We are honored to announce that the Greek Businesses in Toronto Mapping Project led by our affiliated researcher Alexandros Balasis, was shortlisted for the prestigious 2026 Waugh Family Foundation Prize (Theme: Public Engagement), administered by the Canadian Business History Association (CBHA/ACHA). While our project did not win the prize, being recognized on a national level […]
On March 12, Professor Sakis Gekas, holder of the Hellenic Heritage Foundation Chair of Modern Greek Studies at York University and director of the HHF Greek Canadian Archives, joined journalist Fouli Zavitsanou on her "Voice of Greece" radio show Apotypoma. The "Voice of Greece" is ERT's global radio, which broadcasts digitally via the platform ERT […]
The stories of Greek and Cypriot Canadians have a home, now in digital form. We are thrilled to announce the official launch of the HHF Greek Canadian Archives Oral History Collection. This platform is the culmination of a labour of care: collecting, preserving, and presenting the voices of individuals who journeyed, settled, and built a […]
By: Alexandros Balasis, PhD Candidate in History, York University. In 1922 Hercules Papamanolis, in his Greek-Canadian Guide describing Canada to potential immigrants from Greece, wrote that “the Greeks in Canada are mostly engaged in confectioneries, restaurants, cinemas, billiard halls, small restaurants, and hat cleaning businesses.” Indeed, from the early 20th century, Greek immigrants were active […]
By: Iason-Nikolaos RodopoulosPolitical ScientistPhD Candidate, Department of History, York University The results of the double Greek elections surprised most people who were closely watching opinion polls between July 2019 and May 2023. All recent surveys seemed to agree that the governing center-right party, New Democracy, would win by a small margin—especially after the anger the […]
‘Whose are you? Τίνος ίσι συ;[i]’ By Angelo Laskaris [i] ‘τίνος ίσι συ’ or the variation ποιανού είσαι εσύ is a saying that translates to ‘whose are you’ and is commonly asked by Greek villagers to younger descendants of Greek immigrants when visiting their ancestral homeland. COMMUNITY AT A CROSSROADS The Greek community in Toronto […]
Looking at my open notebook with blank lined pages, I fixate on the fold where the pages rise and fall. I envision a valley holding my family’s history in its palm, a valley where ancient ruins of theatres sit beside modern buildings, a valley hot like the oven where my Pappou baked bread. For Pappou, […]
March 27, 2023 Years ago, I bumped into a Greek colleague and her guest at work. Teaching at a start-up university in Abu Dhabi, encounters with intriguing visitors were a welcome perk. My colleague introduced us, referring to me as “Greek, but not ‘Greek Greek.’” Not Greek Greek; the label was unique, but the sentiment […]