Georgian Canadian Centre
1920s — 1940s
After the Soviet occupation of Georgia in 1921, a small number of Georgian émigrés reached North America by way of Europe. Their numbers were tiny, but they left behind the first Georgian-language letters, memoirs and church records in Canada.
1950s — 1980s
Canada post-war resettlement programmes brought displaced Georgians, often via camps in Germany and Italy. Many settled in Toronto and Montreal and worked in construction, railways and manufacturing.
1991 — 2003
Independence, civil conflict and economic collapse in the 1990s led to the first substantial wave of Georgian emigration. Families arrived in Canada as refugees and skilled immigrants, and the first informal Georgian associations appeared.
2004 — 2013
Georgia reform years coincided with Canada points-based immigration. Engineers, doctors, IT specialists and academics arrived, and Georgian church and dance group was established
2014 — today
Visa-free travel to Europe, international study programmes and the war in the region increased mobility again. Today several thousand Georgians live in Canada, concentrated in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.