Jul 23 - Nov 19, 2022 Lake of the woods museum

Hardship and Resilience: The History of Ukrainians in Kenora

Труднощі та стійкість: Історія українців у Кенорі

Young Ukrainian men on a drilling gang pose during the building of the Transcontinental Railway in northwestern Ontario in 1908. Photographer: C.G. Linde

Young Ukrainian men on a drilling gang pose during the building of the Transcontinental Railway in northwestern Ontario in 1908. Photographer: C.G. Linde

Between 1891 and 1954 approximately 275,000 Ukrainians immigrated to Canada. This exhibit is the story of the hundreds of Ukrainians who found themselves in the Kenora area, making a new life in the middle of the Canadian Shield. Their journey was not an easy one— they encountered discrimination, loneliness, and struggle 

But they endured. In the face of hardship— resilience.

This exhibit is the story of a community within a community, and how a small group of economic migrants, political dissidents, and refugees helped make Kenora what it is today.  
This is the story of Ukrainians in Kenora.
 

Did you know?

Many of the properties in the Kenora area were originally gold claims— the properties on Hilly Lake were originally gold claims owned by inventor Thomas Edison