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Ukrainians first came to Canada in the 19th century. The initial influx came as the Canadian government promoted the immigration of farmers (see Agriculture in Canada). During the First World War, thousands of Ukrainian Canadians were imprisoned as enemy aliens due to their origins in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. According to 2016 census, Ukrainian Canadians number 1,359,655 or 3.8 per cent of the country's population and are mainly Canadian-born citizens.

St. Paul, Alberta, incorporated as a town in 1936, population 5,827 (2016 census), 5,405 (2011 census). The town of St. Paul, county seat for the county of St. Paul, is located on the north shore of Upper Thérien Lake, about 200 km northeast of Edmonton.

Dale Martin Hawerchuk, hockey player, coach (born 4 April 1963 in Toronto, ON; died 18 August 2020). Dale Hawerchuk was the face of the Winnipeg Jets franchise in the 1980s. After winning two consecutive Memorial Cups, the highly skilled centre was selected first overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. He won the 1982 Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year, setting a record for most points by a rookie and became the youngest player in NHL history to notch 100 points. Often overshadowed by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, Hawerchuk played 16 seasons in the NHL and was a five-time All-Star. He ranks No. 20 and No. 21 among the NHL’s all-time points and assists leaders, respectively. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

The War Measures Act was a federal law adopted by Parliament on 22 August 1914, after the beginning of the First World War. It gave broad powers to the Canadian government to maintain security and order during “war, invasion or insurrection.” It was used, controversially, to suspend the civil liberties of people in Canada who were considered “enemy aliens” during both world wars. This led to mass arrests and detentions without charges or trials. The War Measures Act was also invoked in Quebec during the 1970 October Crisis. The Act was repealed and replaced by the more limited Emergencies Act in 1988.

Canada’s first national internment operations took place during the First World War, between 1914 and 1920. More than 8,500 men, along with some women and children, were interned by the Canadian government, which acted under the authority of the War Measures Act. Most internees were recent immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian, German and Ottoman empires, and mainly from the western Ukrainian regions of Galicia and Bukovyna. Some were Canadian-born or naturalized British subjects. They were held in 24 receiving stations and internment camps across the country — from Nanaimo, BC, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Many were used as labour in the country’s frontier wilderness. Personal wealth and property were confiscated and much of it was never returned.

Internment is the forcible confinement or detention of a person during wartime. Large-scale internment operations were carried out by the Canadian government during the First World War and the Second World War. In both cases, the War Measures Act was invoked. This gave the government the authority to deny people’s civil liberties, notably habeas corpus (the right to a fair trial before detention). People were held in camps across the country. More than 8,500 people were interned during the First World War and as many as 24,000 during the Second World War — including some 12,000 Japanese Canadians.