Digital Literacy: Exploring Russian & Ukrainian History in Canada
This digital magazine features five stories of notable Russian and Ukrainian Canadians who worked toward this end. It also includes two timelines that tell the story of each community in Canada. Links to the full-length biographies on The Canadian Encyclopedia are provided throughout.
The first major waves of Russian and Ukrainian immigration to Canada took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as Russian Doukhobors escaped persecution and Ukrainian peasants sought better opportunities. In the waves that followed, Russians and Ukrainians continued to find refuge here. For example, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Canadians welcomed Russian Jews escaping their former nation’s antisemitic policies — much in the same way Canada is currently welcoming Ukrainian refugees.
However, their new home was not always welcoming. Certain policies prevented the Doukhobors, for example, from living communally, and during the First World War the Canadian government forced thousands of Ukrainian Canadians into internment camps. Despite this, Russians and Ukrainians persevered to make Canada a more inclusive country, not just for members of their own communities but for all Canadians.