Tears in the Garden: Alberta Ukrainians During the Second World War
Peter Melnycky
Reprinted with permission of the author and publisher of For King and Country: Alberta in the Second World War;)
In spite of the record of Ukrainian enlistments, and the outward displays of patriotism by the Ukrainian community in the form of various war bond and loan drives, there were still voices within the dominant social strata prepared to target that community as "foreign" and "alien". Even as the community celebrated those volunteering for service overseas, and mourned those who had already made the supreme sacrifice for their country, there were some who continued to see Ukrainian-Canadians as an alien threat to the country. Slogans appeared which were reminiscent of nativist sentiments expressed two decades earlier during the Great War. Having immigrated to Canada from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ukrainians were suspect, were required to register with the authorities, were disenfranchised and in some cases were interned.12 The community defended itself against such unfair criticisms. In the Alberta Legislature, William Tomyn, Willingdon's Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Social Credit party, rejected negative sentiments against Ukrainians and people of "other nationalities" as hateful attacks, wounding peoples' hearts in ways that would be difficult to heal.13
The politics of Ukrainian organizations in Canada which sought the establishment of a unified and independent Ukraine were not always in harmony with the policies of Canada and its allies. The Ukrainian left supported German and Russian dismemberment of interwar Poland, while the Ukrainian right recognized neither Polish nor Soviet rule over Ukrainian lands. As a consequence, organizations on both ends of this spectrum came under the scrutiny of the Defence of Canada Regulations. Misgivings about the loyalty of Ukrainians became particularly focused during the 1942 plebiscite called to release Prime Minister Mackenzie King's government from previous pledges to avoid conscription for overseas service. In Alberta the sole riding to register a clear No vote was Vegreville, a constituency in which Ukrainians formed a majority of voters, and where the sitting Member of Parliament was Anthony Hlynka of the Social Credit Party.14 In anticipation of the plebiscite, an editorial in the Vegreville Observer set the tone for the special scrutiny which was to follow:
The electoral district of Vegreville is somewhat unique in that at least 80 per cent of the qualified voters are of Ukrainian descent. Vegreville electoral district comes about the closest in all Canada to having a solid mass of voters of non-Anglo-Saxon descent (except of course, the electoral districts in Quebec, which are in a different category). The vote in Vegreville will, therefore, give a close indication as to the feeling of those “foreign-born”, or of “foreign-born” descent in. this crisis which hasdescended on the country of their adoption - Canada. Thus the eyes of Canada will be anxiously directed towards the result in Vegreville.15
Every segment of the organized Ukrainian community favoured releasing the government from its conscription promises. The Ukrainian Canadian Committee urged a unified Yes vote to allow the government to freely explore all military avenues required for the welfare of the nation.16 The Ukrainskyi holos [Ukrainian Voice] newspaper, published by the Ukrainian Self Reliance League, and the voice of the large Orthodox community, was adamant that not a single vote should be neglected and urged all "in light of their own interest as Canadian citizens concerned about the welfare of Canada" to vote "Yes".17 In Edmonton, the local Ukrainian Canadian Committee formed a group under Peter Lazarowich to promote a Yes vote, and former MP Michael Luchkowich addressed the community on the subject over radio stations CJCA and CFRN. Ukrainski visti made its own position clear in its editorial, “Let Us Vote 'Yes'”.18
