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.

Located on the Halifax waterfront in the national historic site where 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)