Lithuanian Canadians ( Lithuanian: ''Kanados lietuviai'') are

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

who are of full or partial Lithuanian descent. Over two-thirds of Lithuanian Canadians reside in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, with other much smaller populations scattered around most of the

Canadian provinces and territories Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...

History

The first documented Lithuanians in Canada were Lithuanians who fought in the British Army in Canada (1813-1815). Lithuanian immigrants to Canada came primarily for economic reasons, arriving between 1905-1940. The second wave of Lithuanians came after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with most of the immigrants seeking to escape

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

after the unilateral

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

incorporation of Lithuania into its boundaries. The third wave of immigrants began after the restoration of Lithuania's independence (1990), and have continued to arrive.

Concentration

The majority of Lithuanian Canadians reside in Toronto. Other well-rooted populations of moderate size can be found in urban Ontario (particularly

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Lithuanian Canadians are present in 37 Canadian municipalities. Other groups have migrated to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, and

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Organization

The Lithuanian Canadian Community ( Lithuanian: ''Kanados Lietuvių Bendruomenė''), the largest Lithuanian Canadian association in Canada, has 17 chapters throughout Canada.

Religion

The descendants of the first and second waves of Lithuanian immigration are predominantly

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, while a minority are Romuva or

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

. A considerable percentage of Lithuanian Canadians have reverted to the indigenous Lithuanian religion (which has been revived as Romuva), particularly third-wave immigrants.''Modern paganism in world cultures: comparative perspectives'' By Michael Strmiska, pg. 278-279 There are two Roman Catholic parishes for Lithuanian Canadians, two Romuva groups, one Evangelical Lutheran congregation, and some minorities of

Lithuanian-Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent area ...

descent.

Notable people

Daina Augaitis Daina Augaitis is a Canadian curator whose work focuses on contemporary art. From 1996 to 2017, she was the chief curator and associate director of the Vancouver Art Gallery in British Columbia. Career Augaitis received a BES in Honours Geograp ...

– curator whose work focuses on

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

. *

Kevin Bieksa Kevin Francesco Bieksa (born June 16, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL) after starting his career with the Vancouver Canucks. After a ...

–

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player *

Iggy Brazdeikis Ignas Brazdeikis (born January 8, 1999) is a Lithuanian-Canadian professional basketball player for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He ha ...

–

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

University of Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

* Birutė Galdikas – biologist; contributed to the creation of a sanctuary for orangutans in Indonesia *

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama '' Witness for ...

– actress and dancer; appeared as one of the brides in the film ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

'' *

Paul Rabliauskas Paul Rabliauskas is a Canadian stand-up comedian, most noted as the star of the 2022 sitcom ''Acting Good''.

- comedian *

Andy Rautins Andrew Jay Rautins (born November 2, 1986) is an American-born Canadian professional basketball player who last played for AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League. He played for Syracuse University and was drafted by the NBA's New York Knicks in ...

– basketball player for the Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League ( tr, Basketbol Süper Ligi; BSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replac ...

(Basketball Super League); one of four sons of retired NBA player Leo Rautins *

Leo Rautins Leo Rytis Rautins (born March 20, 1960) is a Canadian broadcaster, former professional basketball player and the former head coach of the Canada men's national basketball team, Canadian men's national basketball team. Rautins played in the Nationa ...

– former basketball player; former head coach of the

Canadian national men's basketball team The Canadian men's national basketball team represents Canada in international basketball competitions since 1923. They are overseen by Canada Basketball, the governing body of basketball in Canada. The team's head coach is Nick Nurse and its ...

; NBA analyst for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

; his son Andy was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2010 *

Nik Stauskas Nikolas Tomas Stauskas (born October 7, 1993) is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Stauskas played two seasons of college basketball f ...

– basketball player for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the NBA; also plays for the Canadian national men's basketball team *

Annis Stukus Annis Paul Stukus (October 25, 1914 – May 20, 2006) was a Canadian football player, coach and general manager, and ice hockey general manager. Stukus was born in Toronto. He played for the Toronto Argonauts from 1935 to 1941, leading the te ...

– former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

player, coach and general manager, and ice hockey general manager *

Alissa White-Gluz Alissa White-Gluz (; born 31 July 1985) is a Canadian singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and former lead vocalist and founding member of the Canadian metalcore band the Agonist. Her vocal ...

- singer-songwriter, animal rights activist and human rights activist; former lead singer of

The Agonist The Agonist is a Canadian melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2004. The current line up consists of lead guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon Mckay, rhythm guitarist Pascal "Paco" Jobin and lead voca ...

and current lead singer of the Swedish metal band

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharist. ...

(her grandmother was from Lithuania)

References

External links

{{People of Canada European Canadian

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...