Pier 21, on the Halifax waterfront, is now the last standing immigration shed in Canada. Between 1928 and 1971, more than one million Canadians, many of them war brides, refugees and children, first set foot on Canadian soil at Pier 21. A visit to the remarkable Pier 21 museum begins this documentary. The spectrum of immigrant experiences are examined: the unique situation of those who settled in the Maritimes where there were neither ethnic neighbourhoods nor support networks; the experiences of unwanted non-white immigrants on the West Coast and the carefully crafted government policies designed to weed them out; a pilot project in Manitoba, once a mecca for immigrants, that could boost immigration levels there; and an exploration of the 21st century immigration experience.

From the Curio.ca streaming audio-visual collection.