In the late 19th century, the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in Canada. They were primarily farmers and labourers who were looking for a better life and economic opportunities. Most settled in the western provinces of Canada, particularly in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. These provinces offered fertile land and economic opportunities for farming, which was a familiar occupation for most Ukrainians. Ukrainian immigrants were able to establish a strong community in Canada. They built churches, community centres, and cultural organizations to preserve their language and traditions. After 1920 many moved to urban Ontario.
During the early years of Ukrainian immigration to Canada, many immigrants faced discrimination and prejudice. Ukrainian immigrants were interned during World War I as a part of the confinement of those deemed to be "enemy aliens." Between 1914 and 1920, thousands of Ukrainian-Canadians were interned in camps.
Today, Ukrainian-Canadians continue to be an important part of Canada's cultural mosaic. They have made significant contributions to Canadian society and continue to preserve and celebrate their rich cultural heritage. In 2021, there were an estimated 1,258,635 persons of full or partial Ukrainian origin residing in Canada (the majority being Canadian-born citizens), making them Canada's eleventh largest ethnic group[1] and giving Canada the world's third-largest Ukrainian population behind Ukraine itself and Russia. Self-identified Ukrainians are the plurality in several rural areas of Western Canada.[3] According to the 2011 census, of the 1,251,170 who identified as Ukrainian, only 144,260 (or 11.5%) could speak the Ukrainian language (including the Canadian Ukrainian dialect).[4]
History
Ukrainian Canadian Population History
Year
Pop.
±%
1901
5,682
—
1911
75,432
+1227.6%
1921
106,721
+41.5%
1931
225,113
+110.9%
1941
305,929
+35.9%
1951
395,043
+29.1%
1961
473,337
+19.8%
1971
580,660
+22.7%
1981
529,615
−8.8%
1986
961,310
+81.5%
1991
1,054,295
+9.7%
1996
1,026,475
−2.6%
2001
1,071,060
+4.3%
2006
1,209,090
+12.9%
2011
1,251,170
+3.5%
2016
1,359,655
+8.7%
2021
1,258,635
−7.4%
Source: Statistics Canada [5]: 17 [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][1] Note1: 1981 Canadian census did not include multiple ethnic origin responses, thus population is an undercount. Note2: 1996-present census populations are undercounts, due to the creation of the "Canadian" ethnic origin category.
Unconfirmed settlement before 1891
Minority opinions among historians of Ukrainians in Canada surround theories that a small number of Ukrainians settled in Canada before 1891. Most controversial is the claim that Ukrainians may have been infantrymen alongside Poles in the Swiss French “De Watteville's Regiment” who fought for the British on the Niagara Peninsula during the War of 1812 – it has been theorized that Ukrainians were among those soldiers who decided to stay in Upper Canada (southern Ontario).[17] Other Ukrainians supposedly arrived as part of other immigrant groups; it has been claimed that individual Ukrainian families may have settled in southern Manitoba in the mid- to late 1870s alongside block settlements of Mennonites and other Germans from the Russian Empire.[17] "Galicians" are noted as being among the miners of the British Columbia gold rushes and figure prominently in some towns in that new province's first census in 1871 (these may have been Poles and Belarusians as well as Ukrainians).[18] Because there is so little definitive documentary evidence of individual Ukrainians among these three groups, they are not generally regarded as among the first Ukrainians in Canada.
