Website: www.pier21.ca
Pier 21, Canada’s Immigration Museum was a gateway to Canada between 1928 and 1971. During these years more than one million individuals first set foot on Canadian soil at Pier 21 and almost half a million Canadian service personnel departed from the Pier to serve overseas during the Second World War.
Today, one in five Canadians has a direct connection to the historic pier. Reopened as Canada’s immigration museum in 1999, recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of Canada in 2007, and announced in 2009 by the Government of Canada to become a National Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Pier 21 shares and celebrates Canada’s unique stories of immigration and nation building.
Pier 21 hosts interactive displays, artifacts, exhibitions celebrating the ethnic diversity and cultural heritage of Canada, along with the Scotiabank Research Centre for visitors interested in exploring their family history.
Hours
Year round
Open daily May 1 to November 30; closed Sunday
and Monday from November 30 to March 31;
closed Sunday in April.
Membership(s)
Pier Pass Membership - Adult: $18 Student/Senior: $15 Family: $36 (Free admission to museum and travelling exhibits; 15% discount on regularly priced merchandise in the Pier 21 Gift Shop; $5 discount on the purchase of a ship image or a printed copy of an immigration record; Free public tours of the museum’s permanent exhibition; Free subscription to Passages, bi-annual newsletter; Email invitations to opening receptions, special presentations and cultural events)
Contact Information
Carrie-Ann Smith
Manger of Research
pier21.ca
Phone: (902) 425-7770
Cailin MacDonald
Communications Manager
pier21.ca
Phone: (902) 425-7770
Admission Details
Adult: $8.50
Senior (60 years and over): $7.50
Children (6 – 16 years of age): $5.00
Children (Under 6): FREE
Family Rate (2 adults/3 children): $21.00
Student Rate (with valid ID): $6.00
Organization Type/Service(s)
Museum
Genealogical Holdings
Theme(s)
Buildings
- Immigration
Facilities
Wheelchair accessible
Public washrooms
Bus tours welcome
Parking available
Indoor eating
Restaurant
Gift shop
There is a large paved parking lot to the right of the main entrance. Parking is $1.50 per hour to a maximum of $10.00 per day.
Bus tours welcome (please book in advance).
Special Group Tours Offered
Yes
Tour Details
Passengers on the deck of the Saturnia in April of 1959, Giorno Family Collection
Genealogical Holdings:
Scope of Holdings
The Scotiabank Research Centre holds additional information on topics of migration, nautical history, waves of immigration to Canada, ethnic groups and genealogy. It has immigration records from 1925-1935 on microfilm and staff has access to arrival and departure sources going back to 1865. There are over 2000 personal migration memoirs and family histories, thousands of scanned documents and images, hundreds of oral history interviews, and books relating to Canadian immigration, nautical history and the Canadians in WWII in the Centre.
Pier 21 offers reference interviews, scans materials, collects stories, and works with partners on book, film and research projects.
Extent of Holdings
The collection is largely digital (thousands of scanned documents and images) and includes books, artifacts and microfilm.
Research Fees
The Scotiabank Research Centre responds to research inquiries; searchable database is available. No fee for general and genealogical inquiries.
Duplication Fees
All prices (CAD) include shipping and taxes.
Canadian Immigration Records from digital source, $15.00; Canadian Immigration Records from microfilm, $20.00; British departure records, $20.00; Clip-framed, customized ship images, $35.00.
Photographic Holdings:
Community Holdings
Immigration records from 1925-1935 on microfilm and staff have access to arrival and departure sources going back to 1865.
Cemetery Holdings
None