The
Ukrainian Experience
in
Quebec
Three
Solitude's:
A
History of Ukrainians in Quebec
By:
Yarema Gregory Kelebay
Introduction
Ukrainians came to Quebec in
three discernible waves, in three separate time periods.
The
effect the three waves have had on the character of the community has
not
been evaluated systematically, although it is generally agreed that the
community has been invigorated by the arrival of the third wave.
Ukrainians brought with them more that their language, customs,
religion
and folklore. Each wave of immigration also brought a different
intellectual
baggage or mentality. For example, the two clusters of pre-1947
arrivals
came largely for economic reasons, whereas the post-1947 group was
predominately
compromised of political refugees.
One can look at these immigrant waves in terms described by Louis Hartz
in his Founding of New Societies as three distinct "fragments" thrown
off
from Ukrainian society in Europe.(1)
The Hartzian approach was to study new societies founded by Europeans
(the
United States, English Canada, French Canada, Latin America, Dutch
South
Africa, Australia) in a way that could lead to an understanding of the
ideological development of the new society. While still being
identifiably
of the Mother country, the ideologies borne by the founders of the new
society were not representative of the whole ideological spectrum of
the
mother country, but rather of only a fragment of it.
Keeping in mind that an ideological spectrum ranges from feudal or Tory
through liberal Whig to liberal democrat, French Canada and Latin
America
could be qualified as "feudal fragments." They were founded by
bearers
of feudal or Tory values; they had left Europe before the liberal
revolution.
The United States, English Canada and Dutch South Africa, on the other
hand, could be seen as "bourgeois fragments," founded by bearers of
liberal
individualism who had left the Tory end of the spectrum behind them.
The significance of the fragmentation process lies in the fact that the
new society, isolated from the mother country by geography, was also
removed
from the stimulus, interchange, and continuity of social development
that
the whole, represented by the mother country, had provided. The
ideological
spectrum of Europe developed out of the continuous confrontation and
interaction
of the four elements noted above. They were related to one
another
not only by antagonists but also as parents and children.
A "fragment" thrown off from Europe which had left a large part of the
past behind it, however, could not develop its future ideologies
normally.
For that to happen, the continued presence of the whole ideological
spectrum
would be necessary. The ideology of the founders of the new
societies
was thus congealed at the point of origin.(2) The new societies
became
"single-myth" societies, nearly frozen, as it were, in time.
Although Hartz's theory of colonial history was intended to explain the
character of new colonial societies, it can also be used as a guide to
help in understanding ethnic minorities, for the distinct waves of
immigrants
can also be seen as fragments thrown off from their homeland at a
specific
time. The Hartzian approach can thus also be effectively utilized
for understanding immigration to canada, in particular case, the
Ukrainians
that came to Quebec.
Here will be sketched a broad outline of the basic intellectual
premises
of the leading element of each fragment of Ukrainian immigration that
came
to the province. In applying this approach, one runs the risk
both
of over generalization and oversimplification. However, the
characterization
to be given of immigrant fragments are intended neither to be
exhaustive
nor to represent complete and coherent systems of thought. They
will
simply map out the central ideas in the mentality of each of the three
fragments that came from the turn of the century to 1960, in order to
give
the reader an inside view of one immigration process and an insight
into
the intellectual life of one ethnic group.
As previously stated, the Ukrainian community in Quebec is the product
of not only one immigration fragment but of three. Each fragment
had a unique thrust. That mentality tended to shape the
community's
future intellectual agenda and challenge the existing one.
The first group of Ukrainian settlers, which we will call Fragment I,
arrived
in Quebec between 1902 and 1914 and can be described as
"Immigrant-Pioneers."
Fragment II, the "emigré-Patriots," arrived between 1922 and
1929.
Fragment III, the Refugee-Nationalists," arrived between 1947 and
1954.
The term "pioneers," "emigrés" and "refugees" are used as
derivatives
of different historical contexts to characterize the different waves of
Ukrainian settlement in Quebec.
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