First wave: Settlers, 1891–1914
Post-independence Ukrainian fifteen-kopiyka stamp commemorating the centennial of Ukrainian settlement in Canada, 1891–1991
The first wave of Ukrainian immigration to Canada began with Iwan (Ivan) Pylypow and Wasyl (Vasyl') Eleniak, who arrived in 1891, and brought several families to settle in 1892. Pylypow helped found the Edna-Star Settlement east of Edmonton, the first and largest Ukrainian block settlement. However, it is Dr Josef Oleskow,[N 2] along with Cyril Genik, who are considered responsible for the large Ukrainian Canadian population through their promotion of Canada as a destination for immigrants from western (Austrian-ruled) Ukraine in the late 1890s. Ukrainians from Central Ukraine, which was ruled by the Russian monarchy, also came to Canada[19] – but in smaller numbers than those from Galicia and Bukovina. Approximately 170,000 Ukrainians from the Austro-Hungarian Empire arrived in Canada from September 1891 to August 1914.[20]
I think that a stalwart peasant in a sheepskin coat, born to the soil, whose forefathers have been farmers for ten generations, with a stout wife and a half-dozen children, is good quality.[21]
This Ukrainian immigration to Canada was largely agrarian, and at first Ukrainian Canadians concentrated in distinct block settlements in the parkland belt of the prairie provinces: Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. While the Canadian Prairies are often compared to the steppes of Ukraine, the settlers came largely from Galicia and Bukovina – which are not steppe lands, but are semi-wooded areas in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. This is why Ukrainians coming to Canada settled in the wooded aspen parklands – in an arch from Winnipeg and Stuartburn, Manitoba to Edmonton and Leduc, Alberta – rather than the open prairies further south. Furthermore, the semi-feudal nature of land ownership in the Austrian Empire meant that in the "Old Country" people had to pay the pan (landlord) for all their firewood and lumber for building. Upon arriving in Canada, the settlers often demanded wooded land from federal Dominion Lands Act registry officials so that they would be able to supply their own needs, even if this meant taking land that was less productive for crops. They also attached deep importance to settling near to family, people from nearby villages or other culturally similar groups, furthering the growth of the block settlements.
By 1914, there were also growing communities of Ukrainian immigrants in eastern Canadian cities, such as Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, and Windsor. Many of them arrived from the provinces of Podillia, Volhynia, Kyiv and Bessarabia in Russian-ruled Ukraine.[19] In the early years of settlement, Ukrainian immigrants faced considerable amounts of discrimination at the hands of Northern European Canadians, an example of which was the internment.[25][26][27]
Commemorative plaque and a statue entitled "Why?" / "Pourquoi?" / "Чому (Chomu)?", by John Boxtel at the location of the Castle Mountain Internment Camp, Banff National ParkCommemorative statue entitled "Never Forget" / "Ne Jamais Oublier" / "Ніколи Не Забути (Nikoly Ne Zabuty)", by John Boxtel; and damaged plaque at the cemetery of the Kapuskasing Internment Camp, Kapuskasing, northern Ontario[28]
From 1914 to 1920, the political climate of the First World War allowed the Canadian Government to classify immigrants with Austro-Hungariancitizenship as "aliens of enemy nationality". This classification, authorized by the August 1914 War Measures Act, permitted the government to legally compel thousands of Ukrainians in Canada to register with federal authorities. About 5,000 Ukrainian men, and some women and children, were interned at government camps and work sites. Although many Ukrainians were "paroled" into jobs for private companies by 1917, the internment continued until June 20, 1920 – almost a year after the Treaty of Versailles was signed by Canada on June 28, 1919.
On May 9, 2008, following the 2005 passage of Inky Mark's Bill C-331, the Government of Canada, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, established a $10 million fund[30] following several months of negotiation with the Ukrainian Canadian community's representatives, including the UCCLA, Ukrainian Canadian Congress and Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko (also known as the Shevchenko Foundation), establishing the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund (CFWWIRF). The Endowment Council of the CFWWIRF uses the interest earned on that amount to fund projects that commemorate the experience of Ukrainians and other Europeans interned between 1914 and 1920. The funds are held in trust by the Shevchenko Foundation. Amongst the commemorative projects funded by the Endowment Council was the unveiling, simultaneously across Canada, of 115 bilingual plaques on August 24, 2014, recalling the 100th anniversary of the first implementation of the War Measures Act. This was known as Project "Сто" (translit.Sto; meaning "one hundred"), and organized by the UCCLA.
Second wave: Settlers, workers and professionals, 1923–1939
A group of Ukrainian Canadians pictured at a celebration inside Toronto's Old Fort York, taken in May 1934. Photograph from the M.O. Hammond fonds held at the Archives of Ontario.
