Three years into war with Russia, Ukrainians continue to settle in Manitoba
Her daughter is in school. She and her partner bought a house. She even traveled to Kyiv last year to visit family and bring her beloved cat home to Canada.
'I can say I have integrated into Canadian life, but of course I miss my homeland and I worry about it,' she said.
'I'm reading news feeds every day, and I am keeping in touch with my mom and with my relatives.'
Shykota is one of the 298,128 Ukrainians who came to Canada through the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET), a federal program introduced in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Roughly 30,000 Ukrainians made their way to Manitoba, according to Joanne Lewandosky, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress's Manitoba chapter.
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'People are still coming here on a regular basis,' she said. 'Just last week we had a call from Tennessee … and we get regular calls from Europe, people who now maybe in Poland or in Italy.'
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Lewandosky says the UCC also sees people who initially settled in other provinces choosing to move to Manitoba due to the cost of living and the province's large Ukrainian population.
The Manitoba government had offered supports to Ukrainian refugees, including child care and reimbursement for immigration medical exams. With those programs no longer in place, Lewandosky says the UCC's goal is to fill the 'gaps' that are left.
'We still have a help center here. People are still bringing things and people are taking them,' she said.
The organization is also providing English classes in Gimli, Brandon, Winkler, and Winnipeg, thanks to provincial funding. Nine hundred students will begin classes in the fall.
'That is definitely filling a gap that's very prominent right now in the province of Manitoba,' Lewandosky said.
Shykota has secured permanent residency, but for some other Ukrainians in Canada under the CUAET, the future isn't as certain. Those who arrived on or before March 31, 2024, are able to apply for work or study permits through temporary immigration measures, but those who arrived after must do so through Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada's regular process. The federal government announced cuts to immigration targets last year.
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'I know many who had gone back from Canada to Europe and even to Ukraine,' Shykota said.
As she moves forward with life in Winnipeg, Shykota said every day the war continues is 'psychological pressure' for Ukrainians, one that claims victims each day.
'Ukraine is a very brave country. Our people are really heroes, but we need help, we need support, because it is not the war just for Ukraine, it is just for the whole world, and you can support us,' she said.
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