Polish Canadian Heritage Day in Calgary sees generation of WWII veterans and civilians remembered

The Legislature of the Province of Alberta declared the second Sunday of every June Polish-Canadian Heritage Day to mark the contribution that Polish people have made to Alberta.

Pols in Calgary celebrated with music, food and presentations and remembered the first Polish immigrants.

“The settlers in the Prairies cultivated the Canadian soil, they built Canada together with other groups of immigrants so Canada is a country of immigrants and Pols were playing important role from the early beginning,” said Andrzej Mankowski with the Consul General Republic of Poland in Vancouver.

Polish people in Alberta feel they have fully integrated into the Canadian culture after many years, however they recognize the importance that new generations value the effort their ancestors endured in the early days.

“We are proud that over 170,000 Polish-Canadians are in Alberta and they remember about their country of origin,” Mankowski said.

“All of the different contributions really and the stories when they came and why they came and what they did when they got here I think it’s very powerful and it helps to connect the past to the present if they know the motivation if they know the why I think that really helps,” added Agnieszka Olechno, Representative Polish Scouting and Guiding Association.

This weekend, the Polish community also honoured the generation that came during World War II and settled in Alberta.

“After the war they couldn’t return to Poland because their country had been occupied by the Soviet Union and taken control of by the Soviet Union so they needed new places to live they were refugees and Canada and Alberta took them many of them in,” said Muszynski – Chair Committee of Polish-Canadian Heritage Day 2023.

Over one million Pols live in Canada.

Alberta has the second highest Polish population after Ontario.