During Canada’s first national internment operations of 1914 to 1920 thousands of men, women and children were branded as “enemy aliens.” Many were imprisoned. Stripped of what little wealth they had, forced to do heavy labour in Canada’s hinterlands, they were also disenfranchised and subjected to other state sanctioned censures not because of anything they had done but only because of where they had come from, who they were.
8,579 so-called “enemy aliens”, including women and children, were interned, including Ukrainians, Alevi Kurds, Armenians, Bulgarians, Croatians, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Italians, Jews, Ottoman Turks, Polish, Romanians, Russians, Serbians, Slovaks, and Slovenes, among others, of which most were Ukrainians and most were civilians.
The Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund exists to support projects that commemorate and recognize the experiences of all the ethno-cultural communities affected by Canada’s first national internment operations of 1914-1920.
To be eligible for a grant, applicants must
Meet the objectives of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund
(otherwise known as CFWWIRF) and qualify within the following areas of funding:
- Education
Student Support, Program Development, Development of Educational Materials. - The Arts
Theatre, Music, Dance, Fine Arts, Applied Arts, Films. - Literature
Literary Publications, Documentary Publications, Research Results.
Community Development, Program Development, Leadership Training,
Communications
Eligible applicants may be any one of the following:
- Canadian citizens or permanent residents
- Corporations
- Sole Proprietorships
- Partnerships, trusts
- Joint ventures
- Educational institutions
- Unincorporated associations established in Canada or owned and controlled by Canadians and carrying out their activities in Canada.
