‘We're here for him': Ukrainian Canadian Congress meets with President Zelenskyy

20-06-2025

President of the Alberta Provincial Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Orysia Boychuk speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about their recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Michael Higgins: You were part of a separate meeting with President Zelenskyy Tuesday. Was that just a quick meet and greet? What did the opportunity accomplish?
Orysia Boychuk: We're very grateful to have had this extraordinary opportunity to meet with him. It was a very quick meeting. It was initially scheduled to be a little bit longer, up to an hour. Unfortunately we had 15 minutes. But so grateful to have had that opportunity.
It was a very emotional, very humbling experience to meet the president after and following the G7 meeting in Kananaskis. It was an honour to be there and represent our community. There were 16 representatives across Canada that had the opportunity to gather and meet with him. We were initially meeting downtown Calgary, and then in the end, it was at the airport where we had some time to talk to him and thank him for his courageous and extraordinary leadership, defending democracy, civil society and national identity that was key for us to really appreciate him and show him that we were still supporting him.
We're here for him, wanted him to know. We can only imagine how difficult and how stressful the circumstances are for him.
MH: On that very point about both the stress you mentioned emotions a moment ago, we understand that as President Zelenskyy was flying to Alberta, news was being relayed to him about another massive Russian attack. Many dead, many more injured. How did you get a sense for how heavily that was weighing on his mind at the time?
OB: It was huge for him. It was huge for us. It was it was a bittersweet meeting. We were gathering and unfortunately, as the day unfolded, there were bombings in Kyiv. Fifteen casualties from the bombing. There were over 100 people that were injured and they were ordinary civilians in downtown Kyiv that were impacted, so it definitely was bittersweet.
Canada was unrolling its additional supports, the G7 was coming to an end, and unfortunately there was that layer of attack, of Russian brutality, in continuous invasion on Ukraine. So it was very hard for all of us.
MH: I want to ask what you're able to contribute to that conversation. From an Alberta perspective, how familiar is the President with our province as being a home to not only Ukrainians displaced by the war but so many who are of Ukrainian descent.
OB: He's very familiar with us. When he was in parliament about a year ago, he did address Alberta, he addressed Edmonton, that Edmonton had established the first Holodomor, the genocide famine monument at City Hall, and he said that he would be back to Edmonton one day to visit.
So he's very familiar. He knows that we are here. He knows that there's a large community and that there's a lot of work being done. He thanked us for our ongoing work and our support for the displaced Ukrainians and all the work Canada is doing, Alberta is doing, and all the support in Edmonton and Calgary.
He was very grateful and very supportive of us, and it was a mutual exchange of reinvigorating that hope for each other, that we continue to support Ukraine, and that we're here. He was acknowledging and supporting us and the work that we were doing. So it was revitalizing, given the circumstances and the complexities of the day.
MH: I want to quickly ask as well about that huge welcome billboard for President Zelenskyy, the one outside Calgary airport. What prompted that? Do you know if he saw it?
OB: Yes. Our community really wanted to show a warm welcome to President Zelenskyy. We were speaking with the embassy, communicating and providing a lot of different options of how we could present this warm welcome to the president.
Obviously there are restrictions. It was very high-level security. There were a lot of things going on and a lot of leaders coming in, and so we were pretty limited. Our Calgary Congress was amazing. They designed, overnight, this billboard and together the congresses across Alberta had financially chipped in to finance it and put it up.
That was the minimum that we felt we could do to welcome and show our support to President Zelenskyy and to show the world that we're welcoming him, and we're grateful. We're grateful for Canada for inviting President Zelenskyy because if Canada didn't invite him, that's a sign of further support that Canada stands with Ukraine.
This was another piece showing to the world that Canada stands with Ukraine, Alberta stands with Ukraine.
MH: As you look back now on President Zelenskyy's involvement in the G7 summit itself, even the fact that he was not able to meet with the U.S. president, who left early, would you consider the visit a success?
OB: One-hundred per cent. The fact that he was invited, that he participated, that Canada gave support. He went home and he received additional support, and the support that he received was more than he received in the past.
We're grateful to Canada, we're very hopeful for Ukraine and we're only wishing for peace. We're sending our deepest condolences to those who've lost their lives just as recently as yesterday and the day before and in the past. So we're hopeful for peace very soon indeed.

