Historica Canada releases first animated Heritage Minute, exploring immigration to Kensington Market

TORONTO – October 25, 2017 Historica Canada’s new Heritage Minute follows a single store in Kensington Market as it is transformed by new generations and cultures. The first-ever animated Heritage Minute highlights the role of Kensington Market and similar communities across the country that provide newcomers a first business - and a first home - in Canada.  This story of immigration is the 88th vignette in the Heritage Minute collection.

Originally built as a residential neighbourhood, Kensington flourished as a market in the 20th century, with an influx of Jewish immigrants from Europe who turned the Victorian houses into storefronts. Among these immigrants was Chaskel Goldlist, who opened a kosher poultry shop in the market. His grandson, Michael Goldlist, wrote the script for this Minute, which charts the evolution of the market over five decades.

“Each wave of newcomers has shaped Kensington Market in the same way that immigrants continue to shape Canada,” said Anthony Wilson-Smith, President and CEO of Historica Canada. “This Minute pays tribute to those contributions in one of our most distinctive formats to date.”

The Kensington Market Heritage Minute can be shared and embedded through this link.

For more information on immigration to Kensington Market, click here.

This Heritage Minute was produced by Historica Canada and Global Mechanic Inc. The animation was completed at Global Mechanic’s studio in Vancouver, BC. The Heritage Minutes are made possible through funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The Heritage Minutes are a collection of more than 85 bilingual short films, each depicting a significant person, event or story in Canadian history. The Minutes were created by The CRB Foundation in 1991 and re-launched by Historica Canada in 2012.

Historica Canada offers programs that you can use to explore, learn and reflect on our history and what it means to be Canadian.