In 1923, the Canadian government modified the Immigration Act to allow former subjects of the Austrian Empire to once again enter Canada – and Ukrainian immigration started anew.[31] Ukrainians from western Volhynia – the Polesie and Wołyń Voivodeships (under Polish rule), and southern Bessarabia – also known as the Budjak (under Romanian rule), joined a new wave of emigrants from Polish-governed Galicia and Romanian-governed Bukovina. Around 70,000 Ukrainians from Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia arrived in Canada from 1923 to September 1939,[20] although the flow decreased severely after 1930 due to the Great Depression.
Relatively little farmland remained unclaimed – the majority in the Peace River region of northwestern Alberta – and less than half of this group settled as farmers in the Prairie provinces.[32] The majority became workers in the growing industrial centres of southern Ontario, the Montreal region and the Eastern Townships of Quebec; the mines, smelters and forests of northern Ontario; and the small heavy industries of urban western Canada.[32] A few Ukrainian professionals and intellectuals were accepted into Canada at this time; they later became leaders in the Ukrainian Canadian community.[20]
From 1945 to 1952, most Ukrainians coming to Canada were political refugees and Displaced Persons. In the aftermath of the Second World War, many Ukrainians who had been displaced by the war began to immigrate to Canada. These immigrants were often refugees who had been forced to flee their homes and were looking for a safe haven. In the 1950s and 1960s, many Ukrainians who had been living in displaced persons camps in Europe were given the opportunity to immigrate to Canada. These immigrants were often highly skilled and educated, and they contributed to the growth and development of Canada's economy.
Another wave of Ukrainian immigration occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, driven by political and economic factors. Many Ukrainians were dissatisfied with the Soviet regime and its policies, and were looking for greater freedoms and opportunities. Additionally, economic factors such as a shortage of jobs and a declining standard of living also played a role in driving migration.
During this period, many Ukrainian immigrants settled in urban areas, such as Toronto and Montreal, and found work in manufacturing and other industries. Despite facing some challenges with discrimination and prejudice, Ukrainian immigrants were able to establish strong communities in Canada and preserve their culture and heritage. The result was large Ukrainian communities in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. They established a number of new organizations and affiliated newspapers, women's and youth groups, the most prominent of which was the Canadian League for the Liberation of Ukraine (renamed the League of Ukrainian Canadians after the collapse of the USSR in 1991). The League joined the Ukrainian Canadian Committee (later Ukrainian Canadian Congress) as a member organization in 1959.[38]
Fourth wave: Post-independence immigrants and recent refugees, 1991–present
After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, emigration from Ukraine increased. Rising levels of corruption, the dismantlement of some social services, low-paying employment as well as a loss of jobs in Ukraine, made immigration attractive once again. Many Ukrainians saw Canada as a land of opportunity and a place where they could build a better life for themselves and their families. The Canadian government also made it easier for Ukrainians to immigrate, offering various programs and initiatives designed to attract skilled workers and entrepreneurs. One of the most popular programs for Ukrainian immigrants was the Federal Skilled Worker Program, which allowed skilled workers to immigrate to Canada based on their education, work experience, language proficiency, and other factors. Many Ukrainians also immigrated to Canada through family sponsorship, as they had family members already living in Canada.[39] In addition to economic opportunities, Ukrainians were also attracted to Canada's multicultural society and the freedom and rights afforded to its citizens. Many Ukrainian immigrants have made significant contributions to Canadian society in various fields, including business, academia, politics, and the arts.
