Ukrainians in Canada.

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100th anniversary of the arrival of the Ukrainians in Canada.







The Most Reverend Bishop Isidore Borecky



Lewko Lukianenko, former Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada



The vast majority of Ukrainians who immigrated to Canada settled in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. This influx came in three distinct waves between 1891 and 1954: pre-World War I, inter-war, and post-World War II, with the first wave being the largest. Most of the settlers were from the regions of Galicia and Bukovyna in Western Ukraine and they brought with them a material culture that clearly reflected the peasant lifestyle of those regions.

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We all in Ukraine believe you will preserve your Ukrainian identity for next 1000 years and more... Long live Canadian- Ukrainians ! God bless - mnogaja lita !!

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ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1891, Vasyl Eleniak and Ivan Pylypiw stepped onto Canadian soil and became the first two officially recorded Ukrainian immigrants in Canada. Dressed in sheepskin coats they were pioneers of the Ukrainian Canadian community, the fifth largest ethnic group in Canada, now numbering over 1,000,000. Canada had only seven provinces when the first Ukrainians arrived so they helped build Canada. They became pioneers of the Canadian West, breaking the virgin land and laying down a carpet of golden wheat. It was estimated by Senator Paul Yuzyk that Ukrainians pioneered 10 million acres of the prairies or 40 percent of Canada▓s wheat land.

An interesting twist of fate is that the ⌠first immigrant■ from Ukraine came in 1842. It was a Ukrainian strain of early ripening wheat, called Red Fife. Together with the variety Marquis derived from Ukrainian wheat, they formed the basis of Canada▓s early economic growth. It is fitting that Ukraine, known as the ⌠Breadbasket of Europe■ made Canada the ⌠Granary of the World.■

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Ukrainian immigration to Canada grew after Professor Joseph Oleskiw visited Canada in 1895 and wrote a book About Free Lands. A flood of immigrants from Western Ukraine (Austria-Hungary) totalling 180,000 came to Canada from 1891 to 1914. Most settled in Manitoba and areas of the Northwest Territories which in 1905 became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1999, there were two Ukrainian Canadian premiers, Roy Romanow in Saskatchewan and Gary Filmon in Manitoba.

In the early years Ukrainians were known by several names such as Ruthenians, Rusins, Carpatho-Rusins, Galicians, Lemkos, and Bukovinians. In 1897, the first Ukrainian Orthodox Church was built in Gardenton, Manitoba, and in 1898 the first Ukrainian Catholic church was erected in Star, Alberta. Many Ukrainians, however, have become affiliated with the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Baptist churches. The Ukrainian churches, Orthodox and Catholic, celebrate Ukrainian Christmas on January 7th and Easter by the Julian Calendar. Ukrainian foods such as borshch beet soup, perogies, cabbage rolls, kasha (buck-wheat), kolach (chala), and bublyky (bagels) came to Canada with the pioneers.

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Unlike the Mennonites, Icelanders, and Russian Doukhobors, the early Ukrainian settlers received no financial assistance from the Canadian government. In fact, the government dumped trainloads of Ukrainians in the prairie wilderness and abandoned them to survive as best they could. The youngest suffered the most and deaths of babies were very high. In the NWT colony the death rate was 40 percent for infants under two years of age. Life for the early Ukrainian settlers was extremely difficult. The agricultural season was short and many had to work in coal mines, in lumber camps, and laying railroad tracks. But survival was easier because of the bloc settlements of Ukrainians which stretched in a belt from southeastern Manitoba northwest into Saskatchewan and Alberta. It culminated in the 5,000 square mile Ukrainian bloc settlement around Vegreville northeast of Edmonton. Every new wave of Ukrainian immigrants found integration into Canadian life easier because the existing community was able to help until the New Canadians could survive on their own.

The first Ukrainian language newspaper was the Canadian Farmer (Kanadiysky Farmer) in 1903 and, in 1904, the first Ukrainian book, Christian Catechism, was printed in Winnipeg. In 1905 the first Ukrainian bookstore was opened.

The first migration of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada was ended by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Some 10,000 Ukrainians served in the Canadian armed forces in the War and one, Philip Konoval, won the Victoria Cross which was awarded by the King. Ukrainian Canadians have demonstrated a remarkable loyalty to Canada and many died on the battlefields of Europe.

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However, the outbreak of World War I aroused suspicion of foreigners and Ukrainians, who had come from Austria-Hungary and were classified as ⌠enemy aliens.■ More than 5,000 men, and some women and children, were interned for years in 25 concentration camps across Canada. They were incarcerated in places like Fort Henry and Banff National Park where they were forced to build roads, bridges, and other park development. These and other locations now have historical plaques marking the Ukrainian internment.

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Second Wave of Immigration 1919-1939

The second period of immigration, 1919-1939, which brought approximately 70,000 Ukrainians to Canada, included many Ukrainian political refugees fleeing Communist oppression. With a Ukrainian Canadian community in place, they were warmly welcomed to established organizations, churches, and community halls. This inter war period was one of rapid growth. A whole string of local, provincial, and nation-wide organizations were established. For example, the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada was founded in Edmonton and soon had 100 branches and halls across Canada. The U.N.F. sponsored Ukrainian folk dance groups, like Edmonton▓s Shumka, and choirs. In 1939 it established the first Ukrainian credit union in Saskatoon.

Because Ukrainians had been excluded from politics in the old country, there was considerable interest in Canadian politics. In 1926 Michael Luchkovich of Vegreville was the first Ukrainian Canadian elected to Parliament; in 1955 Senator William Wall was appointed; in 1957 Hon. Michael Starr became the first Cabinet Minister of Ukrainian origin; in 1958 Hon. John Yaremko, Q.C. was appointed to the Ontario Cabinet; in 1970 Stephen Worobetz was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan; and in 1988 Mr. Justice John Sopinka was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 1999 the magnificent John Sopinka Court House opened in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1990, Rt. Hon. Ray Hnatyshyn became Governor General of Canada, our nation▓s highest honour.

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress was founded in Winnipeg in 1940 as the national voice of the Ukrainian community in Canada. It is also a member of the Ukrainian World Congress which promoted the independence of Ukraine from Soviet Russia and on August 24, 1991 Ukraine declared its independence.