Ceļš uz Kanādu

Pirmie latvieši ieradās Kanādā 1890. gados labākas dzīves meklējumos. Viena daļa bēga no iesaukšanas Krievijas ķeizara armijā. Pirmie latviešu atbraucēji ap šo laiku apmetās Albertā un Manitobā. Tajā laikā, Latvija vēl atradās Krievijas imperījas sastāvā – tā vēl nebija neatkarīga valsts. To pārvaldīja baltvācu kungi, kā tas bija bijis kopš 13. gadsimta, kad to iekaroja krusta karotāji no Ziemeļvācijas. Pēc 1905. gada revolūcijas Kanādā ieradās vilnis revolūcionāru, sociāldemokrātu un nacionālistu, kuri bēga no brutālām krievu represijām. Starp 1920. un 1940. gadu ieceļotāju skaits bija neliels, jo valsts ieviesa stingrus ierobežojumus imigrācijā, jo baidījās no sociālistiem pēc 1917. gada revolūcijas. 1940. gadā Kanādā dzīvoja nepilns 1,000 latviešu izcelsmes personu.

Bilingual commemorative plaque about displaced persons who arrived in Canada after World War II, with coat of arms and official logos.

Otrā pasaules kara beigās, Rietumeiropā atradās 1,2 miljona cilvēku, kuri nevarēja vai nevēlējās atgriezties dzimtenē, kurus nosauca par pārvietotām personām, kas bija īpaša bēgļu kategorija (Displaced Persons). No šiem, 200,000 bija latvieši, igauņi vai lietuvieši.

Starp 1945. un 1951. gadu Kanāda uzņēma apmēram 188,000 pārvietoto personu un uzskata viņu ieceļošanu par valstiski nozīmīgu notikumu (National Historic Event). Piemiņas plāksne Halifaksas ostā liecina par šo vēsturisko notikumu. Tas ir arī pagrieziens Kanādas imigrācijas uz labvēlīgāku attieksmi pret imigrāciju vispār. Starp šiem atbraucējiem bija apmēram 12,000 latviešu. Turpmākajos gados, šo skaitu papildināja vēl kādi 8,000 latviešu bēgļi, kuri ieradās caur citām valstīm. 1960. gadā, Kanādā dzīvoja ap 20,000 latviešu izcelsmes personu. 2021. gadā vairāk par 28,000 Kanādas iedzīvotāji uzdeva sevi kā piederīgu latviešiem.

1947. gadā Kanādas valdība pieņēma lēmumu piedāvāt darba līgumus jaunām un darba spējīgām personām, lai papildinātu darba spēka rūpniecībā un samazināt bēgļu skaitu Eiropā, kur bija grūti viņus aprūpēt. Pirmie kuģi sāka doties uz Kanādu jau 1947. gada vasarā. Visiem bija jāiziet pamatīgs skrīninga process un tikai tad varēja doties astoņu dienu jūras braucienā. Ģimenes locekļus nedrīkstēja ņemt līdzi – tie palika bēgļu nometnēs Vācijā vai Austrijā, kura valdīja bads un trūkums.

Pēc daudzajiem kara un okupācijas gadiem, cilvēki bija patiesi pateicīgi par iespējas dzīvot Kanādā un viņi lielā sirsnībā izteica pateicību un uzticību Kanādā. Kanādas latviešu vēstnesis, 1949. gadā dibināta avīze, pat savā titullapā ievietoja devīzi "Par Latvijas neatkarību Par uzticību Kanādai". Sākuma gadi tomēr bija grūti. Lielais vairums bija parakstījušies uz smagu fizisku darbu raktuvēs, meža darbos, lauksaimniecībā vai celtniecībā neatkarīgi no izglītības vai iepriekšējās pieredzes. Viena daļa šajās darba vietā pazaudēja dzīvību. Tikai daži atrada darbu savā specializācijā. Ļoti maz zināja angļu valodu.

Latviešu sabiedrības locekļi smagi pārdzīvoja zaudēto dzimteni un uzskatīja padomju okupāciju par milzīgu noziegumu. Viņi centās pie katras izdevības atgādināt kanādiešiem par Latvijas eksistenci un nodarītām netaisnībām. Kanādā, tāpat kā citas rietumu demokrātijas, nekad neatzina Latvijas okupāciju de jure. Bija arī gadījumi, kad šī politika izraisīja nopietnas grūtības Kanādas valdībai.

Historical Latvian document with angular symbol and text in Latvian and English dated March 18, 1942.

Between Latvia and Canada

The road from Latvia to Canada was a long and treacherous one. Most refugees fled Latvia westward in advance of the second Soviet occupation of Latvia in the fall of 1944. The first Soviet occupation from 1940 to 1941 had been traumatic one, full of violence and hardship, culminating in mass deportations to Siberia. Many made their way to Germany, where they were interned in Displaced Persons camps. A minority crossed the Baltic Sea to Sweden in fishing boats. Refugees were housed in Displaced Persons camps in Germany and Austria along with other Baltic and Eastern European refugees.