Participation in the Canadian economy
In the first half of the twentieth century, Ukrainian Canadians overwhelmingly earned their livings in primary industry – predominantly in agriculture, but also in mining, logging, construction, and the extension of the Canadian railway system;[40] most importantly as labour in completing the transcontinental mainlines of the Canadian Northern Railway and Grand Trunk Pacific, both then nationalized and consolidated into the Canadian National Railway (CN). As agriculture became more mechanized and consolidated, male Ukrainian Canadians shifted into non-farm primary and secondary industry jobs, while women took jobs in domestic work and unskilled service industries.[41] By 1971, only slightly more Ukrainian Canadians worked in agriculture than in the wider Canadian labour force. While they remain somewhat over-represented in agriculture today (7% versus 4% of all working Canadians) and underrepresented in elite managerial positions,[40] Ukrainian Canadians have largely assimilated more into the broader economy, such that the Ukrainian Canadian workforce is now similar to that of Canada as a whole in nearly all other respects.[40][41]
Demography
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Canadians of Ukrainian descent total population (1901−2016) Note1: 1981 Canadian census did not include multiple ethnic origin responses, thus population is an undercount. Note2: 1996-present census populations are undercounts, due to the creation of the "Canadian" ethnic origin category.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Canadians of Ukrainian descent percentage of the total population (1901−2016) Note1: 1981 Canadian census did not include multiple ethnic origin responses, thus population is an undercount. Note2: 1996-present census populations are undercounts, due to the creation of the "Canadian" ethnic origin category.
Ukrainian language street signs alongside English ones in Hafford, Saskatchewan
In addition to the official English and French languages, many prairie public schools offer Ukrainian language education for children, including immersion programs. Generally second language students are taught the local Canadian Ukrainian dialect, rather than Standard Ukrainian.
The Canadian Ukrainian dialect is based on the Ukrainian spoken by the first wave of immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1891 to 1914. Because the Ukrainian language of this era had no words for such things as agricultural machinery other than a plow, words for wildlife or vegetation common to North America and uncommon in Ukraine, words related to the automobile or other self-propelled vehicles on roads, or words for internal combustion engine-powered or electrically-powered tools or home appliances of any kind, extensive borrowings and adaptations from Canadian English were independently made by Ukrainian settlers in the block settlements of the Prairies during their first decades in Canada. The decline of regular communication with relatives in Ukraine, especially the severe restrictions between 1939 and 1989, further isolated the Western Canadian Ukrainian dialect from an evolving Ukrainian language in Soviet Ukraine. Now, immigrants from Ukraine to Western Canada since 1991, speaking Ukrainian, find the Canadian Ukrainian dialect old-fashioned and sometimes strange, for modern Ukrainian no longer uses some of the expressions and vocabulary common to the Canadian dialect – or, in the case of the Canadian loan words and adaptations, never did use, because Standard Ukrainian either invented other terms or borrowed and adapted from other languages, such as French, German or Russian.
Most Ukrainians who came to Canada from Galicia were Ukrainian Catholic and those from Bukovina were Ukrainian Orthodox. However, people of both churches faced a shortage of priests in Canada. The Ukrainian Catholic clergy came into conflict with the Roman Catholic hierarchy because they were not celibate and wanted a separate governing structure. At the time, the Russian Orthodox Church was the only Orthodox Christian church that operated in North America – because they had arrived first via Alaska, and traditionally Orthodox churches are territorially exclusive. However, Ukrainians in Canada were suspicious of being controlled from Russia, first by the Tsarist government and later by the Soviets. Partially in response to this, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada was created as a wholly Ukrainian Canadian-controlled alternative. As well, the Ukrainian Catholic clergy were eventually given a separate structure from the Roman Church.
Geographical distribution
Information in this section taken from Statistics Canada, 2016.[43]
Map of the dominant self-identified ethnic origins of ancestors per census division. Actual physical origins of ancestors may be different. Ukrainian-plurality areas are highlighted in teal. Note that Ukrainians are a significant minority elsewhere, and that, numerically, most Ukrainian Canadians live in cities.
The provinces with the largest Ukrainian populations (single and multiple origins, 2006) are Ontario, 336,355; Alberta, 332,180; British Columbia, 197,265; Manitoba, 167,175; Saskatchewan 129,265; and Quebec, 31,955. In terms of proportion of the total population, the most Ukrainian provinces and territories are Manitoba (15%), Saskatchewan (13%), Alberta (10%), Yukon (5%), British Columbia (5%), and Ontario (3%).
