Canada’s first Ukrainian pioneers

On Aug. 24, Canadians of Ukrainian descent and Ukrainians throughout the diaspora celebrated the 35th anniversary of the restoration of Ukraine’s independence. This jubilant occasion identified Ukraine’s sovereignty within the international community.

Another milestone event will soon be addressed by Ukrainians. On Sept. 7, 1891 — 135 years ago — the first wave of Ukrainians arrived in our country.

Two adventurous individuals, Ivan Pylypiw and Wasyl Elyniak, were the first two officially recorded Ukrainian immigrants in Canada. They arrived in Montreal, on the steamship Oregon, and are considered the pioneers of the dynamic Ukrainian Canadian community that settled in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Pylypiw and Elyniak were directly responsible for the first settlements on the Prairies by eventually bringing their own families and inspiring other households to come.

No one leaves their country unless inspired by some selfless ideal or compelled to do so by reasons of an imperative nature, such as politics and economics — as with the mass Ukrainian migration of 2022, after the Russian invasion, when millions of Ukrainians fled their homes and settled throughout Canada and the world.

Why did Ukrainians emigrate to Canada at the end of the 19th century? What influenced Pylypiw and Elyniak and many others to make Canada their land of choice?

There were several major reasons. Although Ukraine was and still is a land of great natural resources and rich agriculture, the country in the late 19th and early 20th century was then partitioned, and under the rule of both the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires. Poverty in Ukraine was rife, so many saw escaping poverty by seeking a new homeland with new economic conditions as the only way to improve their lives. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, Pylypiw and Elyniak were encouraged by German friends who had settled in Canada.

The earliest Ukrainian settlers came mostly from western Ukraine. Under the Dominion Lands Act, Canada offered “free land” of 160 acres to homesteaders for a $10 registration fee, which became powerful leverage to emigrate. The first contingent of Ukrainians left their homeland and settled in what was, to them, an unknown wilderness. They faced and endured all the trials and hardships of a pioneering venture to establish new homesteads and new lives. The first group established numerous new communities, which formed a long and almost continuous belt, commencing in the southeastern corner of Manitoba and stretching diagonally across the three Prairie provinces in a northwesterly direction, to the Peace River area of northern Alberta.

The first wave of Ukrainian immigrants, who arrived between 1891 and 1914 (the beginning of the First World War), gave the later stream of Ukrainians the knowledge to integrate into Canadian life, providing basic needs to newcomers until they could survive on their own. By 1931, Ukrainian Canadians made up 2.2 per cent of Canada’s population.

Historically, Manitoba was the first stopping point for the first wave of immigrants, who were instrumental in developing homesteads in the southeast corner, the Interlake, and the Riding Mountain area of Dauphin. Through hard work, this first wave transformed much of Manitoba’s wilderness into productive farm fields, carved out roads, built railways, developed commercial enterprises, established cultural educational centres, and enhanced the political life of Manitoba.

These early pioneers brought with them the qualities required to make a new nation — a sense of daring, dedication, self-discipline, imagination, optimism and a healthy spirit. They encountered freezing cold prairie winds and winter temperatures that dropped below anything they had experienced. With the summer heat came mosquitoes, loneliness, and many more obstacles. Regardless, all came to Canada to find and live in a free environment, without being oppressed. Some abandoned their families for the perilous voyage abroad.

The very first Ukrainian settlers of 1891 had faith in Canada. They set the framework for future Ukrainian immigration and were among the many streams of new Canadians presently contributing to our great country.

Canada has accepted many immigrants from many cultures and has a long history of caring for all Canadians. That warm welcome is evident to the present days, experienced by the most recent wave of Ukrainians, who came to Canada beginning in February 2022. Canada promised hope to Ukrainians 135 years ago, and it does so now.

Peter John Manastyrsky writes articles about historical, political and contemporary issues. He resides in Niverville, Man.