
12 August, 1944: 40 transferred to Camp 40 (Farnham)
8 July, 1944: 900 arrived from Normandy
September – October, 1944: Thousands more
10 September, 1944: 454 transferred to Camp 100 (Neys)
October, 1944: 2,100 “black” and “dark greys” transferred to Lethbridge
7 March, 1945: 388 “blacks” and “dark greys” transferred to Lethbridge
9 June, 1945: 50 transferred to Camp 32 (Hull)
9 July, 1945: 50 transferred to Camp 45 (Sorel)
February, 1946: Most of camp transferred to Monteith. Remaining 85 were witnesses at trials of accused murderers of August Plaszek and Karl Lehmann.
CAMP 133
Ozada, Morley Flats (Seebe) – First location
6 May -December 1942
Tents (capacity 10,000) – Afrika Korps enlisted ranks
Lethbridge – Second location
November 1942 – 18 December, 1946
Barracks (capacity 12,500)
NOTES
First location at Ozada was a temporary tented camp for enlisted ranks.
There were 5,209 prisoners at Ozada by 23 June, 1942, and 12,592 by 24 September, 1942.
22 July, 1942: Disturbance when six prisoners, including camp leader, wore officers’ badges of rank which were not recognized by the Canadians. When they refused to remove the badges, the prisoners were placed in detention and six Canadian hostages were taken in retaliation. Trouble ended when prisoners agreed to elect a new Camp Leader.
November-December, 1942: Camp moved to new permanent quarters at Lethbridge.
December, 1944: Designated a camp for “black” and “dark grey” enlisted ranks
POW TRANSERS
10 May, 1942: 521 arrived from Camp 20 (Gravenhurst)
26-28 May, 1942: 3056 arrived from Libya
15 June, 1942: 920 arrived from Camp 101 (Angler)
6 November, 1942: The six troublemakers (see NOTES) were transferred to Camp 21 (Espanola)
May, 1943: Over 1,000 arrived from Espanola and 2,329 transferred to Camp 132 (Medicine Hat)
July – August, 1943: 112 transferred to Espanola
17 March, 1944: 153 transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
13 July, 1944: 22 transferred to Gravenhurst
31 July, 1944: 30 transferred to Camp 130 (Seebe)
10 September, 1944: 44 transferred to Camp 100 (Neys)
30 September, 1944: 50 transferred to Seebe
16 October, 1944: 2,100 arrived from Medicine Hat
October – November, 1944: 47 transferred to Gravenhurst
January, 1945: “Greys” transferred to Medicine Hat and 45 “blacks” transferred to Neys
April, 1945: 21 more
12 February, 1946: 260 Austrians transferred to Monteith
CAMP 135
Wainwright
1 December, 1944 – 14 June, 1946
Barracks (capacity 1,000) – Officers
NOTES
Camp 135 was a converted army training camp at Wainwright.
1 December, 1944: Authorized to house “black” and “dark grey” officers and “servants”.
12 April, 1945: 1,094 prisoners at camp
POW TRANSFERS
29 January, 1945: 404 officers, 106 enlisted ranks and 15 civilians arrived from Camp 130 (Seebe)
11 February, 1945: 172 “grey” officers and 73 other ranks arrived from Camp 20 (Gravenhurst)
April, 1945: 283 arrived from Camp 30 (Bowmanville) and 46 from Camp 44 (Grande Ligne)
June – July, 1945: 22 transferred to Camp 45 (Sorel)
11 February, 1946: 49 Germans and Austrians transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
27 March, 1946: 71 enlisted ranks transferred to Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
15 April, 1946: 74 enlisted ranks transferred to Monteith
May, 1946: 250 transferred to Seebe
BRITISH COLUMBIA
PIERS ISLAND
Piers Island (Victoria)
1940
NOTES
Piers Island was being considered for use as an internment camp in 1940. Doukhabours (a Russian spiritual Christian religious group) had been held there in 1932.
NEW BRUNSWICK
1 camp (total capacity 900)
CAMP 70
Ripples (Acadian Forest Experiment Station near Fredericton)
(formerly known as Camp B)
July, 1940 – 14 October, 1945
Barracks (capacity 900)
13 August, 1940 – 26 June, 1941 (Internees and refugees)
July, 1941 – 1 September, 1945 (German and Italian civilian prisoners)
30 September, 1943 – 31 August, 1945 (Italian civilian prisoners and merchant navy seamen – U.K. responsibility)
NOTES
Authorized July 1940 and located on site of former Unemployment Relief Camp, Little River Camp, Colters Siding (32 kilometers west of Fredericton).