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Crombie vows to fight on in face of Ont. Liberal leadership challenge

CBC

an hour ago

Crombie vows to fight on in face of Ont. Liberal leadership challenge

Bonnie Crombie says she will spend the summer pitching a message of unity to Ontario Liberal Party faithful, as she fights to fend off a bid to remove her as leader in September. Crombie faces a mandatory leadership review at the party's annual general meeting and, under the organization's constitution, needs over 50 per cent support to stay on. But a group of Liberals has emerged calling for new leadership, a sentiment echoed by the candidate who finished second in the 2023 race she won. Crombie said she has spent the last few months touring the province, speaking with riding association presidents, candidates and party members. She wants to stay on as leader and intends to fight, she said in an interview with CBC News. "Certainly, the membership thought I was the right person in December of 2023," she said of her victory. "I think they still believe so today and I'm here to rebuild trust and to revitalize our party." Crombie won the Liberal leadership in a closer than expected third ballot vote at a party convention a year and a half ago. She edged out federal MP and former cabinet minister Nathaniel Erksine-Smith with 53 per cent of delegate points to his 47 per cent. But much has changed since her victory. WATCH | Crombie reacts to Ontario election loss: Crombie reacts to Ontario election loss 5 months ago Party members raise questions after 3rd place finish in seat count Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives called a snap election earlier this year and won a third-straight majority government. Crombie's Liberals came second in the popular vote, winning nearly 30 per cent support. That translated to winning 14 seats and helped the party secure official party status — along with millions in resources — for the first time since 2018. But the Liberals remain the third place party in the legislature despite their improved vote share. Crombie failed to win her own seat in Mississauga where she once served as mayor, leaving her outside of the house and its debate. "Obviously, we wanted to win and we didn't," she said. "And I will say to you that that's very humbling." The results have given rise to criticism from some within the party. A group dubbed the New Leaf Liberals says Crombie's team was caught flat-footed by the snap vote, despite Ford musing about calling the election since last summer. As a result, it didn't have candidates in place fast enough to run competitive campaigns in many ridings. The group also says Crombie's team didn't pivot away from its health-care-themed platform when it became clear the election was focused on Trump, tariffs and the economy. Despite the Liberal Party constitution rules, Nathaniel Arfin, one of the group's founders, said the threshold should be higher for Crombie to stay on. In the group's view, she needs a minimum 66 per cent vote in the review to remain leader. "We are strictly calling for the current leadership to recognize that they have failed us and that it's time for us to move forward with change so that we can build a stronger Ontario Liberal Party," he said. And while Arfin said he has worked for Nate Erskine-Smith in the past, the group is not affiliated with the federal MP or other possible candidates. Erksine-Smith calls for change at the top of Ontario Liberal Party Erksine-Smith also said he is not affiliated with the group and has not decided if he will run if Crombie is forced out. "This isn't about me, it's about what's best for the party," he said in an interview with CBC News. He agreed a two-thirds majority of voting party members should be required if Crombie wants to stay on. "If you can't secure 66 per cent of your members, I mean, good luck in a general election," he said. Erskine-Smith said he's concerned that the registration fees for the event, as well as the cost to travel and attend the meeting in Toronto, will discourage many Liberals. He issued an open letter earlier this month calling on delegates to dump Crombie. "A new leadership race would attract talent, it would attract contributions, it would attract public attention, and that's exactly what we need if we're going to renew this party in a serious way," he said. Crombie said she has heard the criticisms from the group and from other members of the party as she toured the province this summer. She's making changes to address those, including opening candidate nominations in January 2026 for the next provincial election, providing more support to rural and northern ridings, and holding more policy conventions. "Many of the requests that this new organization has made, we have responded to," she said. "And if they want reform and change, I want them to know that I want it too." Crombie also said she thinks there are members of the party stoking discontent for their own gain. "There are people who have put their own ambitions ahead of the party," she said. "I think that's what we're seeing here." Despite some opposition, Crombie continues to have support. The Ontario Liberal Party executive endorsed Crombie's continued leadership after the election. And since Erskine-Smith published his open letter, most of the party caucus and former premier Kathleen Wynne have signalled their support for Crombie on social media. Former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister John Milloy said Erskine-Smith's showing in the 2023 race was impressive. However, the fact that he didn't run for the provincial Liberals in the last election, opting instead to run again federally, may lead some members to question his commitment to the Ontario party, he said. "Nate Erskine-Smith is trying to position himself as the heir apparent," Milloy said. "He's got a long way to go with that." "I don't think (the party has) the luxury of having some knock them down, drag them out, internal battle that goes on for years," added Milloy, who is now the director of the Centre for Public Ethics at Martin Luther University College. Crombie has good reason to be worried about the challenge, said McMaster University political science professor Peter Graefe. Winning the review vote by a healthy margin is essential and that could mean capturing as much 75 per cent. The in-fighting among the Liberals is a symptom of larger problems with the party still struggling to find its identity after a brutal 2018 loss, Graefe said. "The political base of parties is often very impatient and expect magic from leaders, when really they're the ones who have to make the magic happen through organization," he said. The Ontario Liberal Annual General meeting takes place from Sept. 12 to 14.