Canadian Museum of Immigration
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| Established | 1999 |
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| Location | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Type | Immigration Museum |
| Website | www.pier21.ca/ |
The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Canada's national museum of immigration. The museum occupies part of Pier 21, the former ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971. From the 1970s until 1991, Pier 21 housed the Nova Scotia Nautical Institute, a training facility for professional mariners. During the 1990s, the former immigration quarters provided studio and workshop space for artists. The ocean liner pier itself became increasingly used as the Halifax Port Authority's cruise ship dock. Pier 21 is Canada's last remaining ocean immigration shed. The facility is often compared to Ellis Island (1892-1954), an association it shares with the immigration station at Grosse Isle, Quebec (1832-1932). Pier 21 became a museum in 1999, and officially became a National Museum of Canada in 2011.
The facility is often compared to Ellis Island, in terms of its importance to mid-20th century immigration to Canada. In 1990, the Pier 21 Society was co-founded by J.P. LeBlanc and Ruth Goldbloom to raise funds and renew the public's interest in the derelict shed, which was the last of its kind in Canada. Goldbloom became the organization's second president in 1993, and the push to turn the property into a National Historic Site and museum proceeded quickly. On September 22, 1997 the site was designated a National Historic Site by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. In cooperation with the Halifax Port Authority, Pier 21 was re-opened as a museum on Canada Day in 1999, and began its new role to celebrate the 1.5 million immigrants that passed through its doors. On June 25, 2009 Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a Statement of Intentions to designate a National Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Later that year, Pier 21 was chosen to compete in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) "Seven Wonders of Canada" television show, placing out of the top seven places. The Museum was voted bronze for Best Museum by readers of The Coast from 2012-2015.
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