Leadership among Poles in Canada

Mass emigration of Poles to Canada can be divided into two phases: first between 1895 and 1914 and the second being a midwar period. Polish emigrants settled down on Canadian prairies. There was in fact only one special kind of leadership that they really needed. Spiritual leadership was what they demand for. Therefore the first form of organizations were local parishes with their priests as their natural leaders. However, they could act only on a very limited scale confined to local territories. Organizational life of Polish colony in Canada was weak until it became united through concentration of people of Polish origin in municipal centers. It is estimated that 4-7% of the whole community belongs to ethnic organizations in Canada. Both in the period of the most intensive affluence of Polish emigrants and nowadays there wasn’t in Canada any Polish emigrants leader of all-Canadian importance, although there were and there are now particular organizations leaders enjoying respect and having influence. Leaders of Polish emigrants are mostly elected and as long as they control the organization they hold the dignity of a leader. In the first phase among the persons of weight were priests of the Holy Spirit parish and at the same time members of an editorial staff of „Gazeta Katolicka” - priest W. Kulawy, priest F. Kowalski, priest W. Grochowski. In later period among persons of importance playing leading roles in various organizations there should be mentioned S. Hai- dasz, P. Staniszewski, C. Bielski, T. Glista and P. Teraska among others. However, it was not for individuals to play the authentic role of a Polish colony leaders, at least at the first stage of emigration, but for papers such as: „Catholic Gazette” („Gazeta Katolicka”) and „Time” („Czas”). It seems then that if one wants to specify the most characteristic trait of the leadership in Polish colony in Canada, one should speak about collective leadership of papers