Major Immigrant Groups

The Ukrainians

The first Ukrainians came to Canada in the early-1890s. Between 1896 and 1914, 170,000 Ukrainians made the trip from the overpopulated Austrian provinces of Galicia and Bukovyna to Canada. Many left their homelands to settle on the western prairies. They left their homeland because of heavy taxes and decreasing land areas available for farming. As a result, many of the farmers were badly in debt.

Canada was a more favourable option for settlement over the United States of America. American regulations were more difficult for immigrants to meet. Also, native-born Americans were often hostile to new arrivals, and there was a limited amount of land available. The Canadian government also employed leaders of the Ukrainian community, such as Joseph Oleskiw, Kyrolo Genik, and Reverend Nestor Dmytriw, to produce works urging Ukrainians to acquire free land in Canada, to save funds to operate a farm on this land, and adopt Western styles of dress in order to fit into Canadian society more easily. These would help make the immigration experience easier.

Many Ukrainians came to Canada under a secret agreement between the Canadian Government and the North Atlantic Trading Company. The North Atlantic Trading Company secretly received a payment from the government for every Ukrainian immigrant that it successfully directed to Canada. Steamship and railway companies actively recruited non-British agriculturally-based immigrants. Thousands of Ukrainians were willing to sell their land and most of their possessions to purchase a ticket with these companies for the cramped and difficult passage to Canada.

Click here to view documents Ukrainian immigrants completed prior to their journey to Canada.

When they arrived in Canada, the Ukrainians continued to face hardships. Those who could not make a living off of the land often died. Many were concerned that the size of the land that they were awarded (160 acres) was too large to establish a close-knit community like the ones they enjoyed in their homeland. They faced persecution from native-born Canadians who discriminated against the Ukrainians because they spoke a foreign language and had different customs. Those who lived in cities, such as in Winnipeg’s north end, faced more of this treatment. This attitude grew stronger in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War when Austria-Hungary, the homeland of Ukrainian immigrants, became known as the enemy.

Click here to view a video clip detailing the hardships faced by Ukrainian immigrants.

Ukrainians were able to overcome all of the hardships presented before them through their positive attitudes, stubborn determination to succeed, and excellent work ethic.