In the Footsteps of Nationbuilders

Parliament Hill

We will start our Path of Heroes tour on Parliament Hill.
Parliament Hill has become a national landmark. It consists of the Parliament Buildings and the Centennial Flame.

The four main parts that make up the Parliament Buildings are the Centre Block with tower, the flanking East and West Blocks, and the Library of Parliament. The Centre Block was first designed in 1859, reworked in 1863, and officially opened on June 6 1866, and then rebuilt after the fire in 1916. The grand central tower was originally called Victoria Tower and was re-named in 1933 the Peace Tower. The East and West Blocks were constructed in 1859-65 then also was rebuilt after the fire in 1916. The Library begun construction in 1859, redesigned in 1870, and completed in 1877. It was the only building left after the fire of 1916.

The Centennial Flame was lit December 31 1966 at midnight by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, Secretary Of State Judy LaMarsh, opposition leader John Diefenbaker, and thousands of others during festivities celebrating the 100th anniversary of confederation, 1867. It was originally supposed to be extinguished but left alight due to popular consent.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Born in St. Lin, Quebec in 1841, he received his law degree from McGill University in 1864. He practised law in Montreal and Arthabaska. He was elected to the Quebec legislature as a Liberal member in 1871 and 1874 he was elected to the federal Parliament. He was appointed Minister of Inland Revenue in 1877. He later became leader of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party and became leader in 1887. He won the 1896 federal election and became Prime Minister. During his term in office, immigration to Canada swelled and included the largest wave of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. As a result, many Ukrainians supported the federal Liberal Party for many decades. He was defeated in 1911 and died in Ottawa in 1919.

John George Diefenbaker

Statue of John G. Diefenbaker by Leo Mol

Born in Neustadt, Ontario in 1895, he moved with his family to the Fort Carlton area of the North-West Territories in 1903. In 1910 his family moved to Saskatoon. He attended the University of Saskatchewan and began his career as a lawyer in 1919. His first law office was in Wakaw and after 1924 in Prince Albert. He lived and worked among the Ukrainian settlers in Saskatchewan and became familiar with their social and political history in Canada and in Ukraine. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 1940 and in 1956 was elected the lead the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1957, he led the Progressive Conservative Party to victory. He appointed Mike Starr from Oshawa as Minister of Labour, the first Ukrainian Canadian to hold a Cabinet position at the federal level. Diefenbaker was a strong supporter of Ukrainian independence and made a speech at the United Nations denouncing Soviet rule over eastern Europe. As a result many Ukrainian Canadians supported the Progressive Conservative Party in federal elections. The Progressive Conservative Party was defeated at the federal elections in 1963 and Diefenbaker became Leader of the Opposition. He visited Ukraine and frequently met with representative of the Ukrainian Canadian community. He died in 1979.

Leo Mol (Leonid Molodozhanyn) was born in Volyn, Ukraine in 1915. He studied sculpture and art in Vienna and Berlin. In 1948 he immigrated to Canada and continued his career in Winnipeg as Leo Mol. He created many statues and busts of famous Ukrainian and Canadian figures including John Diefenbaker in Ottawa. He lives and works in Winnipeg.

Mike Starr

Mike Starr with Ukrainian Students Club in Ottawa Mike Starr was born in 1910 in Copper Cliff, Ontario, the son of recent Ukrainian immigrants. His parents moved to Montreal and then to Oshawa, Ontario. Mike became active in the Ukrainian community at a young age and also in the larger community in Oshawa. He was elected as alderman in 1944 and Mayor in 1949. He was elected to the federal parliament in 1952, as a representative of the Progressive Conservative Party. In 1957, he was appointed Minister of Labour in the Diefenbaker government, the first Ukrainian Canadian to hold this position. As Member of Parliament and federal Cabinet Minister, Starr often spoke on the question of Ukrainian independence. After the defeat of the Diefenbaker government in 1963, Starr continued as Member of Parliament holding the position as House Leader. He was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1967. He lost his seat during the 1968 federal elections. He continued his career in public service as Citizenship Court Judge, Chairman of the Ontario Workmen's Compensation Board and in many other positions.

Paul Yuzyk
Paul Yuzyk and John Diefenbaker

Paul Yuzyk was born in 1913 in Pinto, Saskatchewan. During his youth, he was very active in the Ukrainian Canadian community holding leadership positions in several organizations. He graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and Minnesota. As a senator, appointed by former prime minister John Diefenbaker in 1963, he supported and developed the policy of Multiculturalism and also the cause of Ukrainian independence. Before that, he had been an associate professor of Slavic studies and professor of history at the University of Manitoba. After his move to Ottawa, he was professor of Russian and Soviet history at the University of Ottawa from 1966 until 1978.
Paul Yuzyk and Pierre Trudeau

Senator Yuzyk was the founder and first president of the Ukrainian National Youth Federation and a founder of the Canadian Association of Slavists and the Ukrainian Canadian University Students Union. He was also the author of several books including For a Better Canada, The Ukrainians in Manitoba: A Social History, and Ukrainian Canadians: Their Place and Role in Canadian Life.
Senator Yuzyk was involved in Amnesty International and was a director in the sixties of the Canadian Society for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.
He died in 1986.

Wasyl Wall

Born in 1911 in Ethelbert, Manitoba, the son of recent Ukrainian Immigrants. He graduated from the University of Manitoba and later from Harvard University. He was a teacher by profession and taught in various schools across Manitoba. He was also active in the Ukrainian Canadian community holding various leadership positions in several national associations and organizations. In 1955 he was appointed Senator in Ottawa, the first Ukrainian Canadian to hold this position. He died in 1962.