Slovene Canadians (, literally 'Canadian Slovenes') are
Canadian citizens of
Slovene descent or Slovenian - born people who 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 ...
.
The first Slovenes came to Canada in the early 1900’s. The second generation of Slovenes came as refugees after the second world war. The third generation of Slovenes came in the 60s of the 20th century for economic reasons. Currently, Slovenes continue to visit Canada and some continue to emigrate. Most of the emigration moves to Ontario where the community is largest.
According to the Canadian population census from 1991, 8,050 persons defined themselves as Slovenes by descent. In 2006, this number increased to 35,935 persons. According to unofficial data, between 50,000 - 40,000 Slovenes live in Canada.
The Slovene community in Canada is alive and well organized. It is a diverse community, but fairly united in the work to preserve national identity, cultural tradition and language. There are a number of Slovene Associations and Groups across Canada. There are three Slovene churches in Toronto, Hamilton and Montreal.
Slovene Canadians by province and territory
Notable Slovene Canadians
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Alojzij Ambrožič
Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic (born Alojzij Matej Ambrožič; January 27, 1930 – August 26, 2011) was a Slovene Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Toronto from 1990 to 2007. He was made a cardinal in 1998.
Biography
Ambroz ...
- Catholic priest
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Wade Belak
Wade William Belak (''né'' Aadland; July 3, 1976 – August 31, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and defenceman. He was drafted 12th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Colorado Av ...
- ice hockey player
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Steve Bozek
Steven Michael Bozek (born November 26, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left wing who spent 11 seasons in the NHL with five clubs. Noted for his hard shot, he was a reliable two-way forward and strong penalty killer.
Playing c ...
- ice hockey player
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Lolita Davidovich
Lolita Davidovich (born Lolita Davidović; July 15, 1961) is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for portraying Blaze Starr in the 1989 film '' Blaze'', for which she received a Chicago Film Critics Association Award nomination.
...
- actress
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Bill Hajt
William Albert Hajt (born November 18, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the NHL from 1973 until 1987. He featured in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Buffalo Sabres.
Hajt was drafted 33rd overall by ...
- ice hockey player
*
Chris Hajt
Christopher William Hajt (born July 5, 1978) is a Canadian-born American former ice hockey defenceman. He played 6 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers and Washington Capitals during the 2000–01 and 2003–04 sea ...
- ice hockey player
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John Jakopin - ice hockey player
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Ed Kastelic
Edward P. Kastelic (born January 29, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Kastelic played for the Washington Capitals and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kastelic was drafted in 1982 by the Washington ...
- ice hockey player
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Greg Kuznik
Gregory Kuznik ( ; ) (born June 12, 1978) is a Canadian-born Slovene former ice hockey player.
Career
Kuznik was drafted 171st by the Hartford Whalers in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. In the 2000–01 NHL season, he played one game for the Caroli ...
- ice hockey player
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Dean Malkoc
Dean Malkoc (born January 26, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1995 and 1999 with the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders. The rest of his c ...
- ice hockey player
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Joe Mihevc
Joe Mihevc ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian politician who was appointed to represent Ward 10 Spadina—Fort York on Toronto City Council on June 1, 2022. He was previously elected to represent Ward 21 St. Paul's from 2000 to 2018, War ...
- politician
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Walter Ostanek
Ladislav John "Walter" Ostanek, CM (born 20 April 1935) is a Canadian musician. He is known as "Canada's Polka King." He has received twenty-one nominations for Grammy Awards and won three.
Early life
Born in Duparquet, Quebec in 1935, his fa ...
- accordion musician
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Kevin Pangos
Kevin Joseph Pangos (born January 26, 1993) is a Canadian-Slovenian professional basketball player for GeVi Napoli of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He spent his college basketball career playing for the Gonzaga Bulldogs of the West Coast Confe ...
- basketball player
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John Smrke
John Smrke (born February 25, 1956) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey player who played 103 games in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues and Quebec Nordiques between 1977 and 1980.
Smrke was born in Chico ...
- ice hockey player
*
Stan Smrke
Stanko Smrke (September 2, 1928 — April 14, 1977) was a Yugoslavian-born Canadian ice hockey forward. He played 9 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1956–57 and 1957–58 seasons. The rest of his care ...
- ice hockey player
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Tina Srebotnjak - television journalist
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Matt Stajan - ice hockey player
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Elvis Stojko
Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002).
Persona ...
- figure skater
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Randy Velischek
Randolph "Randy" Velischek (born February 10, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey Devils, and Quebec Nordiques, and coached t ...
- ice hockey player
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Walter Wolf
Walter Wolf (born 5 October 1939) is a Slovenian-Canadian businessman who owned a Formula One team that won three races and is the name-sake of cigarette, perfume, and clothing brands.
Life and career
Wolf was born in Maribor, Slovenia. His m ...
- businessman
See also
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Canada–Slovenia relations
Canada recognized Slovenia's independence in January 1992, and established diplomatic relations a year later. Both countries are full members of NATO. There are 40,470 Slovenes who live in Canada as of the 2016 Canada Census.
State visits
Mich ...
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Slovene diaspora
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European Canadian
European Canadians are Canadians who can trace their ancestry to the continent of Europe. They form the largest panethnic group within Canada. In the 2021 Canadian census, 19,062,115 people or 52.5% of the population self-identified ethnic ori ...
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Slovene Americans
Slovene Americans or Slovenian Americans are Americans of full or partial Slovene or Slovenian ancestry. Slovenes mostly immigrated to America during the Slovene mass emigration period from the 1880s to World War I.
History
The first Slove ...
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Slovene Argentines
Argentines of Slovene descent, also Slovene Argentines () are Argentines who have predominantly or total Slovene ancestry. According to Jernej Zupančič of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, they number around 150,000.
Notable peop ...
References
{{People of Canada
Slovenian diaspora