From Russia with Love
12
Immigrating to Canada:
My Family Story
Interview Details
On Sunday, May 12, I interviewed my maternal grandfather, Leon Lubin to acquire information about his parent’s immigration to Canada from Russia. I chose to interview my grandpa as he was the closest I could get to the generation in his family who grew up in Russia. Through this interview, I obtained information about my great grandparents, my heritage, and the hardships my family faced in Russia, and on their way to Canada. I am glad I took the opportunity to look into my family’s history and develop a better understanding of how my grandfather and my family are here today.
Immigration Story
My grandfather’s parents immigrated to Canada from Russia in the late 1920s after the First World War. My great grandmother, Chana Rabinovitch was born in Vetka, Belarus, and came to Canada in 1928 when she was 21 years old. My great grandfather, Isaac “Jack” Lubin was born in Sebastopol, Russia, and came to Canada from Marseilles, France after surviving the First World War in 1927.
Chana grew up in a Jewish family, and left Russia in hope of a better life. Out of 4 siblings, her parents could only afford to send her to a safer life. Chana came to Canada because she had family living in Winnipeg who had sponsored her. When she was only 21, she was forced to say goodbye to her family, and take the voyage across the Atlantic in search of a safer existence. On October 19, 1928, Chana arrived on Pier 13 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Upon her arrival in Canada, she took another ship called “The Montrose” to Quebec City. She then took a train to Winnipeg where she stayed with her relatives.
Isaac “Jack Lubin” Lubchansky grew up in a Jewish family in Sebastopol, Crimea, Russia where he and his family lived outside of the designated Jewish area because their services were needed by Russian Authorities. For Isaac and his family, their religious beliefs made them a minority, and they were denied a few of their rights such as attending university. This became increasingly true as World War II approached. Isaac and his siblings lost their mother when she was very young, so Isaac was raised by his sister. During the First World War, Isaac found himself in Marseilles, France. Though the specifics of his trip overseas are unknown, Isaac immigrated to Canada where he landed in Winnipeg. He lived with his sister and her husband. The rest of his family was unable to escape Russia, and lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War.
Chana and Isaac met and married in Winnipeg. Chana’s relatives arranged a job for Isaac at a general store in Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan run by another Jewish family who later moved away, and Isaac purchased the store from. Chana and Isaac carried on many religious traditions from their lives in Russia, but embraced a new lifestyle in Canada. Initially, their transition into their new community was turbulent. They both had to learn English, and a few incidents of religious discrimination from the doukhobors made adjusting to their new life in rural Saskatchewan town a challenge, but eventually, their integration into their community was successful.