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Ukrainian Canadian

Encyclopedia : U : UK : UKR : Ukrainian Canadian

A Ukrainian Canadian is a person of Ukrainian descent or origin who was born in or immigrated to Canada. In 2001 there were an estimated 1,071,060 persons residing in Canada (mainly Canadian citizens) of Ukrainian origin, making them Canada's eighth largest ethnic group, and giving Canada the world's third-largest Ukrainian population behind Ukraine itself and Russia.

Ukrainian Canadian less often refers to people of other ethnic groups, whose ancestors came from the territory of modern Ukraine, or other Ukrainian-majority areas.

History

Settlement

The first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada were Iwan Pylypow and Wasyl Eleniak, who arrived in 1891 and brought several families to settle in 1892. Pylypow helped to found the Edna-Star Settlement, the first and largest Ukrainian block settlement. But it was Dr Josef Oleskow who is considered responsible for the large Ukrainian Canadian population by promoting Canada as a destination for emigrants from Western Ukraine (the Austrian crownlands of Galicia, and Bukovina), in the late 1890s.

Early 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, it should be noted that the settlers came from Galicia and Bukovina which are not steppe lands, but are wooded areas in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. This is why Ukrainians coming to Canada settled in the wooded parklands, in an arch from Winnipeg to Edmonton, rather than the open prairies further south. As well the feudal nature of land ownership in 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 officials so that they would be able to supply their own needs, even if this meant taking land that was less productive for crops.

Since World War II, most Ukrainians coming to Canada have moved to cities in the East, and there are now large Ukrainian communities in Toronto and Montreal. In fact more Ukrainians live in the East today than on the Prairies. However because they make up a much greater percentage of the population in the West, especially in rural areas of the parkland belt, the Ukrainian cultural presence is more keenly felt in western Canada.

Internment

see main Article: Ukrainian-Canadian internment

From 1914 to 1920, the political climate of the First World War allowed the Canadian Government to classify Ukrainian immigrants with Austro-Hungarian citizenship as "aliens of enemy nationality". This classification, authorized by the 1914 War Measures Act, permitted the government to legally compel Ukrainian Canadians to register with authorities. About 5,000 Ukrainian men were interned at government camps and work sites. The internment continued for two more years after the war had ended, although most Ukrainians were paroled into jobs for private companies by 1917.

There are nearly two dozen plaques and memorials in Canada commemorating the internment, including one at the location of a former internment camp in Banff National Park. Most were placed by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association and its supporters. On August 24, 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin recognized the Ukrainian-Canadian internment as a "dark chapter" in Canadian history, and pledged $2.5 million to fund memorials and educational exhibits.

Culture

see also Culture of Ukraine

Language

see also Canadian Ukrainian and Ukrainophone

In addition to the official English and French, many prairie public schools offer Ukrainian language education for children. Generally this is the local Canadian Ukrainian dialect, rather than Standard Ukrainian.

Politics

The Ukrainians have long been at the heart of Canadian socialism. Most Ukrainians were anti-Soviet, but a significant minority were communists and made up the largest block in the Communist Party of Canada. Ukrainians also played a central role in the formation of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the New Democratic Party.

After Ukraine became independent Canada was one of the first nations to recognise Ukraine. Later Ukrainian Canadians were vital in fundraising to build the Embassy of Ukraine in Ottawa. As well Canada has recoginsed the Holodomor (Ukrainian Famine) as an act of genocide, and Canada sent many observers during Ukraine's disupted 2004 presidential election (see: Orange Revolution).

Religion

see also History of Christianity in Ukraine

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. The Russian Orthodox was the only Eastern Orthodox church allowed to practise in North America, because they had arrived first via Alaska. 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. Today many Ukrainian Canadians follow other religions such as Protestantism or none at all.

Arts

see also Ukrainian dance and List of Ukrainian folk dance companies

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Canada is home to some of the most famous Ukrainian dance troupes in the world, rivalling even those from Ukraine. There are professional ensembles like Edmonton's Shumka and dozens of amateur groups.

Ukrainians in general are noted for their elaborately decorated Easter Eggs or pysanky, and that is also true in Canada. The world's largest pysanka is in Vegreville, Alberta.

Ukrainian Canadian churches are also famous for their painted interior domes and icons.

The world's largest pysanka was erected in Vegreville, Alberta in 1974, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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The world's largest pysanka was erected in Vegreville, Alberta in 1974, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Food

see also Ukrainian cuisine Cultural food is an important part of Ukrainian culture. Special foods are used at Easter as well as Christmas, that are not made at any other time of the year. The most well known foods are: borshch (a vegetable soup, usually with beets), holobtsi (cabbage rolls), pyrohy or varenyky (dumplings often called perogies), and kovbasa (garlic sausage).

Institutions

There are a number of Ukrainian Canadian institutions such as:

Famous Ukrainian Canadians

See also . This list includes people of mixed origins.

References

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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