The first Polish immigrant on record, Dominik Barcz, came to Canada in 1752. He was a fur merchant from Gdańsk who settled in Montreal. He was followed in 1757 by Charles Blaskowicz, a deputy surveyor-general of lands. In 1776 arrived army surgeon, August Franz Globensky. His grandson, Charles Auguste Maximilien Globensky, was elected to the House of Commons in Ottawa in 1875.
Among the earliest Polish immigrants to Canada were members of the Watt and De Meuron military regiments from Saxony and Switzerland sent overseas to help the British Army in North America. Several were émigrés from Poland who took part in the November Uprising of 1830 and the 1863 insurrection against the Russian occupation of their own homeland.
In 1841, Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski arrived in Canada from the partitioned Poland via the US, and for 50 years worked in the engineering, military and community sectors in Toronto and Southern Ontario, for which he was knighted by Queen Victoria. His great-grandson, Peter Gzowski, became one of Canada's famous radio personalities.
Charles Horecki immigrated in 1872. He was an engineer with the cross-Canada railway construction from Edmonton to the Pacific Ocean through the Peace River Valley. Today, a mountain and a body of water in British Columbia are named after him.
Polish immigration stopped during World War I and between the wars, over 100,000 Polish immigrants arrived in Canada.
See also Kashubians#Diaspora
The first significant group of Polish group-settlers were Kashubians from Northern Poland, who were escaping Prussian oppression resulting from the occupation. They arrived in Renfrew County of Ontario in 1858, where they founded the settlements of Wilno, Barry’s Bay, and Round Lake. By 1890 there were about 270 Kashubian families working in the Madawaska Valley of Renfrew County, mostly in the lumber industry of the Ottawa Valley
The consecutive waves of Polish immigrants in periods from 1890–1914, 1920–1939, and 1941 to this day, settled across Canada from Cape Breton to Vancouver, and made numerous and significant contributions to the agricultural, manufacturing, engineering, teaching, publishing, religious, mining, cultural, professional, sports, military, research, business, governmental and political life in Canada.
All Polish Canadians including their descendants are encouraged by organizations such as the Congress, to preserve their background and retain some ties with Poland and its people. In the past, the most significant role in the preservation of various aspects of Polish traditions and customs among the Polish communities in Canada fell for the Polish urban parishes, which retain the use of Polish language during services.
The first Polish Catholic priest visited Polish immigrants in 1862 in Kitchener. The first church serving Polish immigrants was built in 1875 in Wilno, Ontario. In Winnipeg, the Holy Ghost Church was built in 1899 with the church in Winnipeg publishing the first Polish newspaper in Canada, Gazeta Katolicka in 1908. In Sydney, Nova Scotia, St. Mary's Polish Parish was established in 1913 by immigrant steelworkers and coal miners, many of whom had previously formed the St. Michael's Polish Benefit Society (est. 1909). The parish remains the only Polish parish in Atlantic Canada, although there is a Polish mission (St. Faustina) in Halifax.
The first Polish-Canadian Roman Catholic bishop is Reverend Mathew Ustrzycki, consecrated in June 1985, auxiliary bishop of the Hamilton Diocese. There are Polish-Canadian priests in many congregations and orders, such as the Franciscans, Jesuits, Redemptorists, Saletinians, Resurrectionists, Oblates, Michaelites, and the Society of Christ. In addition, 80 priests serve in 120 parishes.
Numerous Polish-Canadians have been recognized with awards and appointments by the Queen and the Canadian governments as well as universities and various organizations. One of the most notable recipients was Andrew Mynarski, pilot-gunner from Winnipeg, awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for extreme valor in World War II.
