‘Shameful point in history’: New Calgary monument tells story of WWI internment camps

Calgary's Ukrainian community unveils an exhibit marking Canada’s First World War internment operations

An educational and commemorative exhibit marking Canada’s First World War internment operation is now set up in Ukrainian Pioneers Park in northeast Calgary.

Over 8,000 people living in Canada were sent to internment camps during the First World War. Immigrants were locked away not for anything they did, but because of where they came from.

The 24 internment camps and receiving stations across Canada held 8,579 people.

That included 5,954 men of Austro-Hungarian origin, the majority of whom were Ukrainian. Germans, Turks and Bulgarians were also sent to the camps.

“It is a shameful point in history and yet Ukrainian Canadians persevered. You faced down discrimination and you stood yourselves back up again,” said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek at the unveiling event on Saturday hosted by the Ukrainian Civil Liberties Foundation.

Sofiia Zozuliak recently moved to Calgary with her mom and sister to flee the war in Ukraine. She didn’t know about the internment camps in Canada before arriving here.

“It’s very unfortunate to see that they were treated that way for doing nothing wrong,” Zozuliak said.

“It’s very unfortunate but even today, we still see the same thing happening and Ukrainians being captured and killed but not in Canada. We are very grateful Canada is able to host all the immigrants, but still, the Ukrainian nation is being tortured by Russia just because we are Ukrainian.”