The Japanese living in Canada during World War II (WWII) faced one of the harshest and most inhumane living conditions in Canadian history. An unidentified woman recalls: “It was terrible, incredible. They kept us in the stables where they kept the cattle and horses.” Before World War II, the Japanese were targeted for their culture. One example is the Anti-Asian League created to limit the number of Japanese men who could immigrate to Canada. Canadians did not want potential competitors in agriculture and fishing. 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned during World War II, although 14,000 were Canadian-born citizens. This was because the Japanese had bombed Canada's ally, the United States. With this in mind, the Canadians considered the Japanese to be the enemy. This caused innocent Japanese Canadians to become victims of unjust suspicion and began to fall through the cracks of Canada's developing society and government. The internment camps were created to forcibly keep “dangerous” Japanese away from seemingly “innocent and civilized” Canadian citizens. Rewind the clock back about 70 years and you'll find that it all started with natural suspicion. Canadians were prejudiced and assumed that the Japanese were up to no good, due to their tarnished image due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) against the United States. The Canadian government assumed that Japanese culture, as a whole, was conspiring against Canada. The IJN had bombed Pearl Harbor… Who says the Japanese Canadians wouldn't attack Canada? Even before these accusations, the Japanese were no strangers to xenophobia and racism. Suspicions against the Japanese started small and included things like accusing the Japanese of charting for ... middle of paper ......ka home, the difficult life they lived was never forgotten. Even today, the Japanese have not forgotten the difficulties they faced. Many still remember the harsh racism they faced during their years of living in Canada. They tried to live in harmony with others, but not everyone was welcoming. After the start of World War II, it was difficult for them to return to the life they lived after what they had was sold. Everything has changed for the Japanese. It was nearly impossible to rebuild families, homes and businesses. Conditions in the camp were no better either. The internment of over twenty thousand Japanese, in my opinion, was an unfortunate event that left many homeless and violated human rights. However, one benefit is that it helped shape the Canadian Democratic Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Canadian government is now learning from its mistakes.