During World War II, Japanese-Canadian citizens were forced out of Vancouver Island and the lower mainland of British Columbia. Many families were sent to internment camps in the BC interior. Able-bodied men were sent to work camps and many of those that refused, were sent to interment camps in Ontario, specifically Angler Camp 101. After WWII, displaced Japanese Canadians were not allowed to move back east of the Rockies, and many men from the Angler Camp came to settle in communities in Northwestern Ontario, including Geraldton, Ignace, Dryden, Nipigon but mostly to Fort William and Port Arthur. These men sent for their families to join them.
We believe that, prior to the War, there were very few if not no persons of Japanese decent in Northwestern Ontario, as virtually all of the JC in the area now are descendants of these original families (or have moved here in recent decades).
In what is now Thunder Bay, groups of Japanese Canadians gravitated together and formed an unofficial social club and would gather together for various social events, whether formal or just for fun. This group eventually became the Nisei Club. From that, the Lakehead Japanese Cultural Association was formed in 1987. The transition came along the time that the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) was fighting for Redress from the Canadian government; an apology for the treatment of Japanese Canadians, many of whom born in Canada or were Nationalized citizens.
The Lakehead Japanese Cultural Association (LJCA) is the sole Japanese Canadian (JC) organization in Northwestern Ontario (NWO). The aims and objectives of the LJCA are to further the well being of the JC community in NWO by catering to its social and cultural needs; to foster and preserve Japanese culture, traditions and values.
The LJCA typically hosted four annual events; annual general meeting & pot-luck, Keiro Kai, a summer picnic and Christmas party. In 2023, the LJCA held their inaugural Summer Matsuri for the entire city. It was a huge success and has now become the staple event of the association. More importantly, its success has sparked a renewed hope and interest in holding more events geared towards socialization, education and fundraising.
The LJCA is also proud to have three groups under our umbrella; the 55+ Club, the Fuji Dancers bon-odori group and Kaminari Wan Taiko. The latter two have been the public face of the association for many years by participating in many community events, like the annual Folklore Festival that sees upwards of 40,000 visitors each year.
With Redress, LJCA members donated significant funding to the City of Thunder Bay to aid in the construction of the West Thunder Community Centre (WTCC), which has been our home since it opened in 1992. As a result of this initial agreement, the LJCA operated out of the facility on a 25-year rent-free lease, with an office and storage space and use of facility spaces, as needed. That said, there was no branding on the facility that indicated that it was the home of the LJCA. Through recent grants from the
NAJC-Capacity Building Initiatives funding and the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society, we designed a new logo for the LJCA and made and installed building and street signage, as well as vinyl signage in the
main lobby, marking the centre as our home.
With the original lease expiring, the LJCA requires operating dollars to fund lease agreement and in late 2025 began a push to increase fundraising which also allows us to hold more events to gather our community to catch-up and socialize. Check out the Events section for more info!
