Russian Canadians comprise Canadian citizens of Russian heritage or

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

who immigrated to and reside in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. According to the 2021 Census, there were 548,140 Canadians who claimed full or partial Russian ancestry. The areas of Canada with the highest percentage population of Russian Canadians are the Prairie Provinces.

Number of Russian Canadians

Data from this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. Data from this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 622,445. * Single response: 120,165. * Multiple response: 502,280.

Provinces and CMAs (census metropolitan areas) with Russian Canadian populations over 10,000

Quebec

Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 55,230 * Single response: 15,800 * Multiple response: 39,435

=Montréal (CMA)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 49,275 * Single response: 14,315 * Multiple response: 34,960

Ontario

Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 220,850 * Single response: 53,175 * Multiple response: 167,675

=Toronto (CMA)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 139,915 * Single response: 40,570 * Multiple response: 99,340

=Ottawa-Gatineau (CMA - Ontario part)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 15,620 ''(represents ~90% of total Ottawa-Gatineau CMA)'' * Single response: 3,205 * Multiple response: 12,415

Manitoba

Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 58,225 * Single response: 9,510 * Multiple response: 48,720

=Winnipeg (CMA)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 29,575 * Single response: 3,580 * Multiple response: 26,000

Saskatchewan

Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 39,390 * Single response: 3,645 * Multiple response: 35,745

=Saskatoon (CMA)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 13,280 * Single response: 1,360 * Multiple response: 11,925

Alberta

Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 107,800 * Single response: 14,320 * Multiple response: 93,480

=Calgary (CMA)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 37,955 * Single response: 6,125 * Multiple response: 31,830

=Edmonton (CMA)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 28,275 * Single response: 3,325 * Multiple response: 24,945

British Columbia

Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 131,060 * Single response: 22,145 * Multiple response: 108,910

=Vancouver (CMA)

= Data in this section from Statistics Canada, 2016. * Total: 58,535 * Single response: 11,145 * Multiple response: 47,395
''Many British Columbians of Russian descent are

Doukhobors The Doukhobors ( Canadian spelling) or Dukhobors (; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are known for their pacifism and tradition of oral history, hymn-singing, and verse. They reject the Russian Ortho ...

, historically concentrated in the

West Kootenay The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootena ...

and

Boundary Country The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern British Columbia lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west ...

regions.''

List of notable Russian Canadians

Arts, entertainment and literature

Harvey Atkin Elliot Harvey Atkin (18 December 1942 – 18 July 2017) was a Canadian actor. He was best known for his roles as Morty Melnick in ''Meatballs'', Sergeant Ronald Coleman in '' Cagney & Lacey'', and for voicing King Koopa in '' The Super Mario Bro ...

– voice-over actor * Alex Battler – writer * Arnold Belkin – painter * Sasha Clements – actress, '' Majority Rules!'' * Ludmilla Chiriaeff – ballet dancer, choreographer and company director *

Victor Garber Victor Garber, (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian stage and film actor and singer. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2022, he was made an ...

– actor, ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'', ''

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...

'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' * Natalie Glebova – Miss Universe 2005, Miss Universe Canada 2005 *

Anais Granofsky Anais Granofsky (born May 14, 1973) is an American-born Canadian actress, screenwriter, producer and director, who is best known for playing the role of Lucy Fernandez in the '' Degrassi'' television franchise, appearing as a main character in ' ...

– actress, '' Degrassi Junior High'' * Michelle Gurevich – singer, formerly known as "Chinawoman" * Boris Hambourg – cellist * Melissa Hayden – ballet dancer * Julia Ivanova - documentary filmmaker * Jessica Parker Kennedy – actress, '' The Secret Circle'', ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', '' Black Sails'' * Nadia Litz – actress * Elena Lobsanova – ballet dancer * George London – singer * Eli Mandel – poet * Catherine Manoukian – violinist * Niall Matter – actor, '' Eureka'', ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...

'', ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime-time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex in West Hollywood, ...

'', '' 90210'' *

Sophie Milman Sophie Milman (born 1983) is a Russian-born Canadian jazz vocalist. After emigrating from Russia in the early 1990s, Milman, who is Jewish, spent most of her childhood years in Israel where she listened extensively to jazz. Her family later em ...

