The Protestant Churches and the Resettlement of Japanese Canadians in Urban Ontario, 1942–1955

This article examines the relationship between the Protestant churches and Japanese Canadians during and following the Second World War in their forced resettlement to central Canadian urban centers like Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. While recent studies have focused on the forced movement of Japanese Canadian eastward to the rural areas of Manitoba and Ontario, this paper goes one step further, examining what was for many the last stage of relocation: urban settlement. More importantly, this paper provides a reinterpretation of the relationship between Japanese Canadians and Canadian society during the Second World War. Protestant churches such as the United and Anglican Churches of Canada followed the federal government’s intention to have Japanese Canadians live geographically separated from one another in cities like Toronto and Hamilton, but a close look at church attendance and the social function of churches will show how Japanese Canadians were able to use the churches to their own ends in maintaining and strengthening their community.