In spite of the official unanimity of Ukrainians towards the plebiscite, the community was in fact quite fractured along political lines. In the riding of Vegreville in particular, there were several reasons why the vote went heavily against the Liberal government's plebiscite. During the war years, one of the most powerful organizations within Alberta was the pro-communist Ukrainian Labour Farmer Temple Association [ULFTA). This group condemned fascism, but applauded the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 23 August 1939 and, while not openly opposing Canada's participation in the war, was nevertheless suppressed by the Canadian government. On 4 June 1940, the Defence of Canada Regulations outlawed the ULFT A and its newspapers. Many of the association's properties were seized and disposed of and 33 of its leaders interned. After Germany's attack on the USSR on 22 June 1941, the ULFTA reappeared as the Ukrainian Association to Aid the Fatherland, and later as the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians. While the association was officially in favour of a Yes vote during the 1942 plebiscite, there was nevertheless a substantial community of interest among the Ukrainians of Alberta that had reason to vote No as a protest over specific losses suffered at the hands of the Liberal government.19
Vegreville had a history of support for non-traditional protest parties. Between 1925 and 1949 the riding was represented by United Farmers of Alberta and Social Credit Members of Parliament. Both on the provincial and federal levels, the Social Credit party took a non-committal attitude towards the plebiscite, which many interpreted as a whisper campaign against a Yes vote. John Horn Blackmore, Social Credit Leader in the House of Commons, was critical of the government and its plebiscite but offered no advice on how Canadians should vote. The Calgary Herald criticized Blackmore for being "Out Of Step", and concluded that if some Canadians decided to cast negative votes as a result of his speech "it would not be surprising". In Alberta, Premier William Aberhart refused to cooperate with Yes committees, or to declare his position on what he saw as a federal matter.20 Vegreville MP Anthony Hlynka called for a conscription of wealth and industry, and not only manpower. Ultimately he declared himself to be in the Yes camp, and urged all Ukrainians to vote Yes for very pragmatic reasons: “If it is shown after the vote that Ukrainians in the Vegreville riding voted negatively, then some circles and individuals will ascribe to Ukrainians opposition to military service beyond the borders of Canada [and] sentiments in some circles would be against Ukrainian Canadians. For this reason I personally will be voting 'Yes'”.21
Across Canada the Yes side garnered 64 per cent of the votes tallied, while in Alberta this rose to 70 per cent. In Vegreville a total of 14,512 votes were cast; 5471 [37.69 %] in favour of releasing the government, and 9041 [62.30 %] against, the latter figure being the largest percentage voting No outside Quebec. Athabasca also registered a majority No vote, although by a margin of less than 50 votes, and with five polls failing to receive ballots due to the Spring breakup.22
Notes
12. See Peter Melnycky, “The Internment of Ukrainians in Canada”, in Frances Swyripa and John Herd Thompson [eds.], Loyalties in Conflict: Ukrainians in Canada during the Great War, [Edmonton: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies/University of Alberta, 1983].
13. Ukrainski visti, 24 February 1942, “Posol Tomyn pro dovhy, shkilnu systemu I pro napady na chuzhynstiv”.
14. See J. L. Granatstein, Conscription in the Second World War, 1939-1945: A Study in Political Management, [Toronto: The Ryerson Press, 1969]; J.L. Granatstein and J.M. Hitsman, Broken Promises: A History of Conscription in Canada, [Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1977]. For a discussion of the Ukrainian community and the plebiscite see Thomas M. Prymak, Maple Leaf and Trident: The Ukrainian Canadians during the Second World War, [Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1988], and Howard Palmer, “Ethnic relations in Wartime: Nationalism and European Minorities in Alberta During the Second World War”, Canadian Ethnic Studies, Vol. XIV, No. 3 [1982], pp. 1-23.
15. Cited in Calgary Herald, 20 April 1942.
16. Ukrainskyi holos, 25 March 1942.
17. Ibid., 22 April 1942.
18. Ukrainski visti, 14 April 1942.
19. John Polasky, The Shattered Illusion: The History of Ukrainian Pro-Communist organizations in Canada, [Toronto: PMA Books, 1979], pp. 27-33, 37, 181, 185, 244.
20. Calgary Herald, 7 April 1942, “Affirmative Vote on Plebiscite Not Assured”; 18 April 1942, “Aberhart Not Interested in Plebiscite Vote”; 23 April 1942, “One Political Group Leader Is Out of Step”; 24 April 1942 “Plebiscite Was Provincial Matter on February 10”.
21. Novyi shliakh, 22 April 1942, “Zaklyk posla Antona Hlynky do ukraintsiv okruhy Vegreville”.
22. Howard Palmer, op. cit., pp. 17-19; Thomas Prymak, op. cit., p. 163; and Edmonton Journal, 15 May 1942, for final figures in Athabasca and Vegreville.