Ukrainians in Canada

The 24th Triennial Congress of Ukrainian Canadians is only two weeks away and organizers want you, the members of our community to know how you can participate in an opportunity that comes along only once every three years. First, we encourage members of our constituent organizations to attend as delegates. Contact your local executive to find out if you are eligible. We also welcome non-delegate participants. Attend a joint church service (Moleben) on Sunday, which begins at 8AM in the ballroom of the Toronto Airport Marriott Hotel, 901 Dixon Rd. A commemoration of the Holodomor on this the 80th anniversary will follow our prayer service. There’s much more. The keynote event...

On Thursday, September 26, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress recognized seven deserving individuals with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and thirteen outstanding community leaders with the UCC Leadership Award. "It was a tremendous honour to present these awards to such worthy leaders from our community," stated Ukrainian Canadian Congress National President Paul Grod. "It is only fitting that these important leaders of our community are recognized. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank them for their tremendous work in building and leading our community in Toronto and across the country." The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals were...

Thirty-four university students from Ukraine, Austria, Belarus, China, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands and Russia arrived in Ottawa for the 23rd Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Program, an internship program in the Canadian House of Commons. The Interns came to Canada from universities in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Berlin, Tbilisi Georgia, St. Petersburg Russia, Simferopol, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovs’k, Mykolaiv, Vienna, Rome, Mainz, Maastricht, and Zhejiang China. In 1990 Toronto Attorney Ihor Bardyn founded the Program, to celebrate the centenary of Ukrainian group immigration to Canada and the renewal of Ukraine's Independence. On their arrival in Ottawa, Mr. Bardyn greeted the...

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress congratulates Justice Marc Nadon on his appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Nadon indicated his pride in his Ukrainian and French Canadian roots at his public Parliamentary hearing on his nomination on October 2, 2013, "I was born in St. Jerome, Quebec to a French Canadian minor league hockey player father and a Ukrainian Canadian professional singer mother who worked at the Chateau Frontenac...I am proud of my French Canadian and Ukrainian background.My Ukrainian grandparents came to Canada during the First World War and were pleased to come to a country which welcomed them so warmly. "The Ukrainian Canadian community congratulates...

The Board of Directors and Staff at St. Vladimir Institute (SVI) are very pleased to announce an eventful year of festivities surrounding this, our 50th Anniversary year, celebrating 50 years of Ukrainian cultural programming and post secondary housing to the GTA Area. With two events scheduled for the fall to recognize this milestone, the excitement is building...

The Communists controlUkraine, our country’s spirit withers with the slow eradication of our history, language, and culture. The year is 1929, I am seven years old and I hear talk of a depression; work and food have become scarce. As I manage to scrape by, many perish; Stalin’s induced famine has killed millions of my fellow Ukrainians. With the conclusion of my second grade education, I return to the land; it needs my back and hands. Ten tough years have passed and World War II is imminent, despair lies on the horizon. I watch many of my friends disappear as they are pulled into the abyss of battle. What am I to do? Shall I fight with the Soviet regime, which is systematically dismantling my beloved home, or fight under mad dog Hitler, who has promised to “liberate‘‘Ukraine. I seek out a third solution, I run and hide. I leave my family at the age of seventeen; I will never see them again. I lock the memories of war away, yet I know that they shape the time I have left breathing. I escape toEnglandand am immensely relieved to find that I have met a wonderful people...

On Friday August 2, 2013, SUSK President Christine Czoli, Executive Vice-President Nadia Demko, and Past President Danylo Korbabicz met with the Ukrainian Ambassador, his Excellency Vadym Prystaiko, inOttawa. Mr. Prystaiko was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine toCanadain November 2012. SUSK met with the Ambassador in order to introduce our organization, voice the perspective of Ukrainian Canadian students with respect to key issues, and discuss potential opportunities for cooperation between SUSK and the Ukrainian Embassy inCanada. Following a brief introduction to the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union, SUSK representatives presented the perspectives of Ukrainian Canadian students regarding key issues relating to Canada and Ukraine...

Dear Friends! The Ukrainian Canadian Congress and all its member organizations extend greetings and best wishes to the Ukrainian Canadian community and the people of Ukraine on the occasion of the 22nd Anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Twenty two years ago, the people of Ukraine resoundingly voted to peacefully establish a free and independent Ukrainian state. In gaining its independence, Ukraine left behind the oppression of the Soviet Union to join the community of independent nations, with political and policy decision-making being made in Kyiv, not Moscow. The adoption of the declaration of Independence marked a...

On the occasion of the 22-nd Anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence, the already traditional yearly flag-raising ceremony took place on Thursday, August 22, 2013 in front of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at Queen’s Park, Toronto. The ceremony opened at noon with “Baturyn” Concert Marching Band (Conductor and Musical Director Petrusia Chornopyska, Ukrainian Youth Association of Canada, Etobicoke Branch) playing the “Prayer for Ukraine” – the Ukrainian National Sacral Hymn. The one hour long program included: - Greetings and opening remarks on...

MP Ted Opitz (Etobicoke Centre), Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group welcomes the announcement made today by Minister of International Development, Julian Fantino, that Canada will continue to promote democracy and economic growth in Ukraine through a new project. The announcement was made at a roundtable with representatives of the Ukrainian-Canadian community. MP Opitz co-hosted the meeting with the Honourable Julian Fantino, who reiterated Canada’s support for economic development and democracy in Ukraine. “Canada and Ukraine share historic ties of friendship extending back through generations of Ukrainian migration to Canada. Our interests continue to be rooted in a shared respect for democracy,” said Minister Fantino. “Canada continues to support initiatives in Ukraine that help to improve the lives of Ukrainians by increasing their economic opportunities.” Canada supports...