By Chase Nelson
Previous blog post: August 8, 2024 Accessing The New Canadian Newspaper Collection
A version of this article was published in the May issue of Nikkei Voice.
The Multicultural Historical Society of Ontario (MHSO), a Canadian archives dedicated to preserving records documenting the histories of immigrant, ethnic racialized, and Indigenous communities, recently announced that microfilm scans of The New Canadian Newspaper Collection for the publication years 1939-1985 are once again available for online access on the Internet Archive (archive.org) after being removed from Simon Fraser University’s Digitized Collections.
Founded in Vancouver in 1938, The New Canadian was initially intended as a voice for second-generation Japanese Canadians, speaking to issues of enfranchisement and inclusion as citizens of Canada.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War and the forcible relocation of Japanese Canadians, The New Canadian became the medium for official announcements from the British Columbia Security Commission. The newspaper broadened its audience through a Japanese-language section for Japanese speakers. It also created a “Public Forum” section as a place for those now scattered across the country to keep in touch with family and friends.
The New Canadian continued to share news that impacted Japanese Canadians across the country through moves to Kaslo, Winnipeg, and finally Toronto. It served as an important platform and resource for sharing information as individuals re-established their lives and communities after internment. The newspaper raised awareness of the history of Japanese Canadians, celebrated the 1977 centennial anniversary of the first known Japanese Canadian to permanently settle in Canada, and advocated for federal redress alongside community members. The last issue of The New Canadian was published in 2001.
Researchers now have greater ability to search the Japanese Canadian history, culture, and heritage documented in the newspaper through enhanced metadata and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The New Canadian is one of 300 newspapers on microfilm in the MHSO’s archives, including Canadian Jewish Review and L’Ami du Peuple; 19 titles are currently uploaded to the Internet Archive with more to follow soon.
To find The New Canadian on the Internet Archive, search “The New Canadian” (including the quotation marks) in the Internet Archive’s homepage at archive.org, or on the MHSO collections page archive.org/details/mhso.
Researchers can still access original issues of The New Canadian in person at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) in Burnaby (NNMCC 2010.6).
Contact the NNMCC team at [email protected] to book a research appointment and dive into this rich history. For research in Toronto and to explore more from the MHSO’s archives, please contact MHSO Archivist, Dennis Moore at [email protected].
Congratulations to MHSO for their successful efforts preserving online access to these invaluable historical resources!
Read the official announcement from the Internet Archive Canada and MHSO here: https://internetarchivecanada.org/2026/03/31/preserving-the-ethnic-press-internet-archive-canada-and-the-multicultural-historical-society-of-ontario-partner-to-expand-access-to-historical-newspapers/
Explore more digitized titles in the MHSO’s archives through the Internet Archive here: https://archive.org/details/mhso
