Confiscated Japanese-Canadian boats in Alert Bay during World War II

Confiscated Japanese-Canadian boats in Alert Bay during World War II.

The North Island Eagle newspaper's photo of the week depicts confiscated Japanese gillnet boats at the dock in Alert Bay during World War II.

Japanese settlers played a significant role in the settlement of the North Island in the early 1900s.  Many Asian immigrants found that there was less racism in BC's small coastal communities, and they found success in the logging, fishing, farming, and whaling industries and as the owners of small businesses. Strong friendships formed in many cases with local First Nations communities. Historic North Island communities have graveyards with Japanese grave sites dating to this period.

Following the Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour in December 7, 1941, those of Japanese heritage were rounded up and interned in camps in the BC interior. Their possessions were confiscated, and many, like these fishing boats, became property of the Canadian government and were used by the military for the remainder of World War II. 

Japanese residents never returned to the North Island in the numbers seen prior to the war.