Canadian Japanese leave for camps in the interior, 1942.
Most evacuees, like the ones photographed here, could take only a few personal belongings with them. Since few individuals had believed such a chain of events possible, most had not disposed of their property before the government announcement. Others felt the relocation to be temporary, until matters calmed down; these people left everything behind, never to see their homes or possessions again. Some individuals, in outlying areas, were given only twenty-four hours to set their affairs in order. When the custodian of enemy alien property auctioned off the homes and belongings of Japanese nationals and Canadian citizens alike, most families lost the accumulation of years of work and saving. One widow received $50 for her seven-room frame house, and $8.50 for her furniture. A prosperous businessman lost his new car, $50,000 home and business without a penny of compensation. After the war he worked at a lunch counter in Toronto, starting anew.
