[4] In 1985, the Pier 21 Society was founded by J.P. LeBlanc to raise funds and renew the public's interest in the derelict shed, which was the last of its kind in Canada.

[5] Ruth Goldbloom became the organization's second president in 1993, and the push to turn the property into a National Historic Site and museum proceeded quickly.

[6] In cooperation with the Halifax Port Authority, Pier 21 was re-opened as a museum on Canada Day in 1999, and began its new role to celebrate the 1.5 million immigrants that passed through its doors.

[8] On June 25, 2009, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a Statement of Intentions to designate a National Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

The exhibit tells the story of the thousands of passengers who took the RMS Empress of Ireland to and from Canada and Great Britain and its subsequent maritime disaster on 29 May 1914 that saw it sink after a collision with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad.

Bricks are purchased on behalf of a designate and displayed on the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21's WWII Deck as well as on the Virtual Wall of Service.

[18] The Wadih M. Fares Wall of Tribute recognizes community and cultural groups with a connection to Pier 21 and immigration to Canada.

Bricks are purchased by community and cultural groups and displayed in the Hall of Tribute at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Pier 21 currently holds 2,000 stories, 500 oral history interviews, 700 donated books, 300 films, and thousands of archival images and scans of immigration and WWII documents.

The image collection includes thousands of scanned newspaper clippings, immigration related documents and ship memorabilia, as well as digital photos donated by individual families and organizations.

[19] Symbolizing the hateful and racist policies that turned away more than 900 Jewish refugees, the wheel incorporates four gears of descending size named to represent the process that led to the denial of sanctuary - antisemitism, xenophobia, racism, and then hatred.

[24] The Scotiabank Family History Centre (SFHC), located on the main floor of the museum, houses a large, publicly available collection of non-circulating books, periodicals, and archival records related to the Pier 21 National Historic Site and the broader study of immigration in Canada, with a focus on the role that immigrants and their descendants have had in shaping Canadian life.

Pier 21's most important project is collecting the personal recollections of immigrants whether they arrived in the busy post-war years or yesterday.

[25] The SFHC offers a comprehensive range of genealogical services to patrons worldwide tracing their family histories from various countries of origin.

While the SFHC is not a repository for historical records, it does have access to a multitude of resources to help visitors begin or continue their family history journey.

Pier 21 Reads profiles Canadian authors whose work touches on immigration, either from their own experience, their point of view, or the stories of their characters.

Fenton Bear, the official mascot at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, made his first public appearance in spring of 2015.

He was created as the focus of the museum's junior education program Teddy Bear's Journey, which explores the themes and challenges of immigration through the eyes of children and their stuffed animals.