Mary Adamowska Panaro, C.M. Winnipeg, Welfare Council of WinnipegDr. Henry Wojcicki – Edmonton, distinguished psychiatrist, University of Alberta senatorDr.Tom Brzustowski Waterloo, president of NSERC
Walter Gretzky, Brantford, Ontario, CanadaPolish Canadian Queen’s Counsels and lawyers appointed as judges
Their Honors Judge Paul Staniszewski – of Toronto, Montreal and the County Court of WindsorJudge Alfred Harold Joseph Swencisky – of the Superior Court of BC in Vancouver; past president of the Vancouver Hospital AssociationJudge P. Swiecicki – of the Superior Court of BC in VancouverJudge Allan H. J. Wachowich – of the Court of Queen’s Bench in EdmontonJudge E.F. Wrzeszczinski-Wren – of the County Court of TorontoScience and engineering
Casimir Gzowski – engineer who worked on Welland Canal, New York & Erie Railway (first Commissioner of the Niagara Parks Commission)Leon Katz, FRSC (1909–2004) – Officer of the Order of Canada, Professor University of Saskatchewan, physicistKarol Józef Krótki, FRSC – demography professor, statisticianWitold Rybczynski – architect, professor and writerLucas Skoczkowski – founder and CEO of RedkneeAdam Skorek – professor of electrical and computer engineeringNicole Tomczak-Jaegermann, FRSC – mathematics professorJanusz Żurakowski – Battle of Britain fighter pilotIsaac Hellmuth – from Warsaw, via England; one of the founders of the University of Western OntarioConrad Swan – descended from Polish noble family, Swiecicki; first Canadian appointed to the College of Arms in LondonZygmunt Misiak - WW2 baby Polish refugee, author, First Nations history/culture, Brantford Ontario, www.realpeopleshistory.comLeon David Crestohl – former Liberal MP, Cartier, (1950–1963)Bonnie Crombie – former Liberal MP, Mississauga—Streetsville (2008-2011), Mayor of Mississauga, Ontario (2014–present)Jan Dukszta – former Ontario NDP MPP, Parkdale (1971–1981)Gary Filmon – former Premier of Manitoba (1988-1999), Manitoba PC MLA, River Heights (1979-1981) and Tuxedo (1981-2000)Jesse Flis – former Liberal MP Parkdale—High Park (1979–1984; 1988–1997)Casimir Gzowski – Acting Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (1896-1897)Stanley Haidasz – former Liberal MP for Trinity (1957–1958) and Parkdale (1962–1978); Minister of State for Multiculturalism (1972-1974); Senator (1978–1998)Andrew Kania – former Liberal Member of Parliament for Brampton West (2008–2011)Stan Kazmierczak Keyes – former national chair of Liberal Party of Canada (2002-2004); Liberal MP Hamilton West (1988–2004); Minister of National Revenue, Minister of State (Sport), Minister Responsible for the Canada Post Corporation and Minister Responsible for the Royal Canadian Mint (2003-2004)Alexandre-Édouard Kierzkowski – former Liberal MP St. Hyacinthe (1867–1870), First MP of Polish DescentTom Kmiec – Conservative MP, Calgary Shepard (2015–present)Chris Korwin-Kuczynski – former Toronto city councillor (1981–2003)Ken Kowalski – former Deputy Premier of Alberta (1992-1994), former Alberta Government Minister, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (1997-2012), Alberta PC MLA (1979-2012)Wladyslaw Lizon – former Conservative MP for Mississauga East-Cooksville (2011–2015) and former president of the Canadian Polish Congress (2005-2010)Thomas Lukaszuk – former Deputy Premier of Alberta (2012-2013), former Alberta Government Minister (2010-2014), and PC MLA for Edmonton-Castle Downs (2001-2015)Gary Malkowski – former Ontario NDP MPP, York East (1990-1995), Canada's first deaf parliamentarianDon Mazankowski – former Deputy Prime Minister for Brian Mulroney (1986-1993), former federal government Minister (1979-1980; 1984-1993), Progressive