Suspected Ukrainian fascists and Nazi collaborators in Canada
A list of names with sources
Introduction (July 2025)
Canada’s political elites caused a global scandal on September 22 2023 when the entire Canadian parliament delivered two standing ovations to Jaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran of the Nazi SS division comprised almost entirely of Ukrainian volunteers. The occasion was a visit to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa by Ukrainan President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This scandal has involved new public pressure and scrutiny on the existence of Ukrainian fascists, Nazi collaborators and even war criminals in Canada. Since the end of the Second World War, the matter has been a recurring public controversy in which successive federal governments and the state bureaucracy have sought to obscure and mislead the public and researchers.
The Hunka Scandal has brought about renewed public pressure that has forced the federal government to release the suppressed version of the “Rodal Report”, a historical investigation conducted by scholar Alti Rodal under the mandate of the 1985-1986 Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada. Commonly known as the “Deschênes Commission,” it was launched in early 1985 when public speculation erupted about the possibility that Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor, was living in Canada.
In 1986, Justice Jules Deschênes produced his report. It was fairly damning in broad strokes about war criminals in Canada, but it exonerated Ukrainian-Canadians who had fought in the Ukrainian Nazi SS Division. However, the Rodal Report was suppressed.
The Hunka Scandal led the Trudeau Liberals to release the Rodal Report in February 2024. It demonstrates that Deschênes (1923-2000) contradicted Rodal’s findings on the Ukrainian SS Division. Based on archival materials available to her at the time, her writings on the Ukrainian SS and the import of about 2,000 members after the war, spanned 43 pages of her 618-page report. In this section, she writes,
Since the conclusion of the Deschênes Commission and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Soviet Archives have been opened up by the Ukrainians and Russians, which include German Nazi documents previously unseen by Western scholars, and renewed scholarly investigation of oral histories provided by the survivors of the bloodiest front of the bloodiest war in human history.
Among the recent achievements of modern scholarship is the greater understanding of the Ukrainian SS Divisoin and its documented crimes committed while sworn to serve Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of the Nazi Reich.
The UPA, or Ukrainian Insurgent Army, has also been conclusively linked to the Nazi Holocaust of Jews and other declared enemies across Eastern Europe, as recently summarized in detail by John-Paul Himka, a Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta. It is also incontivertible that UPA conducted a ethnic cleansing genocide of Poles in Volhynia and Galicia in 1943-44. Upwards of 90,000 Poles were murdered by UPA’s death squads and hundreds of thousands expelled from their homes.
Even more recently, historian Jared McBride and a team of students, made the news for finding archival RCMP lists of 1,800 war crimes suspects dating to the 1980s. This list is believed to be associated with the Deschênes Commission’s list which was also suppressed with the end of its mandate.
For more information, listen or read McBride’s interview by the Canadian Jewish News which has also linked to the documents. The RCMP’s lists, which are still heavily redacted, were released publicly in 2020 under a federal freedom of information act at the request of an unknown party. Their release was not publicly known until McBride’s research team found them.
This is a list of people in Canada with suspected links to Nazi collaborators and criminal organizations in Ukraine during the 1930s and 1940s. Each entry is currently based on public newspaper records in Canada and is categorized by organizational ties. The list and its sources will be updated as research progresses.
For introductory scholarly reading, we recommend the following readings. A larger bibliography will be published in the future.
Luciuk, Kassandra, “‘They Will Crack Heads When the Communist Line is Expounded’: Anti-Communist Violenc in Cold War Canada,” Labour/Le Travail, 90 (Fall 2022): 149-178.
Luciuk, Lubomyr and Stella Hrynkiuk, Eds. Canada’s Ukrainians: Negotiating an Identity, (University of Toronto Press, 1991).
Himka, John-Paul, Ukrainian Nationalists and the Holocaust: OUN and UPA's Participation in the Destruction of Ukrainian Jewry, 1941-1944, (Ibidem Press, 2021).
