FROM THE LAND OF PAIN TO THE LAND OF PROMISE
-Immigration from Central and Eastern Europe-

Canada – Glorious and free. Canada is a nation that is envied by many. Throughout the course of history, many ethnic groups have traveled from a land of pain to this land of promise. One immigrant group which has had a great effect on the municipality of St. Clements, as well as Western Canada, came from Central and Eastern Europe.

The greatest wave of immigration came to St. Clements during the late 19 th and early 20 th century, between the 1880’s and 1920’s. There were harsh conditions in Europe at this time, due to economic, political, and ethnic problems. In 1772, Austria-Hungary, the most powerful empire in Central Europe, gained control over former Polish possessions, the western Ukrainian provinces of Galicia and Bukovina. The Polish landlords remained in control of the farm land, even after the 1848 abolition of serfdom in the Austrian Empire. Austria-Hungary allowed this because it created ethnic minorities which maintained civil disorder and prevented a rebellion. They continually attempted to break the Ukrainians mainly by abolishing the traditional church of the Ukrainians, the Orthodox Church. Russia took possession of the former Polish dominated eastern provinces of the Ukraine and treated them worse than Austria-Hungary in the west, denying the inhabitants the use of the Ukrainian language. Ukrainians were also denied political liberties and education. Russian Tsarist Minister of Education, Count Pyotr Valuyev, stated, “The Ukrainian language never existed, does not exist, and never can exist.” When serfdom in the Russian empire was abolished in 1861, conditions improved little because the plots of land given the peasants were too small to sustain a family, and the forests were controlled by the nobility. In Austria-Hungary, the Polish landlords continued to retain 90% of the forested land in Galicia and the plots of land given to the peasants were only three hectares (seven and one-half acres), making them almost entirely dependant on the nobles. Out of 2,300,000 people living on estates, only 50,000 individuals benefited as landlords. Several other ethnic or religious groups in Europe, including the Hutterites from Germany and the Mennonites and Doukhobors from Russia, were suffering from religious persecution. They too would soon seek shelter in Canada.

Although Eastern Europeans would always retain a passion for their homeland, they realized that life would not improve there. When Canada, the United States, and Brazil opened their doors to immigrants suffering in Central Europe, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian, Polish, German, and Russian immigrants left their homes and relatives, in search of a better life. Joseph Oleskiew was sent by a Ukrainian organization to investigate the possibility of group settlement in Canada and his report was very favourable. The emigrants who had settled in Brazil endured unbearable hardships. Oleskiew urged his people to choose Canada as their destination instead. Between 1890 and 1914, it is estimated that 100,000 -200,000 Ukrainians arrived in Canada from the Western Ukraine. There is a discrepancy on the exact number because the emigrants were identified as coming from Russia, Poland, or Austria, and not the Ukraine since it was only a region in Central Europe.

Desperate to reach North America, some immigrants even tried to stow away or obtain a foreign passport. The majority of the ships which brought them were overcrowded, and during the long journey many caught diseases and did not survive to reach Canada. Upon arrival and after processing in eastern Canada, the immigrants boarded trains and headed to the wide-open West. Many traveled to Winnipeg, but immigrants coming to St. Clements stopped at the East Selkirk Immigration shed. The first group of immigrants who arrived at the shed totaled approximately 1,700 Doukhobors. They were followed by six hundred Galicians, and thousands more Galicians and Russians over the next few years.

Once here, the immigrants then applied for land through the Homestead Act. Under special conditions, they were granted 160 acres free, along with the option to purchase an extra quarter section. The Ukrainians preferred bush land with water and trees, which were scarce commodities in their homeland. The wood served as fuel and building materials. Much of the land given by the government, however, did not prove suitable for growing crops. The immigrants immediately began making their mark on the land by building either Galician-style houses with two large rooms or the more elaborate Bukovinian style with three rooms. The men sought extra money to develop their farms by working on logging, railway, and mining crews, while the women stayed at home to care for the children, animals, and small-cultivated plots of land. Although some of the immigrants practiced a trade, most of the settlers became vegetable farmers. Racism was common against these people, who were different from the HBC and Scottish settlers who had preceded them.

The Ukrainian immigrants settled in block communities, where they helped each other survive through the hard times. Racism was common against these people, who were different from the current British and Scottish settlers. Many eventually settled in rural East Selkirk, Libau, the Beaches, and the Narol-Gonor area. Although some of the immigrants already practiced a known trade, most of the settlers became grain/livestock produces and the immigrants in the Narol-Gonor area became vegetable farmers. One day these settlers would become the market gardeners.

The East European immigrants settled in block communities, where they helped each other survive through the hard times. They created communities in rural East Selkirk, Libau, the Beaches, and the Narol-Gonor area. With their ethnic roots in mind, the new settlers named some of the towns to remind them of their homeland. Libau, which was settled by German immigrants, from the Lettish city, Leipaja, is a German translation of that name. The name Narol is derived from a district in the county of Lubaczow, Poland.

Manitoba was the first of the three prairie provinces to organize schools in the Ukrainian settlements. The Ukrainian people however, feared that the aim of the schools was to assimilate their children into Canadian culture. Having been denied the use of their language in their former homes, they wished to have their children taught in Ukrainian by Ukrainian-speaking teachers rather than English-speaking educators. The English teachers did not always have respect for the diversity of other cultures, only allowing the British ways and customs to remain dominant. Until 1916, public school education in any language other than English was banned in Manitoba. After this date, the Ukrainian settlements were allowed to hire Ukrainian-speaking teachers for their school districts. The provincial government even opened a normal school to train Ukrainian-speaking teachers. This helped form a bridge between past and present cultures. To this date, Happy Thought School has many devoted Ukrainian Bilingual teachers that continually strive to keep their culture alive through its education.

In 1914, with the beginning of World War I, Austro-Hungary became Canada’s enemy. This presented a dilemma for the new Ukrainian settlers, most of whom held former passports from that country. Austria still controlled parts of Ukraine and even though the Ukrainian people had never received many benefits from Austrian rule, those immigrants who had not yet become naturalized Canadians were classified as enemy alien by the Canadian government. Ukrainian immigrants in St. Clements, as well as across Canada, were treated harshly. In Manitoba, a delegation of English-speaking citizens petitioned their government to imprison and exile all Ukrainians in the province. Thousands of Ukrainians in all parts of Canada were dismissed from their jobs, rounded up by police, and placed in guarded concentration camps. Here, they were imprisoned behind fences with barbed wire. The municipal councils stated that Ukrainian Canadians were a threat to civil disorder. These immigrants became furious because even if they were not in the camps themselves, most were still related to or knew other that were. They were also used as forced labour to help build Banff National Park, BC and Maritime mines, and Ontario steel mills. Although some prisoners were deported, most were able to return to their homes two years after war’s end. With the creation of the United Soviet Republic of Ukraine in Russia, all the Galician, Bukovinian, and Ruthenian emigrants from that region began to be officially referred to as Ukrainians in Canada.

Article written by Jared Laberge
St. Clements Heritage Advisory Committee – 07/19/05

St. Clements Historical Committee. East Side Of The Red. Winnipeg: Inter-Collegiate Press, 1984.

InfoUkes Inc. Staff. Internment of Ukrainians in Canada. <http://www.infoukes.com/history/internment/>. April 10th 2005 .

Piniuta, Harry. Land Of Pain Land Of Promise. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Prairie Books, 1981.