RUSSIAN settlement in Canada began as early as the nineteenth century when Doukhobors, members of a Russian Christian sect similar to the Society of Friends, assisted by British and American Quakers and novelist Leo Tolstoy, migrated to Canada in the late 1890s after persecution for refusing military service. The group settled in the Prince Albert and Yorkton areas of Saskatchewan. By 1908, a group of Doukhobors had moved west to British Columbia and established residence there in the Kootenay and Grand Forks areas.

The political, social, and economic conditions prevailing in the Russian lands during the early twentieth century encouraged the emigration of good peasant folk – Russians proper – as well as Russian Jews and other subjects from the western territories of the Empire including Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Moldova. The majority of these early immigrants were attracted to such Canadian cities as Montreal, Toronto, Windsor, Timmins, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Victoria. Many found employment in industry, for it was factory jobs that guaranteed the community's income.

Emigration to Canada was halted by the Russian Revolution of 1917 in which the Tsarist regime was overthrown and replaced by Bolshevik rule and then by the outbreak of the Russian Civil War of 1918-21. This conflict, which led to the defeat of the counter-revolutionary White Russians by members of the Bolshevik Red Army, resulted in thousands of refugees having to seek safety and new lives in France, Britain, Switzerland, China, and other countries for a number of years before eventually coming to Canada. Russians also came to Canada after the Second World War as part of the great mass migration of people which followed the Allied victory.

Russian immigrants of the inter- and postwar periods represented a broader movement of professionals, people of education and culture with experience and training in many different fields. Because of their privileged position, these newcomers were able to integrate with relative ease into Canadian society. Among them were such individuals as Leonid I. Strakhovsky, who helped create a Slavic Studies Department at the University of Toronto; physician Boris P. Babkin, a gastroenterologist at Dalhousie and McGill universities; and the talented clan of Count Paul Ignatieff, the last minister of education under Tsar Nicholas II. The 1970s had special importance with the defections of Russian seamen and performing artists. As well, the emigration of Soviet citizens of the Jewish faith added to the community's ranks. Migration to Canada was renewed only in 1991 following the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics.

With regard to the question of ethnic origin, according to the 1996 Canadian Census, a total of 272,325 persons responded they were wholly (46,885) or partially (225,450) of Russian background. The larger urban centres of Canada such as Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver continue to be the most popular areas for settlement.  In addition, Russians have settled in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, and Hamilton.

Rich in symbolism, the Russian Orthodox Church acted as a bastion of national identity, the centre around which many Russian Canadians rallied, most especially the post-1917 White Russian emigrants. The ethnocommunity group founded at least 20 Russian Orthodox churches in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba during the first decade of the twentieth century. As expected, Toronto and Montreal also have a highly developed Orthodox religious life. In Montreal, the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul was founded in 1907; the Church of St. Nicholas was established in 1927. In Toronto, Christ the Saviour Russian Orthodox Cathedral, founded, 1915, became the hub of Russian Orthodox church life in Toronto – with choirs, dance groups, children’s orchestras, youth concerts, cultural groups, and sisterhoods. Every Sunday after liturgy, the faithful gathered downstairs in the church hall around the Russian classical library over chai (tea) with glorious food like piroshki, pelmeni and borscht lovingly prepared by the sisterhood. And more often than not, it was a time of joyous fellowship, lectures, and talks with discussions on what was going on in Russia. In addition, there were a number of Russians belonging to other religious groupings including the Doukhobor, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Mennonite, and Hutterite sects.

Russians have made numerous contributions to Canadian life. The early Russian immigrants helped to ensure the physical development of this country. Later waves of immigration brought the most educated, politically conscious, and culturally active. From their ranks have come scholars, musicians, and artists including muralist Bill Perehudoff, the son of a Doukhobor farmer in Saskatchewan; portrait and still-life artist Parashkeva Clark; and Nicholas de Grandmaison, a portraitist specializing in First Nations subjects. During the 1930s, Boris Volkoff trained dancers and aroused interest in ballet. In 1955, Ludmilla Chiriaeff, born in Latvia of Russian parents, founded Les grands ballets Canadiens in Montreal. It is therefore only fitting that ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov chose to defect while on tour in Canada in 1974. Finally, the five sons of Count Paul Ignatieff have made an extraordinary number of contributions in the academic arena and diplomatic corps. The Count’s youngest son, George, served as Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia, Deputy High Commissioner in London, and as the permanent representative of Canada to the North Atlantic Council of NATO in Paris and the United Nations. A theatre at the University of Toronto was named after Ignatieff, who also served as Chancellor of the University of Toronto. It follows that his son, Michael, has gone on to distinguish himself as a writer, historian, and broadcaster both in Canada and abroad.