Conservative MP Vegreville (1968–1993)Peter Milczyn – former Member of Toronto City Council (2000–2014), current Liberal MPP Etobicoke—Lakeshore (2014–present)Ted Opitz – former Conservative MP for Etobicoke Centre (2011-2015)Fred Rose – former Labor-Progressive (Communist) MP Cartier (1943–1947); only MP ever convicted of spying for a foreign country, his capture as a Soviet spy helped to start the Cold WarJohn Yakabuski – Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke (2003–present), son of Paul YakabuskiPaul Yakabuski – former Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP, (1963-1987), father of John YakabuskiEd Ziemba – former Ontario NDP MPP, High Park—Swansea (1975–1981), brother-in-law of Elaine ZiembaElaine Ziemba – former Ontario NDP MPP, High Park—Swansea (1990–1995), sister-in-law of Ed ZiembaDan Bryk – singer-songwriterWalter Buczynski – composerBasia Bulat – singer-songwriterCaptain G.Q. – singer-songwriterAnna Cyzon – singer-songwriterJanina Fialkowska – pianist, born in MontrealMarek Jablonski – pianist-virtuoso, born in CracowSteve Jocz – drummer for Sum 41Ben Kowalewicz – lead singer for Billy TalentOlenka Krakus – singer-songwriterGeddy Lee – bassist, keyboardist and lead vocalist for RushJan Lisiecki – pianist-virtuoso, born in CalgaryMargaret Maye – singer and actressKinga Mitrowska – singerAndrzej Rozbicki – conductorJacob Kuba Rybicki – music producer, born in TorontoDaniel Wnukowski – pianistKornel Wolak – clarinet virtuosoAndrzej Busza – poetBogdan Czaykowski – poet, translator, essayistAlex Debogorski – veteran ice road trucker on the television series Ice Road TruckersPeter Gzowski – broadcaster, writer and reporterWacław Iwaniuk – poet in Polish, literary critic and essayistJacqueline Milczarek – journalist, news anchorAnne Mroczkowski – journalist, news anchorEstanislao (Stan) Oziewicz - journalist, The Globe and MailBogumil Pacak-Gamalski – poet, essayist, editor-in-chief of Strumien art annualGeorge Radwanski – editor-in-chief of the Toronto StarChava Rosenfarb – novelist, poet in Yiddish, wife of Henry MorgentalerAdam Smoluk – director, screenwriter and actorEva Stachniak – writerMark Starowicz – head of CBC Television Documentary Programming unit, journalist and TV producerAlexandra Szacka – CBC/Radio-Canada correspondentMagda Apanowicz – actressLara Jean Chorostecki – actressHenry Czerny – actorPaloma Kwiatkowski – actressLisa Ray – actressDevon Sawa – actorAndrew Charles Mynarski VC – Second World War airmanWalter J. Natynczyk – Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian ForcesStefan Sznuk – Major GeneralTurk Broda – ice hockey goalieShane Churla – player, NHLPeter Czerwinski – competitive eater and bodybuilderGabriela Dabrowski – professional tennis playerWayne Gretzky – hockey legendMichael Klukowski – soccer player for Club BruggeWalter "Killer" Kowalski – professional wrestlerJoe Krol – Toronto Argonauts playerTomasz Kucharzewski – martial artistStan Mikawos – Winnipeg Blue Bombers player, CFLBen Pakulski – professional bodybuilderJim Peplinski – Calgary Flames, NHLChris Pozniak – soccer player who currently plays for San Jose EarthquakesTomasz Radzinski – soccer playerKrzysztof Soszynski – mixed martial artistDave Stala – Hamilton Tiger-Cats player CFLTrish Stratus – WWE DivaJohn Tavares – ice hockey player for the New York IslandersLarry Trader – played for Detroit, St. Louis, Montreal, 1982–1988Wojtek Wolski – player NHLAleksandra Wozniak – professional tennis playerPenny Oleksiak - Canadian National Team SwimmerJamie Oleksiak - NHL Player Dallas StarsWalter "Sasquatch" Langkowski – a Marvel superheroJude Lizowski – a 6teen character
