When Canadian soldiers returned from the battlefields of Europe after the Second World War, many brought back more than just their kitbags. They brought new wives as well. Approximately 43,000 women came to Canada during and immediately after the war to be with their Canadian husbands. Most were from England, but many were from Holland as well.
At the time, a grateful nation responded by welcoming the war brides to Canada with open arms. There were settlement programs, and the government passed an Order in Council that automatically made the war brides Canadian citizens.
But that appears to have changed when Canada’s first citizenship act was adopted in 1947. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has taken the view that under the Act, those war brides were no longer citizens, unless they reaffirmed their citizenship. As a result, over the intervening 60 years, thousands of war brides have been surprised by the news … they’re not Canadian.
"In 1967, my husband and I divorced, and this is what caused the whole trouble," says Gwen Zradicka of Richmond, B.C. "In 1969, my daughter and I were going to go to England, so I took all my papers … went down to the passport office, and this woman said, 'How do you claim to be a Canadian?'"
"She said, 'You’re not a Canadian, and if you want a passport you’ll have to apply for citizenship.' Boy, I had no idea I wasn’t a Canadian!" It took 10 months for Zradicka to regain her citizenship. And over the past 30 years, the majority of war brides have reaffirmed their citizenship. It is unknown how many of the war brides could still be at risk of losing their Canadian status.
| Province | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 155 |
| P.E.I. | 224 |
| Nova Scotia | 1,720 |
| New Brunswick | 1,370 |
| Quebec | 2,576 |
| Ontario | 14,870 |
| Manitoba | 975 |
| Saskatchewan | 555 |
| Alberta | 1,792 |
| British Columbia | 4,273 |
| Yukon, N.W.T., Nunavut | 0 |
| Total | 28,510 |
|
Source: Demographer Barry Edmonston This chart displays information for those living in Canada. In addition, there are several groups that include people living outside of Canada, including the Chattel Children, Military Brats and Illegitimate Canadians. Because of that, we did not include charts for those three groups. | |
MENU
- Main page
- The Chattel Children: up to 20,000 in Canada, 85,000 living in the U.S.
- Border Babies: minimum 10,000 in Canada
- War Brides: potentially 25-35,000 in Canada
- War Babies: Between 6,000 and 20,000 living in Canada
- Born-Abroad Babies pre-1977: up to 32,000
- Born-Abroad Babies post-1977: up to 42,000
- Illegitimate Canadians: up to 30,000 Mennonite Canadians
- Military Brats: 110,000, mostly in Canada
- Documents
- Multimedia
- CBC coverage
- Viewpoints
- Links
CBC Media
- Paul Hunter reports on lost Canadians for the National (runs 2:55)
- Gary Symons reports on war babies for the World at Six (runs 4:16)