There were 40 known

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

s across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, although this number also includes

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

camps that held Canadians of German and Japanese descent. Several reliable sources indicate that there were only 25 or 26 camps holding exclusively prisoners from foreign countries, nearly all from Germany. The camps were identified by letters at first, then by numbers. In addition to the main camps there were branch camps and labour camps. The

prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

were given various tasks; many worked in the forests as logging crews or on nearby farms; they were paid a nominal amount for their labour. Approximately 11,000 were thus employed by 1945. The largest number of military prisoners of war was recorded as 33,798 by several sources. In addition to POWs, some civilian internees were held in the camps and some estimates include such prisoners. All POWs were protected by the conditions of the

Geneva Convention upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...

. There are claims that conditions in the Canadian camps tended to be better than average, and many times better than the conditions of the barracks that Canadian troops were kept in. They were guarded by the Veterans Guard of Canada, mostly men who had been soldiers during WW I. It is believed by some that the lenient treatment foiled many escape attempts before they even started. It is told that a group of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

prisoners returned to Ozada camp after escaping because of encountering a

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

. Starting in 1945, all POWs were released and returned to their home countries. None were allowed to remain in Canada, but some later returned as immigrants. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto;" !Camp !Place !Province !Relative Location !Specific Location !Period , - , 10 , Chatham ,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, 260 km southwest of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, , 1944
1945-1946 , - , 10 ,

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...

, Ontario , 40 km south of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, , 1945-1946 , - , 20 (C) , Gravenhurst , Ontario , 170 km north of Toronto , , 1940-1946 , - , 21 (F) , Espanola , Ontario , 330 km NNW of Toronto , , 1940-1943 , - , 22 (M) ,

Mimico Mimico is a neighbourhood (and a former municipality) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, being located in the south-west area of Toronto on Lake Ontario. It is in the south-east corner of the former Township (and later, City) of Etobicoke, and was an ...

, Ontario , 15 km west of Toronto , , 1940-1944 , - , 23 (Q) , Monteith (near

Iroquois Falls Iroquois Falls is a town in Northern Ontario, Canada, with a population of 4,537 at the 2016 census. The town centre lies 11 km east of Hwy 11 on the banks of the Abitibi River, west of Lake Abitibi. Timmins, one of the largest cities in ...

) , Ontario , 700 km north of Toronto , , 1940-1946 , - , 30 ,

Bowmanville Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2. Bowmanville was first incorporated as a to ...

, Ontario , 65 km ENE of Toronto , , 1941-1945 , - , 31 (F) , Kingston , Ontario , 145 km SSW of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, , 1940-1943 , - , 32 (H) ,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, 10 km north of Ottawa , , 1941-1947 , - , 33 (F) ,

Petawawa Petawawa is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. Geography The town lies on the we ...

, Ontario , 130 km WNW of Ottawa , , 1942-1946 , - , 40 (A) ,

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tri ...

, Quebec , 50 km ESE of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, 825 Rue Principale O, Farnham, QC , 1940-1941
1942-1943
1944-1946 , - , 42 (N) , Newington (

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

) , Quebec , 130 km east of Montreal , 990 Rue Bowen S, Sherbrooke, QC {{Cite web, last=Lapointe, first=Vicky, date=2012-08-16, title=Photos: le camp d'internement no 42 (camp Newington), Sherbrooke 1944-1945, url=https://tolkien2008.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/photos-le-camp-dinternement-no-42-camp-newington-sherbrooke-1944-1945/, access-date=2021-05-28, website=Patrimoine, Histoire et Multimédia, language=fr-FR , 1942-1946 , - , 43 , Ile Ste Helene, Montreal , Quebec , , , 1940-1943 , - , 44 ,

Feller College Feller College, also known as Institut Feller, was a boarding school located in Grande-Ligne (now Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu) which closed its doors in 1967. History It was founded in 1836 by Henriette Feller of Lausanne, a Swiss Protestant mis ...

/ Grande Ligne , Quebec , 56 km southeast of Montreal , , 1943-1946 , - , 45 , Sorel , Quebec , 65 km NNE of Montreal , , 1945-1946 , - , 70 (B) ,

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

(Ripples) ,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, 20 km east of Fredericton , , 1941-1945 , - , 100 (W) , Neys , Ontario , 1100 km northwest of Toronto , , 1944-1943
1944-1946 , - , 101 (X) , Angler , Ontario , 800 km northwest of Toronto , , 1941-1946 , - , 130 , Seebe ,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

, 100 km west of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

, , 1939-1946 , - , 132 ,

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are wit ...

, Alberta , 260 km ESE of Calgary , 2055 21 Ave SE, Medicine Hat, AB , 1943-1945 , - , 133 , Ozada , Alberta , 130 km west of Calgary , , 1942 , - , 133 ,

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to t ...

, Alberta , 160 km southeast of Calgary , , 1942-1946 , - , ? , Chisholm , Alberta , 180 km N of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

, , ? , -- , 135 , Wainwright , Alberta , 190 km ESE of

, , 1945-1946 , - , (R) , Red Rock , Ontario ,

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, , 1940-1941 , - , ? ,

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

, Manitoba ,

Riding Mountain National Park Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area , the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the su ...

, , 1943-1945 , - , N/A , Wainfleet , Ontario , Close to Port Colborne , , 1943-1945

References

External links

''Truro Daily''
*

POW camps A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

See also

References

External links