26 June, 1941: Camp temporarily closed.
Beginning July, 1941, Internees were released one by one following the hearing of their cases by the Advisory Committee.
February 1943: Camp population was 481 German nationals (including 25 merchant seamen), 66 Italian nationals, 137 Canadians (by birth or naturalization), 8 other British subjects, and 58 of other nationalities.
POW TRANSFERS
12 August, 1940: 717 internees, many of them Jewish, arrived from Camp T (Trois-Rivières)
17 October, 1940: 200 non-Jewish internees transferred to Camp 40 (Farnham)
17 October, 1940: 80 Jewish internees arrived from Camp L (Quebec City)
19 June, 1941: 62 internees returned to UK
21 June, 1941: 140 Orthodox Jews transferred to Camp 41 (Ile aux Noix)
21 June, 1941: 160 transferred to Farnham
26 June, 1941: 164 transferred to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke)
25 July, 1941: 542 German civilian internees arrived from Kananaskis Camp, Seebe (Camp 130)
25 July, 1941: 24 German merchant navy seamen and 4 German civilians, originally interned in Newfoundland, arrived from Camp 33 (Petawawa), along with 22 other German internees
5 February, 1942: 20 internees transferred to Petawawa
July, 1942: 382 internees arrived from Petawawa
14 May, 1943: 141 transferred to Camp 31 (Fort Henry)
3 April, 1944: 51 Italian internees returned to UK
20 November, 1944: 110 German internees returned to UK for repatriation to Germany
17 August, 1945: 95 Italian merchant seamen returned to UK
31 August, 1945: Remaining 28 internees (Germans, Italians, Hungarians, Dutch, Czechs, Norwegians, 1 Romanian, 1 Pole, 1 Estonian) transferred to Camp 33 (Monteith)
ONTARIO
10 camps (total capacity 9,925)
CAMP R
Red Rock – Fort William/Port Arthur
July, 1940 – October, 1941
NOTES
Located on property owned by Lake Sulphite Pulp Co. Ltd.
There were 1100 internees, approximately 900 merchant navy seamen (EMS).
Only 174 were considered anti-Nazi, 78 of whom were Jewish.
The internees included merchants and professional men, many of whom came from former German African colonies. “A number of these men are of birth, breeding, education, and wealth.”
The merchant marine officers were “of quite superior type and largely anti-Nazi.”
Colonel Hubert Stetham recommended in December 1940 that the Jews be moved to Neys and the anti-fascists to Farnham because Red Rock was considered a pro-Nazi camp and they were the “cause of discord”. The Jews were moved by February 1941.
Camp was closed because the water supply was deemed “extremely unsatisfactory”.
POW TRANSFERS
July, 1940: 1,150 German internees arrived from UK
January, 1941: 13 internees transferred to Camp 40 (Farnham)
March, 1941: 88 more
January, 1941: 17 internees (mostly EMS) transferred to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke)
17 March, 1941: 100 transferred Camp 23 (Monteith)
June – July, 1941: Approximately 900 EMS transferred to Monteith
October, 1941: 347 internees transferred to Monteith
October, 1941: 507 (mostly EMS) transferred to Camp 130 (Seebe)
CAMP 10
Chatham – First location
15 May, 1944 – 1 November, 1944 (merchant navy seamen)
1 May, 1945 – 1 December, 1945 (merchant navy seamen)
Fingal – Second location
2 December, 1945 – 14 November, 1946 (merchant navy seamen and military officers/enlisted ranks)
Tents (capacity 325)
NOTES
There were two locations associated with Camp 10, which was a temporary, seasonal internment camp for forced labour delegated to farming projects in southwestern Ontario.
Camp 10 was first located in the Chatham area and opened on 15 May, 1944. The prisoners held there had been transferred from Camp 23 in Monteith, Ontario. Tents were used to house approximately 326 POWs, all of whom were merchant navy seamen. Some of these men were made to work in the Libby McNeill Company and Canadian Dominion Sugar Company factories.
The camp was closed on 15 November, 1944, and its POWs returned to Camp 23.
On 1 May, 1945, the camp re-opened and remained in use until 1 December when it was relocated to Fingal. The Fingal location was kept in use until 14 November, 1946, and had a capacity of 325 prisoners.
The POWs at Fingal were predominantly from the merchant navy, however this time the ranks also included military officers and enlisted ranks.
A report from April 1946 stated that there were 248 prisoners in the camp, 218 of whom were merchant navy seamen working on farms.
