Page 81 - 2026-2027 Travel Guide to Canada

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CANADIAN MUSEUM OF IMMIGRATION AT PIER 21
Pier 21
Gateway to Canada
BY DARCY RHYNO
The Museum is open year-round. Entry is $19 per adult, less
for seniors 60 and over, and youth 16 and under. From June
19 to September 7, 2026, admission is half price for 18 to 24-
year-olds and free for 17 and under when the Canada Strong
Pass is available to all visitors. The museum is part of the
Halifax Experience Pass and a stop on the Hop On Hop Off
tours. Admission can be purchased on-site or in advance
through GetYourGuide.com and Viator/TripAdvisor.
the national historic site where
Located on the Halifax waterfront in
nearly one million immigrants first
stepped onto Canadian soil, the
Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier
21 is rich with powerful human stories.
Known simply as Pier 21, this national
museum chronicles the experiences of
newcomers who arrived here between 1928
and 1971, as well as those who entered
Canada at other times and places. Through
personal narratives and immersive
exhibits, the museum explores more than
400 years of immigration history,
illuminating how immigrants helped
shape Canada into one of the world’s most
diverse nations.
Regardless of your background,
discovering your connection to Canada’s
immigration story can be deeply moving.
At the Canadian Immigration Story
exhibition, you can select the story of a
specific immigrant told in their own voice.
These accounts of upheaval, hope, joy, and
at times, injustice resonate strongly.
Express your emotional response in the
ever-expanding digital Belonging Quilt.
Interactive installations bring these
stories into sharper focus. A short
multimedia presentation highlights the
contributions immigrants have made
across Canadian society, while hands-on
displays invite you to test your knowledge
of immigration. Trace historic migration
patterns across the country using a large
multimedia map.
The Pier 21 Story exhibition offers tactile
elements that transport you into the past.
Stand in a replica ship’s cabin and imagine
weeks spent at sea in tight quarters. Enter a
colonist railcar to experience what it was
like to travel westward toward cities such
as Toronto or to homestead on the Prairies.
Children and adults alike are drawn to the
children’s trunks for a peek into the lives of
Canada’s youngest immigrants.
One memorable story features eight-
year-old Angelina Marchitto, who arrived
from Italy with her family in 1959. Customs
officers discovered sausage and walnuts
hidden by Angelina’s grandmother inside
the family’s trunk. Today, a replica trunk
helps retell this story.
For a deeper insight you can join a
guided tour, from specific ships to even
distinct waves of immigration. For hands-
on research, the Scotiabank Family History
Centre provides resources for your family’s
arrival, whether it began in Halifax or
elsewhere in North America.
Halifax invites visitors to linger in the
historic port that changed the face of
Canada. (www.pier21.ca)