Canada Post recognizes civilian internment with July 17 stamp issue

Jul 28, 2025, 11 AM

By David Hartwig

On July 17 Canada Post issued a stamp that draws attention to the history of civilian internment in Canada.

“During both the First and Second World Wars, the Canadian government organized large-scale civilian internment operations, during which thousands of people were unjustly interned in camps across the country,” Canada Post said in a July 17 press release. “Tens of thousands more had their freedoms restricted in the name of national security. Some of these measures continued into peacetime.”

The stamp features barbed wire over bilingual vertical red text set against a gray background. In place of the denomination, the stamp has a “P” inside a symbolic maple leaf, indicating that it pays the permanent rate (currently $1.24).

Within the first month of World War I, the Canadian government adopted the War Measures Act, which provided for the suspension of civil liberties, including the right to a fair trial before detention.

The War Measures Act gave the federal government authority to force civilians into internment camps, where more than 8,500 men (along with 200 women and children who joined their male relatives) were kept in 24 internment camps and work sites.

Ukrainian Canadians comprised the majority of those held against their will, with others being from the Ottoman Empire, the German Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. In addition to these civilians, Canada imprisoned the homeless, the unemployed, conscientious objectors, and socialists.

“Detainees lived in austere and at times harsh conditions,” Canada Post says. “Some were forced to work on labour-intensive projects. More than 100 died. Some died from disease, injury and suicide. Others were shot trying to escape. Many were buried in unmarked graves.”

In addition to forced internment, the government forced another 80,000 people, mostly Ukrainian, to register as enemy aliens. The government required these individuals to carry identification at all times and to regularly report to authorities, in addition to restricting other rights.

The War Measures Act stayed in effect until 1920, well after the end of World War I. It went into effect again at the advent of World War II, when Canada implemented the Defense of Canada Regulations under the War Measures Act.

The Defense of Canada Regulations included bans on certain political and religious groups, and restrictions of free speech. It waived the right to a trial as well as habeas corpus, which in part forces authorities to justify a prisoner’s confinement. Thus, the government had the freedom to detain anyone it deemed to be a threat.

Groups interned in camps during World War II included German Canadians, Italian Canadians, Jewish refugees, socialists, conscientious objectors and others the government considered subversives.

On the West Coast, the government forcibly relocated and incarcerated more than 20,000 Japanese Canadians, the majority of whom were Canadian citizens. The government confiscated and later sold their property.

While the War Measures Act ended after 1945, internment and legal restrictions did not end for Japanese Canadians until the spring of 1949.

The July 17 stamp issue marks Canada’s latest effort to recognize the government’s responsibility for the internment of civilians.

“Canada Post hopes today’s stamp issue will raise awareness about this history and the resilience of the people and communities whose lives were profoundly affected by this forced displacement, confinement and hardship,” the July 17 press release said. “It also reminds us of our responsibility to learn from the past.”

The Canadian government has worked to acknowledge its actions taken under the War Measures Act.

Nearly 40 years after the restrictions on Japanese Canadians ended, on Sept. 22, 1988, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney delivered an apology for the internment of Japanese civilians, and the government announced a compensation package for the surviving internees.

Official recognition of the Ukrainian internment came in 2005, when the Canadian government passed a bill acknowledging the internment and obliging the government to negotiate measures for educational and commemorative projects. The last known survivors of the World War I internments died in 2007 and 2008.

The July 17 stamp is available in booklets of six. Colour Innovations printed 100,000 booklets, and the Canada Post ordering number is 414284111.

Canada Post produced 5,000 first-day covers for the stamp, canceled in Petawawa, Ontario, where an internment camp operated during both world wars. The front of the FDC features a photograph of an internment camp near Petawawa. The FDC product number is 414284131.

Both products were designed by Underline Studio.

Canada Post stamps and related items are available online at www.canadapost.ca/shop. Stamps and FDCs are available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

Canada Post stamps and related items are available online at www.canadapost.ca/shop. Stamps and FDCs are available by mail order from Canada Post Customer Service, Box 90022, 2701 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8 Canada; or by telephone from the United States or Canada at 800-565-4362, and from other countries at 902-863-6550.

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