CAMP 20
Gravenhurst (Calydor Sanitorium)
(formerly known as Camp C)
30 June, 1940 – 29 June, 1946
Building (approximate capacity 500) – Officers and enlisted ranks
NOTES
The POWs were housed in an abandoned tuberculosis sanitorium (formerly a hotel), which had treated patients between 1916 and 1935. In the summer of 1940 Camp 20 held 489 prisoners. The POWs were used as labour for projects around Gravenhurst; the lighthouse at Gull Lake Park is an example of their work.
The camp included a fenced-in swimming area, and is claimed by one source to also have had a small zoo with a monkey and a black bear, which “prisoners would wrestle as a form of exercise.” The same source states that the POWs had access to the outside world, and as a result “many German prisoners of war had love affairs with the local girls.”
Anecdotal claims state that the camp’s guards attempted to make Camp 20 as friendly as possible to discourage escape attempts. However, it clearly wasn’t friendly enough for Ulrich Steinhilper. The fighter pilot who had shot down five RAF airplanes during the Battle of Britain had attempted to escape more than five times from various POW camps. His final two escape attempts were made at Camp 20.
A vague government report of the camp’s activities states that there was “considerable trouble in fall of 1942 because of shackling.” Shackling had resulted in the Battle of Bowmanville in xxx (see Camp 30), but it’s not clear what the shackling trouble at Gravenhurst had involved.
In December, 1944, Camp 20 was designated a “black” camp for officers.
POW TRANSFERS
13 July, 1940: 164 officers and 325 enlisted men were transferred to the camp from the United Kingdom in anticipation of a German invasion that might liberate them.
5 November, 1940: 304 POWs were transferred to Camp 31 (Fort Henry)
14 May, 1942: 153 POWs arrived from Camp 30 (Bowmanville)
May, 1942: 521 POWs were transferred to Camp 133 (Ozada)
May, 1942: 278 POWs arrived from the Middle East
December, 1942: 98 POW officers were transferred to Camp 40 (Farnham)
July, 1944: 22 POWs arrived from Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
October to November, 1944: 47 POWs arrived from Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
February, 1945: 172 officers and 73 enlisted men designated as “grey” POWs were transferred to Camp 135 (Wainwright) while over 100 “black” officers arrived from Camp 40 (Farnham)
4 December, 1945: 39 “black” officers arrived from Grande Ligna (Camp 44)
15 January, 1946: 29 “black” officers arrived from Grande Ligna (Camp 44)
April, 1946: 69 “black” officers arrived from Grande Ligna (Camp 44)
CAMP 21
Espanola
(formerly known as Camp E)
7 July, 1940 – 30 November, 1943.
Industrial building (capacity 1,200) – Enlisted ranks
NOTES
Camp 21 was located at the site of a wood mill owned by Abitibi Power and Paper, approximately 64 kilometers west of Sudbury.
POW TRANSFERS
14-15 July, 1940: 1,422 enlisted ranks of the German army, navy and air force arrived from the UK
March, 1940: 134 enlisted ranks arrived from Camp 100 (Neys)
September, 1941: 7 POWs were transferred to Camp 32 (Hull)
28 October, 1941: 48 POWs were transferred to Camp 101 (Angler)
May, 1943: Over 1000 POWs were transferred to Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
July, 1943: 21 POWs arrived from Camp 100 (Neys) and 14 from Camp 23 (Monteith)
July-August, 1943: 112 POWs arrive from Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
August, 1943: 23 merchant navy seamen arrive from Camp 33 (Petawawa)
26 August, 1943: Entire camp population (418 POWs) left for repatriation
CAMP 22
New Toronto (Mimico)
(formerly known as Camp M)
25 June, 1940 – 30 April 1944
Ontario Reformatory buildings (capacity 550) – Merchant navy seamen and civilian internees
POW TRANSFERS
19 July, 1940: 347 merchant navy seamen and pro-Nazi civilians arrived from Camp T (Trois-Rivieres)
10 October, 1940: 120 civilians arrived from Camp F (Fort Henry) when it was closed.
19 November, 1940: 19 civilians, suspected pro Nazis, arrived from Camp A (Farnham)
November, 1940: Strength at New Toronto was 514
16 April, 1942: 50 POWs arrived from overseas
5 January, 1943: 63 merchant navy seamen arrived from Camp 42 (Sherbrooke)
16 May, 1943: 37 merchant navy seamen and one civilian arrived from Camp 42 (Sherbrooke)
16 November, 1943: 29 civilians arrived from Camp 31 (Fort Henry)
November, 1943: 9 civilians arrived from Camp 100 (Neys)
24 November, 1943: 377 merchant navy seamen transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
24 April, 1944: 31 enemy merchant seamen and 183 civilians transferred to Camp 23 Monteith
CAMP 23
Monteith
(formerly known as Camp Q)
14 July, 1940 – November, 1941 (Merchant navy seamen)
29 November, 1941 – March, 1944 (Officers and enlisted ranks)
May, 1944 – January, 1946 (Merchant navy seamen)
January, 1946 – December, 1946 (Officers and enlisted ranks)
Barracks (1940 capacity 1,800 – 1944 capacity 4,000 )
NOTES
Camp 23 was located at the Ontario Government Detention Farm, 56 kilometers south of Cochrane.