The metropolitan regions with the largest Ukrainian populations (single and multiple origins, 2006) are: Edmonton, 144,620; Toronto, 122,510; Winnipeg, 110,335; Vancouver, 81,725; Calgary, 76,240; Saskatoon, 38,825; Hamilton, 27,080; Montreal, 26,150; Regina, 25,725; Ottawa-Gatineau, 21,520; St. Catharines-Niagara, 20,990; Thunder Bay, 17,620; Victoria, 15,020; Kelowna, 13,425; Oshawa, 12,555; London, 10,765; and Kitchener, 10,425.
The Census Divisions with the largest percentage of Ukrainians (single and multiple origins, 2006) are Manitoba #12 (25%), Alberta #10 (20%), Alberta #12 (19%), Manitoba #11 (15%), Manitoba #7 (13%), Manitoba #10 (12%), Manitoba #9 (12%), Manitoba #2 (10%).
Having been separated from Ukraine, Ukrainian Canadians have developed their own distinctive Ukrainian culture in Canada. To showcase their unique hybrid culture, Ukrainian Canadians have created institutions that showcase Ukrainian Canadian culture such as Edmonton's Cheremosh and Shumka troupes – among the world's elite Ukrainian dancers; or the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village – a living-history museum approximately 39 kilometres east of Edmonton where Ukrainian pioneer buildings are displayed along with extensive cultural exhibits.
Perhaps one of the most lasting contributions Ukrainian Canadians have made to the wider culture of Canada is the concept of multiculturalism,[41][46] which was promoted as early as 1963 by SenatorPaul Yuzyk.[46] During and after the debates surrounding the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Ukrainian leaders, such as linguist Jaroslav Rudnyckyj, came out in force against the idea of English – Frenchbiculturalism,[46] which they believed denied the contributions other peoples had made to Canada. Partly in response to this, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau shifted Canada to a policy of official multiculturalism; notably, the day after the Canadian Multiculturalism Policy of 1971 was officially announced, Trudeau gave a forceful speech in support of the policy at a national assembly of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in Winnipeg.[46]
The Western Ukrainian agricultural settlers brought with them a style of folk architecture dominated by buildings made of unprocessed logs, which were much better suited to the wooded parkland belt rather than the "bald prairie". The first house built – usually a burdei – used some sod; but was not exactly a sod hut, more like a dugout. The second house was often a white-washed and plastered log cabin usually with thatched roof, very similar to those seen in Ukraine. Barns, chicken coops, granaries, and so on were all built using the same techniques as the houses. By the 1930s most Ukrainian Canadians adopted the building styles of the North American mainstream including framed homes and barns built from commercial plans and using milled lumber.
Early churches, built by pioneer farmers rather than trained builders, were basically log cabins with a few added decorations. They aspired to the designs of Ukraine's wooden churches, but were much more humble. Latter churches – such as the "prairie cathedral" style of Father Philip Ruh, using a mixture of Byzantine and Western influences – were much more decorative.
The nationalist movement, through the Ukrainian National Federation and the Canadian League for the Liberation of Ukraine, was also an important part of the community. After Ukraine became independent Canada was one of the first nations to recognize Ukraine. From 1992 to 1994, Ukrainian Canadians were vital in fundraising to purchase a building in Ottawa to house the Embassy of Ukraine. As well, Canada has recognized the Holodomor (Ukrainian Famine) as an act of genocide. Canada also sent many observers to Ukraine during the disputed 2004 presidential election (see: Orange Revolution). The Government of Canada as well as its provincial governments – especially the Ukrainian strongholds in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan – do much to support Ukraine's economic and political development.
The Ukrainian Canadians had and have much more influence in Canadian society and policy than any other East European group; therefore they have had several prominent figures in top positions. Ray Hnatyshyn was the 24th Governor General of Canada (1990–1995) and the first Governor General of Ukrainian descent. Ukrainians were also elected leaders of Canada's prairie provinces: Gary Filmon was Premier of Manitoba (1988–1999), nearly simultaneously with Hnatyshyn, and Roy Romanow was Premier of Saskatchewan (1991–2001), also partly at the same time as Filmon and Hnatyshyn.[48]
Ed Stelmach became Premier of Alberta in 2006 as the third provincial premier of Ukrainian descent. He succeeded Ralph Klein (1992–2006), who had cabinets with many Ukrainian ministers. Stelmach himself is the grandson of Ukrainian immigrants and speaks fluent Ukrainian.[48] He left office in October 2011.
