After the war, the family was reunited but forced to move to Ontario, where Suzki continued his education.
During WWII, Suzuki’s father was sent to a labour camp in B.C.’s interior. The rest of his family was sent to an internment camp in Slocan City, hundreds of kilometres away. The family property, including the family dry-cleaning business, was seized by the B.C. Government and sold.
Suzuki’s father was a firm believer in the importance of public speaking skills and dance; two skills he believed most Japanese Canadians lacked. Suzuki praced giving speeches in his basement with his father until they were memorized. Suzuki uses this memorization process in his broadcast work today.
Suzuki accredits his love of nature to his father, who would take Suzuki on camping and fishing trips often in his youth. Suzki feels that this experience helped to “reinforce a connection with the environment and nature” that “can not be experienced in urban settings”.
Suzuki and his twin sister were born on March 24, 1936, in a Vancouver hospital. Suzuki is a third-generation Japanese-Canadian, his grandparents having moved to Canada at the beginning of the 20th century.