Most POWs were used as forced labour, outsourced to lumber camps in the area and housed there.
POW TRANSFERS
14 July, 1940: 393 internees and 108 merchant navy seamen arrived from Quebec
October, 1940: 482 internees transferred from Camp F (Fort Henry)
October, 1940: 180 civilians transferred to Camp 40 (Farnham), 240 to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke), 103 to Camp 41 (Ile aux Noix), and 80 to Camp 70 (Fredericton)
June – July, 1941: Approximately 900 enemy merchant seamen (EMS) arrived from Camp R (Red Rock)
October, 1941: 347 internees arrived from Red Rock
26 November, 1941: Approximately 650 internees transferred to Camp 100 (Neys)
November, 1941: 344 merchant navy seamen transferred to Fort Henry
November, 1941 – March, 1944: Camp housed combatant officers and other ranks
3 January, 1942: 1000 arrived from UK
November, 1943: 338 merchant navy seamen and one civilian arrived from Fort Henry which was closed.
November, 1943: 461 merchant navy seamen arrived from Neys
November, 1943: 23 officers arrived from Camp 48 (Grande Ligne)
November, 1943: 48 arrived from Sherbrooke
November, 1943: 377 arrived from Camp 22 (New Toronto)
November, 1943: 150 EMS officers arrived from Camp 33 (Petawawa)
January, 1944: 582 merchant navy seamen arrived from Petawawa
March, 1944: 7 officers arrived from Grande Ligne
March, 1944: Combatant prisoners (approximately 1400) were transferred to Medicine Hat (most were actually in lumber camps)
March, 1944: 153 arrived from Camp 133 (Lethbridge)
April, 1944: 31 merchant navy seamen and 183 civilians arrived from New Toronto
May, 1944: 148 merchant navy seamen arrived from Sherbrooke
May, 1944: Strength of 1,764 merchant navy seamen
July, 1944: All merchant navy seamen (approximately 612) at Camp 130 (Seebe) were transferred Camp 23
March, 1945: 49 arrived from Sherbrooke
September, 1945: 21 arrived from Fredericton
February, 1946: 25 Austrian officers and 6 other ranks arrived from Grande Ligne, 11 Austrians from Neys, 260 from Lethbridge, and 49 from Camp 135 (Wainwright)
CAMP 30
Bowmanville (Ontario Boys’ Training School)
November, 1941 – 30 April, 1945
Building (capacity 750) – Officers and enlisted ranks
NOTES
10–12 October, 1942: Considerable trouble regarding shackling (“Battle of Bowmanville”)
December, 1944: Became a “grey” officers’ camp
POW TRANSFERS
20 November, 1941: 168 officers and 80 orderlies (ORs) arrived from Camp 31 (Fort Henry)
22 November, 1941: 246 officers and 35 ORs arrived from Camp 100 (Neys)
14 May, 1942: 153 officers and “servants” transferred to Camp 20 (Gravenhurst)
5 December, 1942: 129 transferred to Camp 40 (Farnham)
March, 1945: 124 transferred to Camp 130 (Seebe)
9 April, 1945: 283 (dark greys) transferred to Camp 135 (Wainwright)
13 April, 1945: 207 transferred to Camp 44 (Grande Ligna)
CAMP 31
Fort Henry (Kingston)
(formerly known as Camp F)
29 June, 1940 – 23 December, 1943
1 July, 1940 – 20 November, 1941 (Officers and enlisted ranks)
23 November, 1941 – 16 November, 1943 (Merchant navy seamen)
Fort (capacity 600)
NOTES
Camp 31 was a receiving station and temporary internment centre until the camp at Petawawa was ready for occupancy.
There were 124 aliens (72 from Montreal and 52 from Toronto) interred at Fort Henry in September 1939 prior to it being opened as a Camp for POWs.
In October, 1940, Camp 31 was “closed for alterations and improvements”
In September, 1941, a reciprocal agreement with the German government was made whereby “former fortress buildings and penal institutions will not be used as internment camps.”
