A social and economic history of one of the oldest Ukrainian settlements in Western Canada. Established in 1896, the Stuartburn colony was one of the earliest Ukrainian settlements in western Canada. Based on an analysis of government records, pioneer memoirs, and the Ukrainian and English language press, Community and Frontier is a detailed examination of the social, economic, and geographical challenges of this unique ethnic community. It reveals a complex web of inter-ethnic and colonial relationships that created a community that was a far cry from the homogeneous ethnic block settlement feared by the opponents of eastern European immigration. Instead, ethnic relationships and attitudes transplanted from Europe affected the development of trade within the colony, while Ukrainian religious factionalism and the predatory colonial attitudes of mainstream Canadian churches fractured the community and for decades contributed to social dysfunction.

John C. Lehr is a professor in the Geography Department of the University of Winnipeg.

John C. Lehr's profile page

• Winner, Manitoba Day Award, Association for Manitoba Archives
• Winner, Margaret McWilliams Award (Scholarly History)

“There are all kinds of books about pioneering: first-person accounts from the actual pioneers; self-published works by local people with a love of an area’s history; and professional writers blending anecdote with existing research. Lehr provides both fresh and aggregated research, lightly mixed with anecdote. It’s a great addition to the canon of history and cultural books on Manitoba.”

Winnipeg Free Press

“Community and Frontier is an excellent cultural history, highly recommended.”

The Midwest Book Review