A Ukrainian dance troupe at the BC Ukrainian Cultural FestivalIn 1974, what was then the world's largest pysanka was erected in Vegreville, Alberta, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It has since been exceeded by a pysanka built in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko provides some financial support for Ukrainian Canadian performing, literary and visual arts.
Ukrainians in general are noted for their elaborately decorated Easter Eggs or pysanky, and that is also true in Canada. The world's second largest pysanka is in Vegreville, Alberta.
Ukrainian Canadian churches are also famous for their onion domes, which have elaborately painted murals on their interior, and for their iconostasis, or icon walls.
Literature and academia
Ukrainian Canadians have contributed to the literature of Canada and to the field of folklore.
Professor of folklore and Kule Chair Emerita at the University of Alberta, Natalie Kononenko, is well respected, and has made numerous contributions to her field.[49][50] In 2023, Kononenko published a book entitled, "Ukrainian Ritual on the Prairies: Growing a Ukrainian Canadian Identity.".[51]
Cultural food is an important part of Ukrainian culture. Special foods used at Easter as well as Christmas are not made at any other time of the year. In fact on Christmas Eve (January 6[N 4] in the Gregorian calendar), a special twelve-dish meatless meal is served. The best-known foods are borshch (a vegetable soup, usually with beets), holobtsi (cabbage rolls), pyrohy or varenyky (dumplings often called "perogies"), and kovbasa (sausage).
Ukrainian Canadian Congress – established in 1940; the largest of any Ukrainian Canadian institutions, an umbrella organization of nationalist and historically anti-Soviet organizations; including provincial councils, local branches, and member organizations such as:
^Dr. Oleskow, who had a PhD in agronomy, wrote two pamphlets – "About Free Lands" (Pro Vilni Zemli, spring 1895), and "On Emigration" (O emigratsiy, December 1895) – which were widely read in the Prosvita halls of the Ukrainian areas of the Austrian Empire.
^The UCC was the driving force in organizing the global umbrella World Congress of Free Ukrainians in the immediate postwar period; the WCFU would expand and be renamed the Ukrainian World Congress after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
^Because Ukrainian Canadians are the largest Eastern Christian group in Canada, January 6–7 is commonly referred by Canadians of all origins as "Ukrainian Christmas".[59][60]
^"About the Fund"(official website). The Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund and The Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko. 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
Swyripa, Frances A. (1985). "Ukrainians". In Mel Hurtig (ed.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig Publishers. p. 1863. ISBN0-88830-272-X. In 1981 only 30.0% and 18.6% of Ukrainian Canadians belonged to the Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox churches, respectively; 16.8% were Roman Catholic and 13.3% United Church adherents.
Swyripa, Frances (1984). "Canada". In Volodymyr Kubiyovych (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Vol. 1, A–F. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 352. ISBN0-8020-3362-8. A unique religious experiment originated with a Russian Orthodox priest, S. Ustvolsky. As the monk Seraphim, self-proclaimed bishop and metropolitan of the Orthodox Russian church for America, he arrived in Canada in 1903 and began to ordain priests. In 1904, alarmed by Seraphim's growing eccentricities, several priests, led by I. Bodrug, broke with him and formed the Ruthenian Independent Greek church. The new church retained the Eastern rite and liturgy but was supervised and financially supported by the Presbyterian church, with which Bodrug had contacts. At its height, the Independent Greek Church claimed 60,000 adherents. It declined after 1907 when Presbyterian pressure forced genuine Protestant reform; it became part of the Presbyterian church and then of the United church. Bodrug remained within the Ukrainian evangelical movement, working closely with the Ukrainian Evangelical Alliance in North America (est. 1922). In 1931, 1.6 percent of Ukrainian Canadians were United church adherents. By 1971 intermarriage and assimilation had increased the figure to 13.9 percent, the fourth-largest denomination among Ukrainian Canadians.
