1 Cove Fields; Internment Camp L

Camp L was one of several internment facilities established in Canada in 1940 to house civilians transferred from Britain under Churchill's "collar the lot" order — a sweeping and often indiscriminate roundup of enemy aliens that caught thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany alongside the genuine security risks it was designed to catch. Cove Fields, within the Quebec Citadel grounds, held primarily Category B and C internees: men judged low-risk but interned anyway.

Canteen tokens of this kind were a practical necessity. Internees held no access to Canadian currency, so camps issued their own scrip redeemable only within the wire. Cardboard construction was typical of wartime improvisation — metal was scarce, and these were never meant to last.