About Us
Our History
History of the Canadian Polish Congress is divided into two periods. In the first period our Polish-Canadian umbrella organization in Canada was named the Federation of Polish Societies in Canada. The Federation was granted federal status on February 7, 1933. The change of the name of our organization came into effect during the General Meeting held in Toronto, through the 2nd-4th of September 1944.
There are 16 Branches across Canada and more than 240 organizations which belong to the Canadian Polish Congress. British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec have a provincial branch which co-ordinates the entire province. Ontario is broken up into 12 regions Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Niagara, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Windsor.
One of Congress Branches which holds the highest number of young Polonia is KPK Mississauga Branch. Our first Meeting was held at Tatry in Mississauga on January 16th, 2000. The representatives that formed the Meeting included: Polish Alliance of Canada Group 95 (creators of Congress in Mississauga), Polish Teacher’s Association, Association for helping children “Promyk”, Association of Polish Engineers, Polonia for the Future, Polish Canadian Women’s Federation No.15. First General Meeting was held on the 13th of February 2000.
According to the 2006 Canadian Census, Canada is home to almost one million people of Polish decent. Half of this population resides in Ontario, where Mississauga and Toronto have the largest volume. More than 13 thousand families call St. Maximilan Kolbe Parish their church, around 3000 students flock to the halls of 16 Polish schools including elementary and secondary aged students. More and more teens are becoming involved in the Scouting Association in Missisauga. Around 250 kids and teens belong to two divisions Wigry and Wieliczka. New organizations are forming and existing ones would like to come aboard to the Canadian Polish Congress in Mississauga.
One can easily say about the strenght and dynamic of our Branch and look forward to the future. We are constatnly busy and embarking on new challenges. Our newest embarkment is the Patriot’s Monument in front of the Polish Cultural Centre, which saw the day of light thanks to the countless Polonia members. Other Polish institutions also played a role in this monument inlcuding the Polish Senate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland. Of course this was not all possible without the countless hours spent on this project by the Polish Canadian Organizations.
Executive
2024 Executive Committee
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When the Canadian Polish Congress Mississauga Branch took the initiative to create a place where
official and national celebrations could take place, not all were favorable to the idea since they felt there
already existed a Katyń memorial and various plaques in Toronto where these celebrations should take
place. However the large Polish community in Mississauga, the Maximilian Kolbe parish, the branch of
the Canadian Polish Congress, Polish Scouting and other organizations strongly pointed to the fact that
Mississauga needed its own monument. And so the Monument to Patriots came to be. Details can be
found below
In March 2007Anna Mazurkiewicz, President of the Canadian Polish Congress Mississauga Branch
approached Maximilian Kolbe Parish Council of the Knights of Columbus with a request to erect three
flagpoles for Canadian, Polish and Papal flags in the picnic garden, to serve for some official events. The
Knights agreed and a committee was formed, chaired by Henry Lopinski. It was decided three 35ft
aluminum poles at a cost of $1500. each, supplied by a local firm would be erected on the grounds of
the Maximilian Kolbe Foundation. They were paid for by the KoC Council 9612, the St. Stanisslaus &St.
Casimirs Credit Union and Branch 26 of the Polish Alliance of Canada. The Maximilian Kolbe Foundation
paid for the installation.
Shortly after the 2007 Independence Day celebrations on the grounds of the John Paul Ii Polish Cultural
Centre in front of a provisional ”monument “the Executive Committee of the CPC Mississauga Branch
passed a resolution to construct a real monument. Permission was received from the Maximilian Kolbe
Foundation and a committee was formed of the following members: Stan Kulina, Malgorzata Jedlewska,
Wieslaw Lipka, Henryk Gadomski, chair Henryk Lopinski .The initial idea was to find a suitable granite
rock and several visits by committee members were made to this end.
Luckily for us, in the fall of 2008 we were informed that Place Polonaise in Grimsby was being sold and
the monument would be available. A site visit and meeting with the president of the Head Executive of
the Polish Alliance of Canada Mr. Robert Zawierucha followed and after approval from the Executive of
the CPC an agreement was signed on October 10, 2008 to transfer the monument to the JPII Centre
location. Mr Wladyslaw Lizon was most helpful in arranging the transportation. Proceeds from
Fundraising were used for foundation materials, anchors, electrical installation and an information
plaque. The reverse of the monument was engraved with a Polish Eagle emblem, Maple Leaf and a
suitable quote from Pope John Paul II. A grant from Poland applied for by Ms. Jedlewska paid for the
surrounding interlock paving.
The monument is called Monument of Patriots.