Rudling, Per Anders, “Rehearsal for Volhynia: Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 and Hauptmann Roman Shukhevych in Occupied Belorussia, 1942,” East European Politics and Societies and Cultures, Vol.34, No.1 (February 2020): 158-193.
Rudling, Per Anders, “‘The Defended Ukraine’: The 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (Galizische Nr. 1) Revisited,” Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 25 (2012), 329-368.
14th Waffen Grenadier SS (“Galicien”)/Ukrainian 1st Division
Bahyra, Wasyl (1915-2008)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, August 2 2008
Chrobatyn, Ivan Dimitrevich (1914-?)
“Janitor denies war crime link,” The Province (Vancouver), March 10 1971
Curkowskyj, Roman Marian (1917-2007)
Obituary, Globe & Mail, January 5 2008
Haba, Walter (1928-2006)
Obituary, Globe & Mail, November 20 2006
Hawrylyshyn, Omeljan “Emil” (1923-2000)
Obituary, St. Catharines Standard, September 27 2000
Hay-Holowko, Oleksa (1910-2006)
Oleksa Hay-Holowko, Duel with the Devil (1956, 1986, 1991)
Stewart Bell, “Truth & Consequences,” Vancouver Sun, November 26 1991
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, September 20 2006
Hladyshevsky, Lubomyr (1924-2004)
Obituary, Calgary Herald, November 16 2004
Hnatkiw, Yaroslaw “Jerry” (1930-2010)
Obituary, Toronto Star, March 1 2010
Hunka, Jaroslav (1925-)
Kolisnyk, Roman (1923-2016)
Obituary, Toronto Star, January 12 2016
Komar, Markian (1922-2003)
Obituary, Globe & Mail, May 3 2003
Konchak, Rev. Josaphat Joseph (1925-2005)
Obituary, Edmonton Journal, December 26 2005
Kondrat, Vasyl “William” (1919-2011)
Obituary, Toronto Star, June 29 2011
Konyk, Dmytro (1920-1988)
Obituary, St. Catharines Standard, April 20 1988
Klima, Nestor (1918-2001)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, December 22 2001
Kucher, Michael (1925-?)
“Ex-Hitler SS man angry over war crimes claims,” Red Deer Advocate, February 15 1985
Don Thomas, “Flag-raising symbolizes dream of free Ukrainian homeland,” Edmonton Journal, January 24 1988
Kuchmij, Stephan
Halya Kuchmij, “Ukrainian. Canadian. Animal lover. Survivor.” Globe & Mail, January 1 2019
Kudla, Wolodymyr “Walter” (1923-2007)
Obituary, Toronto Star, February 2 2007
Kushnir, Peter (1927-2018)
Obituary, Globe & Mail, May 31 2019
Kushnirenko, Ilarij (1923-2014)
Obituary, Toronto Star, December 20 2014
Lewyckyj, Lubomyr “Lou” (?-2004)
Obituary, Toronto Star, February 4 2004
Maciw, Bohdan (1925-2018)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, October 3 2018
Macwejko, Paul (1920-1992)
Obituary, Calgary Herald, May 16 1992
Matwijenko, Wasyl (1919-2013)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, February 15 2013
Molofij, Petro (1921-2011)
Obituary, Edmonton Journal, September 26 2011
Pauk, Dmytro Bohdan (?-1991)
Obituary, Toronto Star, August 1 1991
Prystanski, Woldoymir “Wally” (1925-1988)
Obituary, Niagara Falls Review, July 12 1988
Rekulak, Wasyl (1926-2013)
Obituary, St. Catharines Standard, August 13 2013
Rozdilsky, Bohdan (1916-2004)
Obituary, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, November 29 2004
Rubashewsky, Nick (1927-2016)
Obituary, Toronto Star, August 2 2016
Savaryn, Peter (1926-2017)
Sarah Ritchie, “Rideau Hall ‘regrets’ past honour for Nazi,” Toronto Star, October 5 2023
Slobodian, Wasyl (1917-1997)
Obituary, Calgary Herald, May 14 1997
Stasiw, Myron (1925-?)
