Mr. Speaker, a constituent of mine, Mrs. Jean Deshane of Belleville, has brought to my attention the fact that this is the 60th anniversary of the Canadian war bride.
Having endured the adversities of war, 45,000 women, mostly of British stock, left behind their homes, families and all they knew for the arduous and often dangerous sea voyage to begin life anew in a foreign land.
Most were very young, between the ages of 19 and 21, and many had been separated from their husbands for months or years at a time. Save for those with small children, they travelled alone in aging and dilapidated vessels. For some, there would be no one to greet them at pier 21; their husbands had abandoned them, while others had died in the war.
Isolation, culture shock and homesickness would drive some women to return to Europe, but the vast majority, toughened by the experiences of war, would thrive. They and their husbands would become the backbone of a dynamic and thriving post-war economy.
Today I wish to pay tribute to their enormous sacrifice and thank them for their immeasurable contributions to building a modern Canada.