Ukrainians in Canada

Board members are leaders from the nonprofit and/or for-profit sector who are dedicated to the Shevchenko Foundation’s mission, act in a position of trust for the community, promote excellence, and commit to responsible effective governance. Board members are active advocates and ambassadors for the Foundation and are fully engaged in identifying and securing the financial resources and partnerships necessary to advance our mission. They apply their legal, financial, cultural, business, governance, and entrepreneurial skills and experience to help guide the Foundation in achieving its mission. This is an opportunity for you to use your broad knowledge of the national Ukrainian Canadian community and play a...

For me, Christmas always begins after St. Nicholas Day. As soon as there is tangerine smell in the house, rustle of a package with candies under a pillow, it means that soon we will start to spruce up the house, put-up the Christmas tree, make kutia and prepare for the Holy Supper. Every family has their own Christmas traditions, and ours are not an exception. At our house we put-up the Christmas tree before the New Year. Usually we decorate it with candies, nuts, tinsel and several big glass ornaments, which always remind me of my grandma. Sometime right after New Year I definitely pay a visit the Cathedral – pray, look at a crib with baby Jesus and listen to the organ. This is my personal tradition in commemorating my grandma, with whom we always visited the holy place. As a small girl, I remember the graceful nods of the...

Kutia is always served as the first of the twelve traditional meatless dishes during Christmas Eve. It is typically made with wheatberries that are sweetened with honey and augmented with poppy seeds, dried fruits and nuts. It is eaten from a common dish to symbolize unity and, in some families, a spoonful of kutia is thrown up to the ceiling. If it sticks, a plentiful honey harvest can be expected. One Ukrainian-Canadian is taking Ukrainian dishes to a new level, by sharing recipes of classics like borscht, khrusky, pampushky and perizhky on a free cooking and baking blog www.claudiascookbook.com. Jamie, the website's initiator and main contributor, was inspired by her mother Claudia. Prior to Christmas...

The Cold War in Val-d’Or, A History of the Ukrainian Community in Val-d’Or, Quebec is a mini-history of an ethnocultural community in northwestern Quebec. The story has many similarities to the evolution of immigrant and ethnocultural groups in many one-industry towns in northern Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. This study should be of special interest to the many former residents of Val-d’Or who lived in an isolated resource town in a predominantly francophone milieu. The earliest mention of Ukrainians in Abitibi is their internment in the Spirit Lake Internment Camp during the First World War established near Amos, Quebec. The Sheptytsky Colony established in the late 1920s continued to be farmed by Ukrainians until the 1970s. The mining economy and the local cultural environment shaped this community but also the left-right political rivalry during the Cold War years documented in the surveillance reports prepared by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and found in Library and Archives Canada...

In December 2020 we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Marta Krawciw-Barabash Ukrainian Music Festival. I am certain that Professor Marta Krawciw would have never imagined the Festival as it will proceed this year. The Festival will be held in December, as it has been for several years. In this challenging year, however, not exactly as we had hoped. We still intend to have a memorable and celebratory affair. It will be not only a memorable but also very unique! We have adjusted to the reality of a global pandemic, and are adhering to all the health and distancing rules. Our dedicated volunteers and our talented students and teachers are ready for the challenge! The 50th UMF is going Virtual!..

December 2020 will mark the world premiere of a Ukrainian documentary “UKE: The Untold Story of Hockey Legends,” produced and directed by Volodymyr Mula. Throughout the 100-year existence of the National Hockey League (NHL) there were over fifty Ukrainians who became the League’s champions, by far the largest representation of a nationality. The documentary will showcase the stories of successful NHL hockey players who had Ukrainian roots, including legends such as Wayne Gretzky, Terry Sawchuk, Orest Kindrachuk, Eddie Shack, to name a few...

The Former President of the Ukrainian World Congress Eugene Czolij became the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Montreal, QC. The official Agreement outlining the mandate of the Honorary Consul was signed on Friday, October 16, 2020. This mandate will extend to the entire province of Quebec and has marked the first time in history that Ukraine receives its diplomatic presence in this province. “This is an important geographical area and a unique person,” said Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine's Ambassador to Canada. Shevchenko expressed that "Quebec already stands out as leader among all Canadian provinces in terms of trade with Ukraine. And we are infinitely pleased that Ukrainian interests in Quebec will be represented by Mr. Czolij, an iconic figure for the international Ukrainian community and a brilliant, authoritative lawyer.”...

After Ukraine's loss of its War for Independence in 1918-1921, the country fell again under the control of neighbouring foreign powers, namely: Soviet Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania. This set the stage for the emergence of a massive Ukrainian Liberation Movement spearheaded by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, which during World War II directed its struggle against Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. Ukraine became the main battlefield between those two totalitarian superpowers, and where their violence was especially and unprecedentedly extreme...

On March 9, 2020 on Parliament Hill, Etobicoke Centre Member of Parliament Yvan Baker was elected Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group (CUPFG) during the annual general meeting. CUPFG is one of Canada’s largest and most active parliamentary friendship groups with over 100 members representing all political parties. The purpose of the CUPFG is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas between Canadian Parliamentarians and their counterparts in Ukraine and to promote and enhance the political, economic and cultural relations between Canada and Ukraine...

In celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the League of Ukrainian Canadians, the 65th Anniversary of the League of Ukrainian Canadian Women and the 70th Anniversary of Ukraine Echo a Tribute Gala “Ukrainians. A Cause without Borders” was held at the Old Mill Toronto. The keynote address was delivered by the Rd. Hon Stephen Harper, the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. During the Tribute Gala, the Rt. Hon Stephen Harper was awarded with the Pinnacle Award. This award was established in 2015 by the International Council in Support of Ukraine, the international umbrella organization for both LUC and LUCW, to recognize outstanding individuals who have contributed to a positive image of the Ukrainian identity on the...