POW TRANSFERS
29 June, 1940: Arrival of 600 merchant navy seamen and German merchants from West Africa
October, 1940: 120 transferred to Camp 22 (New Toronto) and 482 to Camp 23 (Monteith)
5 November, 1940: 304 officers and their “servants” arrived from Camp 20 (Gravenhurst)
20 November, 1941: 55 transferred to Monteith, and 252 (80 of them orderlies) to Camp 30
(Bowmanville)
23 November, 1941: 344 merchant navy seamen arrived from Monteith
December, 1941: 7 non-refugees arrived from Camp 40 (Farnham)
April, 1942: 72 merchant navy seamen arrived from UK
March, 1943: 20 transferred to Camp 32 (Hull)
15 May, 1943: 141 arrived from Camp 70 (Fredericton)
16 May, 1943: 114 transferred to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke)
16 November, 1943: 29 civilian internees transferred to New Toronto, 338 merchant navy seamen and one civilian internee transferred to Monteith
CAMP 33
Petawawa (Forest Experimental Station)
(formerly known as Camp P)
23 September, 1939 – 31 March, 1946
September, 1939 – 20 July, 1942 (German and Italian civilian prisoners)
6 August, 1942 – February, 1944 (Merchant navy seamen)
February, 1944 – 6 March, 1946 (Officers and enlisted ranks)
Barracks (capacity 800)
NOTES
Camp 33 was located at Centre Lake, 20 kilometers from the Petawawa Military camp.
The first inmates were aliens of enemy origin who were transferred from Camp 31 (Fort Henry).
February, 1940: 147 prisoners in camp, the rest having been released (the first release was on 12 December 1939)
June, 1941: The camp included 409 internees of British nationality, 103 of whom were members of either the Communist or the Unity party. There were also 298 internees who were “foreign born” (95 Germans, 174 Italians).
1944: Designated a “grey” camp for enlisted ranks
POW TRANSFERS
December, 1939: 24 internees arrived from Quebec Citadel
22 May, 1940: 14 transferred to Camp 130 (Kananaskis)
June, 1940: Communist Party members and suspected Fascists arrived
24 July, 1940: 150 civilians, most of German origin, transferred to Kananaskis
27 September, 1940: 25 more
1 December, 1940: 24 merchant navy seamen and 4 civilians arrived from Newfoundland (they were transferred to Camp 70 (Fredericton) on 24 July, 1941)
24 July, 1941: 169 internees arrived from Kananaskis and 50, including the Newfoundland internees, were transferred to Fredericton
20 August, 1941: 90 Communist internees transferred to Camp 32 (Hull)
Fall 1941: The Italian crew of the Capo Noli arrived
28 April, 1942: The first 105 Japanese-Canadian internees arrived from Vancouver and by the end of May there were 294
20 July, 1942: 287 Japanese transferred to Camp 101 (Angler) and the remaining 382 internees were sent to Fredericton
August, 1942: 753 merchant navy seamen arrived from India
18 August, 1943: 23 merchant navy seamen transferred to Camp 21 (Espanola)
16 November, 1943: 150 EMS officers transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
January, 1944: 582 EMS transferred to Monteith
14 February, 1944: 650 combatants arrived from Halifax
6 March, 1946: Prisoners left for repatriation
CAMP 100
Neys
(formerly Camp W)
13 January, 1941 – 30 April, 1946
Barracks (capacity 650)
13 January, 1941 – 17 March, 1941 (officers and enlisted ranks)
17 March, 1941 – 23 November, 1941 (officers and orderlies)
26 November, 1941 – 30 November, 1943 (civilians and merchant navy seamen)
13 September, 1944 – 28 March, 1946 (officers and enlisted ranks)
NOTES
Camp was situated on Lake Superior shore at the mouth of Little Pie River, near Jackfish and Schreiber.