During the DP years, Latvians did their best to continue with their lives as best they could. Schools were established for the children along with extra-curricular activities. Adults were offered vocational training and church life resumed. There was a tremendous emphasis on sport and culture. Many camps had choirs, theatre groups, folk dance groups, but performances by professionals also took place at regular intervals.

Life Between Latvia and Canada

Destroyed urban street lined with bombed-out buildings and rubble, two figures walking in distance.

Grainy black-and-white photograph of urban street with pedestrians, buildings, and metal archway structure.

Damaged urban street with rubble-filled buildings, fenced playground, and pedestrians in wartime cityscape.

Damaged vehicle with large gun barrel parked beneath building in black and white photograph.

Black and white photograph of brick building with sign reading P.O. Training Center Arolsen and metal gates.

Vintage photograph of crowd gathered at wooden structures in forested area with tall pine trees.

Man in sunglasses and suit sitting at desk facing five adults in classroom setting with blackboard.

Group of six people seated and standing on bench outside building, reading and conversing, vintage black-and-white photograph.

Black and white photograph of religious procession outside brick church with clergy and attendants in formal robes.

Large formal group portrait of approximately thirty people in 1940s attire standing and sitting in front of a bus.

Group of people wearing life vests standing on a ship deck with masts and rigging visible.

Five people in formal 1940s attire standing on a ship's deck with rigging visible.

Boats From Sweden

Balts living in Sweden did not have access to the Displaced Persons program that offered the ordinary route to immigration to Canada. There was a great fear of extradition to the Soviets, because Sweden had recognized the illegal annexation of the Baltic states in 1940. In 1945, the Soviet embassy began a repatriation campaign and called for the return of people the Soviet Union considered its citizens.

The Balts remembered well the terror and tragedy of the first year of Soviet occupation of 1940–41. It was the reason they had fled the return of Soviet occupation. Many felt they had to get as far away from the "Russian" as possible.

As a result, Estonians and Latvians with marine experience took matters into their own hands. They refurbished old boats or small ships and sailed to Canada without the benefit of visas. It was the second time they had to flee the Soviets. Vabamu, the Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Estonia, has documented eleven ships that sailed from Sweden to Canada between 1948 and 1950 in its online exhibit Free Winds: Journeys to Canada. Some carried entirely Estonian crews and passengers, some Estonian ships carried Latvians and other nationals, but several were Latvian owned. One Latvian-owned boat was in such poor condition that she didn't make it past Ireland although the passengers did manage to reach Canada. In reality, none of these boats was really seaworthy.

Read about the voyages of Latvian refugees aboard the Capry, S.S. Walnut, Brilliant, Pärnu, Amanda, and the Sarabande on the Vabamu website.

Vintage black and white photograph of industrial cargo ship with multiple smokestacks and masts.

Valda Zvanītājs wrote about her voyage on the Sarabande to Canada in her 2009 memoir Journey to Freedom. A brief synopsis is available on the Vabamu website. Mariss Vētra, head of the Latvian Relief Association in Halifax, describes receiving a call late one night in 1949 from Immigration Canada alerting him that a ship carrying Latvians was being towed into Halifax Harbour and being told that he should find accommodations immediately for the unscheduled arrivals. Typically, unauthorized arrivals such as these were interned for several months while they underwent a screening process. The vast majority were allowed to remain in Canada.

Some ships set sail but did not succeed in arriving in Canada. One such ship was the Latvian-owned Victory, which ended its journey in Cork, Ireland due to its state of disrepair. Its passengers, however, did eventually arrive in Canada with the assistance of the Lutheran World Federation. There are very likely other boats that we do not know about.

The decision to make a life-threatening journey over the ocean in inappropriate and often unseaworthy vessels can only be taken as an indication of the magnitude of the fear felt by these people. Pēteris Brauns of Ottawa tells the story of his journey on the Capry, a 48–foot boat that braved 100–foot waves on its way to Canada in the fall of 1948. His parents were desperately afraid of deportation to Siberia and of their children being compelled to become Russian. For them, the peril of an ocean voyage was preferable to the prospect of extradition to the Soviet Union.

Arrival From the United Kingdom and Other Countries

While most post-war Latvian immigrants to Canada arrived via the DP route from refugee camps, approximately 4,000 accepted similar labour contracts as European Volunteer Workers (EVWs) in the United Kingdom and arrived later via ordinary immigration. Initially, EVWs were to be excluded from immigrating to Canada, but LNAK played a large role in lobbying the federal government to allow them entry. LNAK also lobbied the Canadian government for an expansion of immigration from European DP camps, as well as for the admission of orphans, older individuals, and veterans to Canada. Konrads Dobelis was well known to government officials in Ottawa for his representation efforts, as was Mariss Vētra, who earned the moniker "The Crazy Man from Halifax" for his trouble. LNAK vice-president Osvalds Breņķis was also

Throughout the 1950s, Latvian refugees continued to arrive in Canada through immigration via the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Argentina, and other countries. By the 1960s, the Latvian Canadian community numbered approximately 20,000.