«My Ukraine is here». Journeys of belonging: a Cultural and Political history of the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada (1945-1991)

The dissertation examines the third wave of Ukrainian migration from displaced persons camps in Europe to the «multicultural mosaic» of Canada as their members negotiated their belonging within the evolving multicultural framework of the North American country between 1945 and 1991. The overarching research questions center on how the long-distance nationalism of this group expressed itself and how it interacted with Canada's nation-building process in the postwar period. For doing so, this study investigates the journey of belonging undertaken by this community, drawing on an analytical framework bridging diaspora and memory studies. Through archival research, oral history interviews, and analysis of community publications, the methodology seeks to understand how this group constructs a sense of identity and place over time and across borders. The analysis is structured around three thematic strands—displacement, translation, and return—with two chapters devoted to each theme to trace the evolution and negotiation of identity-building processes over time. The first part provides historical context about Ukrainians in the DP camps after World War II. It investigates how this group developed a sense of exiled nationalism and a diasporic mission in the absence of an independent Ukrainian state. The second part examines how most of this community had to navigate interactions with the pre-existing Ukrainian Canadian community as well as mainstream Canadian society and other ethnic groups upon migration. Finally, the year 1991 emerged as an interesting turning point, witnessing both Ukrainian independence and centennial celebrations of Ukrainians in Canada. The question of returning or not returning to one's homeland, object of the third and final part, illuminated the journey that had unfolded over previous decades. At times, expressions of Ukrainian culture and the use of the Ukrainian language served as a tool for both navigating exclusion from the mainstream, while also fostering inclusion as an ethnic constituent within the multicultural mosaic. Ultimately, the work illuminates not only the migration experience of a specific wave but also examines the consequences of the multicultural debate within this historic context. It warns of the risk of creating a universe where minority groups exist as «solitudes» in the Canadian landscape, separated and isolated rather than integrated into the broader fabric of society.