Ukrainian diasporas in Canada (apartments, rental, homes)

[T-Robot]

Hi. I live in the United States, but I was born in the Ukraine. I keep hearing that Canada has a large Ukrainian community and I'd like to find out more about it. I really want to find some sort of authentic diaspora and perhaps visit it sometime.

Other members on this forum told me that there are large Ukrainian populations in cities like Edmonton, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Calgary. I've also heard smaller places like Vegreville, Alberta and St. Paul, Alberta might be of interest to me.

Does anybody here know anything more about this topic?

What are the most notable communities and what are they like?

Where are these places exactly in case I decide to visit someday?

Thanks in advance

[netwit]

There are many Ukrainians and Ukrainian villages in Manitoba. People who have been here for several generations still speak Ukrainian.

Embassy of Ukraine in Canada - Publications (http://www.ukremb.ca/canada/en/publication/content/27026.htm - broken link)


Canada's National Ukrainian Festival - Dauphin, Manitoba - YouTube

[T-Robot]

The festival looks like a lot of fun I just bookmarked its website as well as the embassy's. Thank you!

Anyone else have something to add?

[gosling]

That video made me hungry now I have to go find a place that serves Ukranian food.

[Acajack]

There were generally two major Ukrainian patterns of settlement in Canada.

One was on the Prairies as netwit mentioned. They were originally rurally-based homesteaders but many descendants have since migrated to their cities.

There was also an urban Ukrainian migration mostly to Toronto as well that was fairly significant.

[netwit]

Here are more towns with Ukrainian roots - they may have websites that might be of interest to you if you Google for them: Dauphin, Gilbert Plains, Sarto, Vita, Caliento, Sundown, Zhoda, Tolstoi, Gardenton and Selkirk.

Some of these towns are very small, hamlets basically, but these are the places that have retained a great deal of Ukrainian culture and language. There are more recent immigrants to south-eastern Manitoba, from Ukraine and Russia and both languages are commonly heard in the grocery stores. 'Ukrainian' Christmas is often celebrated either with December 25 or instead of it.

The Cooks Creek Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Dauphin Ukrainian Catholic Church always take my breath away.

I am of Ukrainian Mennonite heritage (my grandparents came here in the 1920s).

I can't help you with the other provinces but Mennonites and Ukrainians often lived cheek by jowl in Manitoba and came from the same place.

[Zoisite]

My dad was Ukrainian, born in Brandon Manitoba and moved to BC in the late 1940's. I can't tell you much about Ukrainian settlements in BC although there are some around Vernon, Grindrod, Grand Forks ... a few other places. I googled Ukrainian culture in British Columbia and got this so thought I'd post this for you. Google

Here is a little history about the Grindrod settlement:
Ukrainians in Grindrod/title>

Nash Holos, a blog about the Ukrainian Roots Radio show Nash Holos (which means "our voice" in Ukrainian), music, media, and Ukrainian culture and community in Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere:
Nash Holos

Countdown to the Ukrainian Cultural Festival in BC - May 5, 2012
http://www.bcucf.ca/splash.php

Ukrainian Canadian Congress British Columbia Provincial Council
About UCC-BC

.

[T-Robot]

Awesome, thanks for the responses everyone! The links are especially appreciated. It's great to see that others have Ukrainian roots and that the culture is alive and doing well

[architext]

I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and came to Toronto. Some of the Ukrainian festivals are a joke. Looking at the video you can see a stand with Ukrainian and Polish flag. Pathetic. I like to categorize Urkainian diaspora in two distinct types:

Type 1 Ukrianians:
(think Western Ukraine, Lviv, Chernivtsi). Catholic in faith and in their mentality and pro-Tymoshenko. Anti-Russian and don't know/care about Russian. They have their own festivals and things like "Malanka" and traditional dance associations and many other associations in universities across the city. The 3+ generation out in Alberta and Manitoba consist of these people. I know prominent Argentine-Ukrainian families personally that fall in this category also.

Type 2 Ukrianians:
Speak Ukrainian and Russian, are anti-Tymoshenko (Think Eastern, cities like Kiev, Yalta, Kharkov). Orthodox in faith. These people are not too nationalistic or traditional. A lot of them immerse themselves in Russian areas of Toronto, such as North York and West End. Growing up in West End all of my friends were 1st and in many cases "fresh off the boat" Ukrainians but they looked down on "Polaks" (or Ukrainians who show strong nationalism)

As for me, my friends are all of the latter variety because I find them all easy going and we talk in Russian & Ukrainian sometimes. As a fluent Ukrainian I find a lot of 3+ generation Ukrainians butcher the language and don't talk properly.

If you want "authentic diaspora" ignore Alberta and come down directly into the West End, Bloor Street West and Lakeshore. At least that area of Toronto has a more authentic Ukrainian atmosphere. Of course if you go up to Bathurst and Finch you can hear Russian being spoken.

[architext]

Apartments in North York are reminiscent of Soviet style, dear to many Ukrainians and Russians. No surprise this area is for many of them.





Area in West End of Toronto, Dupont St. Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Southwest of this is Bloor St W, a nucleus of Ukrainian community.



Park Lawn, another rental neighbourhood closer to the lake, you can take a guess at the ethnicity of these car owners



This is a tour of another area in west end closer to the lake. East of this is where I grew up in 1990s and can vouch for number of Polish and Ukrainians which almost outnumber Russians.

Long Branch « Toronto Neighbourhood Walks Project