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 tot ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, although this number also includes internment 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 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 prisoners returned to Ozada camp after escaping because of encountering a grizzly bear. 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 C ...

, 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 , 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 , Ontario , 15 km west of Toronto , , 1940-1944 , - , 23 (Q) , Monteith (near Iroquois Falls) , 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 , , 1940-1943 , - , 32 (H) , Hull ,

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 thirtee ...

, 10 km north of Ottawa , , 1941-1947 , - , 33 (F) , Petawawa , Ontario , 130 km WNW of Ottawa , , 1942-1946 , - , 40 (A) , Farnham , 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) , 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 / Grande Ligne , Quebec , 56 km southeast of Montreal , , 1943-1946 , - , 45 , Sorel , Quebec , 65 km NNE of Montreal , , 1945-1946 , - , 70 (B) , Fredericton (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 Ter ...

, 100 km west of Calgary , , 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 with ...

, 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 , 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 ancho ...

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

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