– jazz musician * Zara Nelsova – cellist * Greta Onieogou - actress * Alex Ozerov - actor * Kim Yaroshevskaya - actress, voice-over, story-teller and writer *

Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist and actress.Howell, Peter (September 24, 199"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft s ...

– actress and film director,

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Duncan Regehr Duncan Peter Regehr (born October 5, 1952) is a Canadian multimedia artist and actor. He was also a figure skater and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood in 19 ...

– writer and actor, ''

'' * Sasha Roiz – actor * Aleksei Serebryakov – actor * Elena Semikina – Miss Universe Canada 2010 * Socalled – musician * Ksenia Solo – actress, ''

Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

'' * Madeline Sonik – writer * Jessica Trisko –

Miss Earth 2007 Miss Earth 2007, the seventh edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 12, 2007 at the University of the Philippines Theater, on campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City, Philippines. 88 delegates compet ...

Boris Volkoff Boris Vladimirovich Volkoff, (born Boris Vladimirovich Baskakoff; April 24, 1900 – March 11, 1974) was a Canadian-Russian ballet dancer, director, choreographer and ballet master. After studying dance in Warsaw and Moscow he defected from Ru ...

- ballet master, choreographer, "the father of Canadian ballet" *

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), a list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Albie Watts, a fictional character in the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' *Angie ...

– produced for

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

, Redman, and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

* Adele Wiseman – author * Chloe Stroll - singer-songwriter

Business and other

* Bluma Appel – philanthropist, recipient of the

and

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

* Charles Bronfman – billionaire, member of the

Bronfman family The Bronfman family is a Canadian family, known for its extensive business holdings. It owes its initial fame to Samuel Bronfman (1889–1971), the most influential Canadian Jew of the mid-20th century, who made a fortune in the alcoholic distill ...

* Edgar Bronfman, Sr. – billionaire, member of the Bronfman family * Saidye Rosner Bronfman – billionaire, member of the Bronfman family, founder of the Seagram Company * Samuel Bronfman – billionaire, member of the Bronfman family * Arcadi Gaydamak – businessman * Ben Hatskin – founder of the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

* Gregory Lekhtman – inventor of exercise boots * Sonia Scurfield – owner of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

in the 1980s and 1990s * Alex Shnaider – co-founder of the

Midland Group The Midland Group is an international trading and investment holding company. Registered in Guernsey under the name Midland Resources Holding Ltd, the group owns a number of subsidiaries across the agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, shippin ...

, partner in the Trump International Hotel and Tower (Toronto) * Lawrence Stroll – businessman, part-owner and executive chairman of

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

, and the owner of the

Aston Martin F1 Team Aston Martin is a British car manufacturer that has participated in Formula One in various forms and is currently represented by a team named as Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team. The company first participated in Formula One during the 1959 Formula ...

Politics

* Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia – Russian Princess and youngest sister of Tsar

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

* Alex Atamanenko – Member of Parliament in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

* Vasile Balabanov – Imperial Russian émigré *

Martin Dobkin Martin Lyon Dobkin (born May 8, 1942) is a physician and former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was elected on October 1, 1973, as the first Mayor of the new City of Mississauga, Ontario, and served as Mayor from 1973 to 1976. He was the inaugur ...

– mayor of

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

* Catherine Doherty – Imperial Russian émigré, social activist, recipient of the

* Siegfried Enns – member of the

* Lois Hole –

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta The lieutenant governor of Alberta () is the representative in Alberta of the monarch. The lieutenant governor is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the mona ...

* George Ignatieff – Canadian diplomat *

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff ( ; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has ...

– author, journalist, academic, politician * Ted Lipman – diplomat, ambassador to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

* Tim Moen – former leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada *

Tom Nevakshonoff Thomas George Nevakshonoff (born December 22, 1958) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Manitoba legislature, prior to his defeat in 2016. Nevakshonoff was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up in Poplarfie ...

– Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

* Reynold Rapp – Member of the

* John Tory – mayor of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

* Peter Vasilevich Verigin – Doukhobor leader * Pyotr Verzilov – activist *

Roman Baber Roman Baber (born August 9, 1980) is a Canadian politician who has represented the riding of York Centre in the House of Commons of Canada since 2025 as a member of the Conservative Party. Baber was the member of Provincial Parliament (M ...

– Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

Science

* Gregory Chamitoff –

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut and engineer * Michel Chossudovsky – writer and professor of economics at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

* Andrew Donskov – professor of modern languages at the

; world-renowned

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

expert * Israel Halperin – mathematician *

Martin Kamen Martin David Kamen (August 27, 1913, Toronto – August 31, 2002, Montecito, California) was an American chemist who, together with Sam Ruben, co-discovered the synthesis of the isotope carbon-14 on February 27, 1940, at the University of ...

– physicist, member of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

(first nuclear bomb); discovered the synthesis of the isotope

carbon-14 Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...

* Harry Medovy – pediatrician and academic,

* Pierre Milman – mathematician, Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

* Sergei Plekhanov – Professor of Political Science at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

; former deputy director of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies in Russia * Louis Slotin – physicist, member of the

(first nuclear bomb) * George Volkoff, OC, MBE, FRSC – physicist who helped discover the existence of

neutron stars A neutron star is the gravitationally collapsed core of a massive supergiant star. It results from the supernova explosion of a massive star—combined with gravitational collapse—that compresses the core past white dwarf star density to th ...

*Leonid Ivanovich Strakhovsky - professor, pioneered Slavic studies at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Sports

* Nik Antropov – hockey player with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

(NHL) and the KHL * Ivan Babikov – Olympic cross-country skier *

Artur Beterbiev Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev (; ; born 21 January 1985) is a Russian and Canadian professional boxer. He held the undisputed light-heavyweight championship between 2024 and February 2025. He also held the International Boxing Organization (IB ...

– professional boxer * Patricia Bezzoubenko – rhythmic gymnast * Boris Blumin – chess grandmaster * Mark Bluvshtein – chess grandmaster * Debbie Brill – high-jumper *

Édouard Carpentier Édouard Ignacz Weiczorkiewicz (July 17, 1926 – October 30, 2010) was a French and Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, gymnast, and member of the French Resistance during World War II, known by his ring name, Édouard Carpent ...

– professional wrestler * Joshua Ho-Sang – hockey player with the OHL * Mike Chernoff – ice hockey * Rob Chernoff – swimmer * Tim Cheveldae – ice hockey * Kevin Cheveldayoff – ice hockey *

Yelena Davydova Yelena Viktorovna Davydova (; born 7 August 1961) is a Russian-Canadian gymnastics coach and judge who competed for the former Soviet Union. She was the women's artistic individual all-around champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She' ...

– gymnastics * Shawn Horcoff – ice hockey * Igor Ivanov – chess grandmaster * Pete Knight – rodeo bronc rider * Lioudmila Kortchaguina – marathon runner * Crazy Leo –

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

driver * Andrei Markov – NHL hockey player * Olga Ovtchinnikova – Olympic fencer * Andrei Rogozine – world champion figure skater * Mikhail "Misha" Goikhberg – racing driver * Bobbie Rosenfeld – Olympic gold medalist *

Denis Shapovalov Denis Viktorovich Shapovalov (born ) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 10 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, which he first achieved on September 21, 2020. Sh ...

– tennis player * Igor Tikhomirov – Olympic champion in fencing *

Marina Zoueva Marina Olegovna Zoueva or Zueva (; born 9 April 1956) is a Russian figure skating coach, choreographer, and former competitor in ice dancing. Representing the Soviet Union with Andrei Vitman, she placed 5th at the 1977 World Championships and ...

–

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

coach and choreographer * Lance Stroll – racing driver competing in

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing for

References

External links

Simon Fraser University Digitized Newspapers website
– digitized issues of ''Vestnik'' (''Herald'') newspaper, 1941–1993
Richard A. Pierce – Russians in Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russians In Canada Canada–Russia relations European diaspora in Canada Asian diaspora in Canada

Number of Russian Canadians

Provinces and CMAs (census metropolitan areas) with Russian Canadian populations over 10,000

Quebec

=Montréal (CMA)

Ontario

=Toronto (CMA)

=Ottawa-Gatineau (CMA - Ontario part)

Manitoba

=Winnipeg (CMA)

Saskatchewan

=Saskatoon (CMA)

Alberta

=Calgary (CMA)

=Edmonton (CMA)

British Columbia

=Vancouver (CMA)

List of notable Russian Canadians

Arts, entertainment and literature

Business and other

Politics

Science

Sports

See also

References

External links