Ukrainian Canadians
Ukrainian Canadians[N 1] are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born people who immigrated to Canada.
українські канадці
343,640 (8.1%)
342,260 (2.4%)
210,100 (4.2%)
165,305 (12.3%)
138,705 (12.2%)
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]
Participation in the Canadian economy[edit]
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]
Dr. Joseph Oleskow in 1896, before his second voyage to Canada
Ukrainian Museum of Canada workers in traditional dress outside the Saskatoon museum
A Ukrainian folk music "orchestra" associated with the then Mykhailo Hrushevsky Institute of Edmonton, now known as St John's Institute
St Petro Mohyla Institute, Saskatoon
