With pressure from the British Columbia lobbyists, the federal government implemented a protective zone of a hundred mile band of British Columbia Pacific shore together with the islands. This area was to be vacated by male Japanese nationals of military age (18 to 45) by April 1, 1942. About 1700 were affected and the majority were married and with families. They were shipped out to camps in the interior of British Columbia to work on road construction projects. The women, children and the older men were left to fend on their own creating a high level of anxiety and stress among the community.

Credit: Public Archives of Canada / Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Archives