Swyripa, Frances A. (1985). "Ukrainians". In Mel Hurtig (ed.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig Publishers. p. 1862. ISBN0-88830-272-X. Isolated individuals of Ukrainian background may have come to Canada during the War of 1812 as mercenaries in the de Meuron and de Watteville regiments. It is possible that others participated in Russian exploration and colonization on the West Coast, came with Mennonite and other German immigrants in the 1870s, or entered Canada from the US. [United States – ed.]
Luciuk, Lubomyr; Kordan, Bohdan (1989). Creating a Landscape: A Geography of Ukrainians in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. Map 3. ISBN0-8020-5823-X. Only about one-fifth of the Ukrainians in Canada would come from Ukrainian lands controlled by the tsarist empire until 1917 and by the Soviets thereafter.
Isajiw, Wsevolod; Makuch, Andrij (1994). "Ukrainians in Canada". In Ann Lencyk Pawliczko (ed.). Ukraine and Ukrainians Throughout the World. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 333. ISBN0-8020-0595-0. Because most of the 'free' lands available for agricultural settlement had already been granted to earlier immigrants, the incoming population tended not to establish themselves as farmers. A substantial number settled in the Prairie provinces and worked as farm hands, while some took advantage of land grants being offered in the northern Peace River region of Alberta. Eventually, some of these immigrants did start up their own farming operations in and around the main areas of Ukrainian settlement. The majority of Ukrainians in this second wave, however, worked as labourers in the mining and forestry regions of northern Ontario and in the cities of central Canada and the Prairies. A small portion of the incoming immigration consisted of individuals with a higher level of education than that possessed by the earlier immigrants, affording them the opportunity to exact a different entry-level status. Among this group were skilled individuals who could assume critical positions in the Ukrainian press and the community's cultural-educational institutions.
Swyripa, Frances A. (1985). "Ukrainians". In Mel Hurtig (ed.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig Publishers. p. 1862. ISBN0-88830-272-X. Between the 2 world wars some 70,000 Ukrainians immigrated to Canada for political and economic reasons. They included war veterans, intellectuals and professionals, as well as peasants
Swyripa, Frances (1984). "Canada". In Volodymyr Kubiyovych (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Vol. 1, A–F. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 351–52. ISBN0-8020-3362-8. Interwar immigrants introduced a number of new organizations. The paramilitary sporting Sitch [sic] (renamed the Canadian Sitch Organization in 1928) was founded in 1924 with official support from the Ukrainian Catholic church. It declined with the appearance of the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood and in 1934 was reorganized without church backing as the United Hetman Organization, a conservative monarchist movement that favored P. Skoropadsky as hetman of Ukraine. After the death of his son, D. Skoropadsky, in 1957 the movement, never too popular, rapidly declined. In 1928 the republican-inclined veterans of the Ukrainian independence struggle formed the Ukrainian War Veterans' Association (UWVA). In 1932 it provided the base for the Ukrainian National Federation, which espoused the militant nationalism of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.
Swyripa, Frances A. (1985). "Ukrainians". In Mel Hurtig (ed.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Vol. 3 (1st ed.). Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig Publishers. pp. 1862–63. ISBN0-88830-272-X. National organizations emerged in the interwar years. The procommunist Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association (est. 1924) attracted the unemployed in the 1930s. The Ukrainian Self-Reliance League (est. 1927) and the Ukrainian Catholic Brotherhood (est. 1932) represented Orthodox and Catholic laity, respectively. Organizations introduced by the second immigration reflected Ukrainian revolutionary trends in Europe. The small conservative, monarchical United Hetman Organization (est 1934) was counterbalanced by the influential nationalistic, republican Ukrainian National Federation (est. 1932). Despite tensions, all groups publicized Polish pacification and Stalinist terror in Ukraine in the 1930s; only the Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Temple Association condoned the Soviet purges and the artificial famine of 1932–33 that killed 6 million people; its successor, the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians (est. 1946), has declined steadily.
