The Pier 21 sign on the museum's brick building on the Halifax waterfront
Photo: Janayna Velozo · CC BY 2.0
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Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21Musée canadien de l'immigration du Quai 21

History museum · Halifax

Halifax's 1928 immigration pier, where almost one million newcomers landed, now a national museum

Why go to Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

Pier 21 began receiving immigrants on March 8, 1928, and almost one million people arrived in Canada through it before it closed in 1971. During the Second World War it was also the departure point for roughly 500,000 Canadian servicemen and women. The Pier 21 Society opened an interpretive centre in the building on July 1, 1999, and in 2011 the museum passed to a federal Crown corporation, becoming Canada's sixth national museum.

Two permanent exhibitions anchor a visit. The Pier 21 Story follows the journey from ship to customs in Halifax and onward by train, while The Canadian Immigration Story covers the experiences of newcomers to Canada past and present. Temporary shows rotate through the galleries, and from November 14, 2026, the Refuge Canada Tent looks at the history of refugees in Canada. From November to April the museum opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and adult admission is $19, tax included.

Did you know?

  • Immigration staff moved into Pier 21 on March 8, 1928, and almost one million immigrants arrived in Canada through it before it closed in 1971.source ↗
  • During the Second World War it was the departure point for roughly 500,000 Canadian servicemen and women.source ↗
  • In 2001 Attractions Canada named it the country's best new attraction, two years after it opened in 1999.source ↗

In the press

Where

Map showing Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

1055 Marginal Road, Halifax, NS B3H 4P7

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