17 March, 1941 – Enlisted men removed from camp with the exception of orderlies, batmen, cooks, etc. to the officers
16 December, 1943: Camp closed temporarily and re-opened 10 August, 1944.
Fall 1944: Designated a “super black” camp for enlisted ranks
POW TRANSFERS
31 January, 1941: 242 officers and 200 enlisted ranks arrived from UK
17 March, 1941: 134 enlisted ranks transferred to Camp 21 (Espanola).
22 November, 1941: 246 officers and 35 enlisted ranks (orderlies) transferred to Camp 30 (Bowmanville) 23 November, 1941: The remaining 30 enlisted ranks transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
26 November, 1941: Approximately 650 civilian internees arrived from Monteith
19 April, 1942: 41 enemy merchant seamen (EMS), including officers, arrived from UK
3 January, 1943: 344 EMS and civilians transferred to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke)
17 July, 1943: 21 EMS transferred to Espanola
16 August, 1943: Four more
30 November, 1943: 139 EMS transferred to Monteith for forced labour at Camp 77 (Pigeon Timber Co.), 467 EMS to Monteith, and 9 civilians to Camp 22 (New Toronto)
13 September, 1944: 454 enlisted ranks arrived from Camp 132 (Medicine Hat) and 44 from Camp 133 (Lethbridge) in the same month
January, 1945: 45 arrived from Lethbridge
6 February 1945: 18 enlisted ranks arrived from Camp 44 (Grande Ligne)
April, 1945: 21 enlisted ranks arrived from Lethbridge
April and May, 1945: 10 enlisted ranks transferred to Medicine Hat
18 January, 1946: 147 enlisted ranks transferred to Camp 33 (Petawawa)
20 January and 9 February, 1946: 108 enlisted ranks arrived from Petawawa
21 February, 1946: 11 Austrians transferred to Monteith
March, 1946: 71 enlisted ranks transferred to Monteith, the remainder left for UK
CAMP 101
Angler (Ontario Highway construction Camp No. 12)
(formerly camp X)
10 January, 1941 – 29 July, 1946
Tents/huts (capacity 650) – Enlisted men and Japanese civilian Internees
NOTES
May, 1942: There were 689 in camp
POW TRANSFERS
25 January, 1941: 558 enlisted ranks arrived from UK
13 June, 1942: All prisoners (920) transferred to Camp 133 (Ozada)
19 June, 1942: 190 Japanese internees arrived
20 July, 1942: 158 Japanese internees arrived from Vancouver
21 July, 1942: 287 Japanese internees arrived from Camp 133 (Petawawa)
12 November, 1942: 56 Japanese internees arrived from Vancouver
22 December, 1942: 43 transferred to Camp 77 of Pigeon River Timber Company (others transferred there in 1943)
January, 1943: Final group of Japanese internees arrived
February, 1943: Internees begin to be released one by one
25 May, 1946: 150 Japanese nationals left for repatriation to Japan
QUEBEC
10 camps (total capacity 3,450)
CAP ROUGE
Cap Rouge (Quebec City)
1940
NOTES
Cap Rouge Dominion Experimental station was considered as the site for an internment camp in 1940 but was rejected because of the uncertainty of the water supply.
GROSSE-ILE
Grosse-Ile (Montmagny)
1939 – 1942
NOTES
A quarantine station that was considered as a site for a family internment camp in 1939. It was then considered as a site for an internment camp for fewer than 100 men in 1942. Neither consideration was acted upon. It became a War Disease control Station in 1943.
QUEBEC CITADEL
Quebec City
Fall 1939 – 7 December, 1939
NOTES
Used as a temporary internment camp for enemy aliens. Camp was closed to clear the Citadel for winter occupancy by the Royal 22e Regiment, that was at Valcartier.
POW TRANSFERS
7 December, 1939: Aliens transferred to Camp 33 (Petawawa)
SAINT-JEAN
Saint-Jean (lIe d’OrIeans)
1940
NOTES
Considered as site for an internment camp in 1940, but not followed through.
CAMP L
Cove Fields
13 July, 1940 – October, 1940
NOTES
Only existed as a temporary camp to accommodate 743 internees (categories B and C) who arrived from UK aboard S.S. Ettrick. All but 90 were refugees and 60 percent were Jewish (i.e. 600 Jews, 102 others).
The remaining 90 were considered to be pro-Nazi. The British Government requested that the internees be treated as refugees.
POW TRANSFERS
October, 1940: Jewish internees moved to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke), and the non-Jews to Camp 40 (Farnham)
CAMP T
Three Rivers (Exhibition Buildings)
July, 1940 – August, 1940
NOTES
A temporary camp only used to accommodate internees from the UK (515 Jews, 202 others).
POW TRANSFERS
19 July, 1940: 347 category A, most of whom were considered to be pro-Nazi, were transferred to Camp 22 (New Toronto)
12 August, 1940: Remainder transferred to Camp 70 (Fredericton)
CAMP V
Valcartier
July, 1940
NOTES
The decision to establish a permanent camp for six hundred internees at Valcartier, close to the Dominion Forestry Experimental station, was cancelled because the site was within the danger zone of an artillery shell proving range, and too close to the Dominion Arsenal and Magazine at Valcartier.