Jock Ferguson, “Ukrainian veterans expect investigations by war crimes study,” Globe & Mail, April 12 1985
Strukalo, James “Jim” (1924-2007)
Obituary, Edmonton Journal, January 23 2007
Sylenko, Porfirii (1894-1977)
“Porfirii Sylenko led Ukrainians against Soviets,” Toronto Star, July 25 1977
Szymucha, Hryhorij (1922-2017)
Obituary, Toronto Star, May 23 2017
Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA)
Bochno, Michael (1925-2022)
Obituary, Toronto Star, November 27 2022
Czwerenko, Ivan (1910-2011)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, January 19 2011
Dejneha, Mychaylo (?-2007)
Obituary, Globe & Mail, February 7 2007
Gellner, Ostap (1921-1910)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, November 11 2010
Kornecky, Steven (1923-2012)
Obituary, Toronto Star, January 11 2012
Korol, Roman Michael (1920-2001)
Obituary, Toronto Star, November 1 2019
Kowalsky, Michael
“Ukrainian-Canadians Celebrate Anniversary,” Calgary Herald, January 27 1958
Kulyk, Mykola “Nicholas” (1927-2013)
Obituary, Toronto Star, October 19 2013
Kupiak, Dmytro (1918-1995)
“Soviet War-Crime Charge False, Toronto Restaurant Owner Says,” Globe & Mail, October 24 1964
Thomas Pawlick, “50 war criminals alleged in Canada, Montreal Gazette, December 26 1976
Obituary, Edmonton Journal, June 15 1995
Lawryshyn, Wolodymyr “Walter” (?-2014)
Obituary, Toronto Star, July 7 2014
Luciuk, Danylo (1913-2014)
Lubomyr Luciuk, “Danylo never forgot Ukraine,” Kingston Whig-Standard, March 3 2014
Makar, Wolodymyr, (1911-1993)
Obituary, Toronto Star, December 28 1993
Onufriw, Hryhoriy “Gregory” (?-1994)
“Priest to observe 25th anniversary,” The Evening Review (Niagara Falls), October 27 1967
Rosil, Iwan (1923-2014)
Obituary, Toronto Star, February 23 2014
Sawadsky, Hryhorij (1914-2016)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, May 16 2016
Steranka, Michael (1927-2013)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, April 11 2013
Zolotucha, Dimitro (1926-1984)
Obituary, Calgary Herald, June 30 1984
Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
Dejneka, Mykola “Nick” (1925-2013)
Obituary, St. Catharines Standard, June 1 2013
Dobrowolsky, Stefan (1921-2015)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, July 4 2015
Horbay, Michael (1916-2004)
Obituary, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, October 16 2004
Lewyckyj, Jurij Myroslaw (1923-2014)
Obituary, Montreal Gazette, April 14 2014
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
Artemiuk, Platon (1891-1951)
Ordained Bishop, August 2 1942 in Kyiv
“Ukrainian Bishop,” The Record (Waterloo), February 21 1951
Others
Boychuk, Michael (1922-2006)
Obituary, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, May 20 2006
Bujaczok, Illia (1917-1988)
Obituary, Winnipeg Sun, April 18 1988
Kushnir, Omelan (1902-1988)
“Omelan Kushnir active in Ukrainian causes,” Toronto Star, June 18 1988
Kuzma, Stephen (1916-2006)
Obituary, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, June 13 2006
Melynchenko, Wasyl (1925-1976)
Obituary, St. Catharines Standard, December 4 1976
Molodynia, William (1917-1984)
Obituary, Niagara Falls Review, June 25 1984
Opyriuk, Jaroslaw (1915-2005)
Obituary, Kingston Whig-Standard, May 4 2005
Plawiuk, Mykola (1925-2012)
Obituary, Hamilton Spectator, March 13 2012
Rosko, Stefan (1914-1983)
“Stefan Rosko, owner of bookstore,” Toronto Star, September 16 1983
Zin, Wasyl (1913-1966)
Obituary, Windsor Star, December 5 1966