Czuboka, Michael (1983). Ukrainian Canadian, Eh?: The Ukrainians of Canada and Elsewhere As Perceived By Themselves And Others. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Communigraphics / Printers' Aid Group. pp. 211–12. ISBN0-920073-00-X. Gloria Kaye was born in northern Alberta as Gloria Slavka Kolmatycki on March 10, 1956, the youngest of five children of Mike and Annie Kolmatycki. [...] Kolmatycki changed her Ukrainian name to 'Kaye' for 'ease in handling.' As Gloria Kaye, she sang on Canadian television on the Tommy Hunter Show, It's Happening, Show of the Week, Juliette, Music Hop, Robbie Lane, and the Merv Griffin show in the United States.
Swyripa, Frances (1984). "Canada". In Volodymyr Kubiyovych (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Vol. 1, A–F. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 348. ISBN0-8020-3362-8. For many years Ukrainians supported the Liberal party, which was in power when they first arrived. Together with other Canadians from the lower socioeconomic strata, Ukrainians have shown considerable support for Canadian protest parties, which emerged in the 1930s – the Social Credit party and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (subsequently the New Democratic party). During the Great Depression the Ukrainians, Jews, and Finns were the most prominent ethnic groups within the Communist Party of Canada. In the late 1950s many Ukrainians turned to the Progressive Conservative party, approving J. Diefenbaker's anticommunism and his appointment of the first Ukrainian Canadian to the federal cabinet. Increasingly, the voting habits of Ukrainians reflect their economic class or region rather than any common ethnic pattern.
Further reading
Darcovich, W. and P. Yuzyk, A Statistical Compendium on the Ukrainians in Canada. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1980.
Hinther, Rhonda L., and Jim Mochoruk, eds. Re-Imagining Ukrainian-Canadians: History, Politics, and Identity (University of Toronto Press, 2011).
Kukushkin, Vadim (2007). From Peasants to Labourers: Ukrainian and Belarusian Immigration from the Russian Empire to Canada, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. excerpt and text search
Luciuk, Lubomyr and Hryniuk, Stella, eds. (1991). Canada's Ukrainians: Negotiating an Identity, Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN0-8020-5978-3.
Lupul, Manoly, ed. (1984). Visible Symbols: Cultural Expression Among Canada's Ukrainians, Edmonton: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press. ISBN0-920862-27-6.
Lupul, Manoly, (1982) A Heritage in Transition: Essays on the History of Ukrainians in Canada
Martynowych, Orest (1991). Ukrainians in Canada: The formative period, 1891–1924. Edmonton: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press. ISBN0-920862-76-4.
Melnycky, Peter. "'Canadians and Ukrainians Inseparably': Recent Writing on the History of Ukrainian Settlement in Canada," Manitoba History, Number 24, Autumn 1992 online edition, historiography
Prymak, Thomas M. (1988). Maple Leaf and Trident: The Ukrainian Canadians During the Second World War. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario.
Satzewich, Vic (2002). The Ukrainian Diaspora. Routledge. ISBN0-415-29658-7.
Swyripa, Frances (1993). Wedded to the Cause: Ukrainian-Canadian Women and Ethnic Identity, 1891–1991
Swyripa, Frances A. (2022) "Ukrainian Canadians" The Canadian Encyclopedia (2022) online
Swyripa, Frances (1999). UkrainiansArchived December 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario.
Swyripa, Frances and John Herd Thompson, eds. (1983) Loyalties in Conflict: Ukrainians in Canada During the Great War 213pp; 8 essays by scholars
Yuzyk, Paul. "The First Ukrainians in Manitoba" Manitoba Historical Society Transactions, Series 3, 1951–52
Kordan, Bohdan and Luciuk, Lubomyr, eds. (1986). A Delicate and Difficult Question: Documents in the History of Ukrainians in Canada, 1899–1962, Kingston: Limestone Press. ISBN0-919642-08-X.
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