CAMP 32
Hull
(formerly known as Camp H)
9 August, 1941 – 20 March, 1947
August 20, 1941 (merchant navy seamen)
September 15, 1942 (military officers and enlisted ranks)
Jail with a capacity of 100 POWs
NOTES
Camp 32 used the newly constructed provincial jail in Val Tétreau
Prisoners in the Hull Camp were used as forced labour in the Ottawa-Hull area on farms
POW TRANSFERS
20 August, 1941: First occupants were 90 members of the Communist Party of Canada who were transferred to Camp 32 from Camp 33 (Petawawa) after trouble developed between them and Fascist internees at Petawawa. The Communists were released one by one after the hearing of their cases by the Advisory Committee, beginning in April, 1942. All had been released by October, 1942.
September, 1942: 7 anti-Nazi prisoners of war at Camp 21 (Espanola) and 10 at Camp 133 (Ozada) who sought protection arrived
October, 1942: 25 arrived from Camp 33 (Petawawa), Camp 40 (Farnham), and Camp 70 (Fredericton)
March, 1943: 20 arrived from Camp 31 (Fort Henry)
September, 1943: 24 from Petawawa
October-November, 1943: 60 refugees arrived from Camp 41 (Ile aux Noix), 50 of whom returned to UK in November
CAMP 40
Farnham (Dominion Experimental Station)
(formerly known as Camp A)
11 October, 1940 – 17 June, 1946
Barracks with a capacity of 700 POWs
October 16, 1940 – July 1, 1941 (refugees)
April 18, 1942 – December 1942 (merchant navy seamen)
December 1942 – June 28, 1943 (military officers and enlisted ranks)
September 18, 1944 – May 22, 1946 (military officers and enlisted ranks)
NOTES
Opened at with the arrival of 139 internees (refugees) from Camp L (Quebec), 180 from Camp 23 (Monteith), and 200 from Camp 70 (Fredericton)
18 June, 1941: Only 116 internees in camp
July, 1941: Status changed to refugee camp
23 January, 1942: All 445 refugees in camp transferred to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke) and camp closed temporarily
18 April, 1942: Re-opened with the arrival of 597 merchant navy seamen
November, 1943 to May, 1944: Camp closed and used as a scout training school
25 September, 1944: Camp re-opened as an internment camp for “light grey” officers
POW TRANSFERS
19 November, 1940: 19 suspected pro-Nazis transferred to Camp 22 (New Toronto)
21 November, 1940: 50 Jewish internees arrived from Camp 41 (Ile aux Noix)
16 December, 1940: 100 returned to UK
January, 1941: 13 internees arrived from Camp R (Red Rock)
March, 1941: 88 more
22 June, 1941: 160 arrived from Fredericton
30 June, 1941: 30 transferred from Ile aux Noix
December, 1941: 7 non-refugees transferred to Camp 31 (Fort Henry)
12 October, 1942: Some merchant navy seamen transferred to Camp 32 (Hull)
2 December, 1942: Remaining 594 EMS transferred to Sherbrooke
6 December, 1942: 129 officers and “servants” arrived from Camp 30 (Bowmanville) and 98 officers and
“servants” from Camp 20 (Gravenhurst)
12 May, 1943: 103 enlisted ranks transferred to Camp 132 (Medicine Hat)
17 June, 1943: 193 officers and 40 enlisted ranks arrived from Libya
28 June, 1943: All 465 officers and orderlies transferred to Camp 44 (Grande Ligne)
October, 1944: 596 officers and orderlies arrived from the United States
February, 1945: Over 100 “blacks” transferred to Gravenhurst
29 June, 1945: 60 “whites” transferred to Camp 45 (Sorel)
22 May, 1946: Prisoners left for UK
CAMP 41
Ile aux Noix (Fort Lennox)
(formerly known as Camp I)
15 July, 1940 – 24 December, 1943
Fort with a capacity of 500 refugees
NOTES
7 May, 1941: First internee released for work in Canada
24 July, 1941: Became a refugee camp
POW TRANSFERS
15 July, 1940: Camp opened with the arrival of 273 Jewish internees from Camp L (Quebec)
16 October, 1940: 103 arrived from Camp 23 (Monteith)
21 November, 1940: 50 transferred to Camp 40 (Farnham)
February, 1941: 39 returned to UK
June, 1941: 27 returned to UK
22 June, 1941: 140 arrived from Camp 70 (Fredericton)
30 June, 1941: 30 transferred to Farnham and 10 to Camp 42 (Sherbrooke)
25 November, 1942: 299 arrived from Sherbrooke
