Celebrating Canada Day with 17 Awesome Greek Canadian Images from Past and Present
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Gregory Pappas
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Celebrating Canada Day with 17 Awesome Greek Canadian Images from Past and Present
On July 1, 1867 the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act), united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire.
An interesting side note— Greeks had emigrated to Canada decades before the country was even established.
Steve Kriaris from Toronto has single-handedly made Greek wines in Ontario and beyond a household name. Through his company’s almost exclusive emphasis on Greek wines and his relationship’s with the country’s government-run Liquor boards, Greek wine sales approach numbers close to France and Italy, thanks to his efforts.
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, immigrants from islands like Crete, Syros, Skopelos and poor villages in the Peloponnese had settled in Montreal as early as 1843.
Known as one of Canada’s leading serial social entrepreneurs, immigrant from Greece Andreas Souvaliotis was the original founder of the world’s first mass eco-points program (Green Rewards) which was eventually fused with Air Miles, Canada’s largest consumer loyalty platform, and transformed the way governments could support positive behavior shifts among large population groups. His current global sequel harnesses the broader popularity of all loyalty points programs and builds permanent policy promotion partnerships with government agencies.
By 1871— four years after Canada became a unified country, 39 Greeks were registered as living in Canada. By 1901 that number had increased to 213 Greek immigrants and by 1911 there were more than 2500.
Mike Lazaridis, founder of Blackberry, has donated millions of dollars to various research institutes and has made Canada a top global center for quantitative research.
Today, there are hundreds of thousands of Canadians of Greek descent, many of whom have left their mark on the country’s social, political, cultural and business landscape.
Entrepreneur Tony Lourakis leads the next generation of Greek Canada’s business establishment with his company Fleet Complete. By 2010 when the company was celebrating its 10th anniversary, he had increased company revenues by 465% in only 5 years. Today, it’s one of North America’s fastest-growing Providers of fleet telematics and mobile workforce technology with over 150,000 active subscribers to date.
The country is also noted for its innovation cultural and there is a new generation of young leaders making a huge impact on society, many of whom are inspired by their ancestral connection to Greece.
Dr. Marie Bountrogianni, a former parliamentarian from Hamilton, Ontario and past president of the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada’s largest– and current Dean at Ryerson University’s Chang School famously said at the Greek America Foundation’s National Innovation Conference in 2012 that “vision without implementation is just a hallucination.” Today, she’s one of the nation’s top educational innovators.
The celebration is known as “Canada’s Birthday” and we decided to celebrate with some of our favorite images from Canada’s rich Greek history from past and present.
Joseph Polossifakis will represent Canada in fencing at the Rio Olympics. A product of the community and schools of the Greek Community of Montreal, the champion fencer carries his Greek heritage with pride.
A float by Vancouver’s Greek Community during a parade in the 1930s.
In the 1940s, Greek Canadians used posters and events to raise funds and awareness for Greek war relief efforts.
The center of Toronto’s Greek community, Danforth Avenue, where even the street signs carry Greek translations.
Students from the Socrates-Démosthène school in Montreal championed Greece’s response to the refugee crisis by building a float for the Greek Independence Day Parade in 2016 called “a ship called hope.”
Students at the same school used their artistic skills to recreate a famous painting from Greece’s independence.
This was the end result.
The dance group Asteria performs at the Greek pavilion during the multicultural festival Mosaic in Regina.
Then prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his three sons pose for a snapshot in front of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens Aug. 30, 1983. From left are Michel, Alexandre (Sacha), and Justin (Canada’s current prime minister) in rear.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister gets some Greek love at Montreal’s Greek Independence Day parade in 2016
Vancouver’s Greek community participated in a parade and fundraising drive for Victory Loans during the WWII years. This picture is from a 1942 parade.
The Greek flag raised prominently at Toronto’s iconic City Hall during Battle of Crete Celebrations hosted by the city’s Cretan Association.
Taking Greek pride to new heights– a house in Toronto’s Greek village, near Danforth Avenue.
Leading the new generation of Greek restaurants in Toronto is Mamaka’s, affectionately named after the proprietor’s term of endearment for his mother.
Holy Trinity Church in Montreal in 1945
Greek immigrants arriving on the Olympia (March 1956). Photo from www.mhso.ca
The intersection of food and social media… Souvlike on Pape Avenue in Toronto
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