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The
Second Wave of Immigration
By 1922, Ukraine
had been devastated by uprisings, war and revolution. This produced
a massive wave of refugees from Ukraine who fled to central and western
Europe and many eventually found their way to Canada. The organized
community structure of the earlier Ukrainian Canadian immigrants welcomed
these new arrivals which included war veterans, intellectuals and professionally
trained workers. Between 1918 and 1939, approximately 70,000 Ukrainian
immigrants arrived in Canada most during the second half of the 1920's.
Church construction in Mundare, Alberta
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This second wave brought
with them many of the political beliefs and other issues that had emerged
from the recent conflicts in Ukraine. The Depression which began
in 1929 also had a profound impact on the Ukrainian Canadian community
especially in western Canada. Ukrainians were among the first to be laid-off
from work and among the last hired. Some of the Ukrainian immigrants radicalized
by the difficult social and economic conditions on the agricultural and
industrial frontiers in Canada, joined various protest movements and left
wing organizations. Ukrainians were often in the forefront of local and
regional labour and farmer activities protesting the social and economic
consequences of the Depression. The Ukrainian Labour and Farmers' Temple
Association became the leading national organization for the left-wing
Ukrainians. Others were primarily concerned about social and political
conditions in western Ukraine under Polish administration and especially
in Soviet Ukraine. They formed and joined patriotic organizations which
supported the independence of Ukraine. The United Hetman Organization founded
in 1934 and the Ukrainian National Federation established in 1932 promoted
a patriotic and anti-communist policy. They quickly expanded and included
women's and youth auxiliaries. The two decades between the
two World Wars saw the Ukrainian Canadian community expand the scope of
its activities to include many aspects of political, social and economic
life. By the 1940's a network of national, provincial and local organizations
had been established and the Ukrainian churches sponsored many activities
in most communities. Many of the organizations had women's auxiliaries,
youth clubs, schools, drama societies, dance groups and choirs and many
published newspapers and periodicals. Despite the existing difficult social
and economic circumstances, there was a siginificant increase in the number
of Ukrainian Canadian university graduates and professionals including
several federal and provincial politicians.
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