19 January, 1943: 72 transferred to Camp 43 (St. Helens Island)
Fall 1943: Most refugees were released and the remaining 60 were transferred to Camp 32 (Hull)
CAMP 42
Sherbrooke (Newington)
(formerly known as Camp N)
15 October, 1940 – 14 July, 1946
October 16, 1940 – July 1, 1941 (refugees)
December 2, 1942 – June 1946 (military officers and merchant navy seamen)
Buildings owned by Quebec Central Railway with a capacity of 750 POWs
NOTES
30 June, 1941: Designated a refugee camp
2 December, 1942: Designated a POW camp
December, 1944: Became a “grey” camp for merchant navy seamen
POW TRANSFERS
15 October, 1940: 619 internees arrived from Camp L (Quebec) and 118 from Camp 23 (Monteith)
January, 1941: 12 internees arrived from Camp R (Red Rock)
November 1940 to February 1941: 340 returned to UK
27 June, 1941: 164 arrived from Camp 70 (Fredericton)
23 January 1942: 445 arrived from Camp 40 (Farnham) and 10 from Camp 41 (Ile aux Noix)
25 November, 1942: All 299 refugees remaining in camp transferred to Ile aux Noix
2 December, 1942: 594 merchant navy seamen (EMS) arrived from Farnham
5 January, 1943: 85 EMS transferred to Camp 22 (New Toronto)
5 January, 1943: 344 EMS and civilians arrived from Camp 100 (Neys)
16 May, 1943: 37 EMS and 1 civilian transferred to New Toronto
16 May, 1943: 114 arrived from Camp 31 (Fort Henry)
16 November, 1943: 48 EMS transferred to Monteith
9 May, 1944: 148 transferred to Monteith
August, 1944: 14 civilians transferred to Camp 32 (Hull) and 56 EMS to Camp 43 (St. Helen’s Island)
15 December, 1944: 59 EMS and 3 civilians arrived from Monteith
11 June, 1946: Prisoners left
CAMP 43
St. Helen’s Island (Montreal)
3 July, 1940 – November, 1943
Barracks with a capacity of 300 POWs (merchant navy seamen)
NOTES
Camp also served as an assembly point for internees and refugees returning to the UK
POW TRANSFERS
13 July, 1940: 52 Italian merchant navy seamen and 349 Italian internees, including 25 Jews, arrived
November, 1943: Most inmates either released or returned to the UK by the time the camp closed. The remaining 161 were transferred to Camp 70 (Fredericton) and one went to Camp 32 (Hull)
CAMP 44
Grande Ligne Mission (near St-Jean-sur-Richelieu)
Fall 1942 – May, 1946
Barracks with a capacity of 350 POWs (officers and enlisted ranks)
NOTES
Camp 44 was on a 240-acre farm belonging to the Feller Institute (Grande Ligne Mission), taken over 15 January, 1943.
December, 1944: Designated a “grey” camp for officers
POW TRANSFERS
28 June, 1943: 465 officers and servants (including 32 merchant marine seamen (EMS)) arrived from Camp 40 (Farnham)
16 November, 1943: 23 EMS officers transferred to Camp 23 (Monteith)
29 March, 1944: The remaining 9 transferred to Camp 23
12 July, 1943: 100 officers and 30 enlisted ranks arrived from the UK
14 February, 1944: 100 officers arrived from the UK
6 February, 1945: 231 officers and 17 enlisted ranks transferred to Camp 130 (Seebe), and 18 enlisted ranks to Camp 100 (Neys)
9 April, 1945: 43 “dark grey” officers and 3 enlisted ranks transferred to Camp 135 (Wainwright)
13 April, 1945: 207 arrived from Camp 30 (Bowmanville)
June to July, 1945: 26 “white” officers transferred to Camp 45 (Sorel)
4 December, 1945: 39 “black” officers transferred to Camp 20 (Gravenhurst)
15 January, 1946: 29 “black” officers transferred to Camp 20 (Gravenhurst)
11 February, 1946: 25 Austrian officers and 6 other ranks transferred to Monteith
16 April, 1946: Remaining prisoners transferred to Farnham
CAMP 45
Sorel, Quebec
9 May, 1945 – 17 April, 1946
Barracks with a capacity of 350 POWs (merchant navy seamen and military officers/enlisted ranks)
NOTES
Camp 45 was a former army basic training centre. It was designated a “white” camp, which meant it was composed of officers and enlisted ranks who were to supply material to be used as propaganda in Germany, as well as material to be used in re-education work in “grey” camps. These POWs produced a German language weekly, Die Weg, which was distributed in other camps.
POW TRANSFERS
4 March, 1946: Prisoners left for repatriation