The Ukrainian Labour Temple is a cultural and community centre for the Ukrainian populace of Winnipeg. It was constructed in North End Winnipeg in 1918 – 1919 by the Ukrainian Labour Farmer Temple Association (ULFTA) using volunteer labour and donations from the community. The building was expanded in 1926. The Winnipeg Labour Temple was the first of a network of similar community centres established by the ULFTA across western Canada.
The Ukrainian Labour Temple includes an auditorium, classrooms, office space, a library, a kitchen and a print shop. It hosts such activities as Ukrainian language classes, a Ukrainian choir, manolin orchestra, and Ukrainian folk dancing.
In addition to serving as a community centre the Ukrainian Labour Temple was a focus for left wing political activism in the 1920s and 30s. From the early years the Communist Party of Canada controlled all aspects of the Labour Temple’s operations and programming by placing party members in key positions within the ULFTA. The temple was a national publishing centre for communist newspapers most notably Ukrainian Labour News, Working Woman, and Youth World.
The Ukrainian Labour Temple played important roles in the lives of the Bobowsky family. First and foremost it was Martin Bobowsky’s place of employment from the early 1920s until at least the late 1930s. Martin, who was a member of the Canadian Communist Party, worked as a printer and later a bookkeeper for the Ukrainian Labour News. The Temple was also an important social and recreational centre for Martin’s wife and children who were also members of the communist party. Martin’s wife sang in the Temple choir, acted in plays and held fundraising events for Temple programs. Martin’s daughter Angela described the Temple’s role in Bobowsky family life in her later memoirs:
We attended Ukrainian school on Saturday mornings. We took Ukrainian folk dancing. We were taught musical instruments, gymnastics, cross stitch embroidery, Indian clubs, and memory classes…Our family attended Saturday night plays, Sunday evening concerts and, in the summertime, family picnics at Kildonan Park. We learned to play the mandolin in a group. When we became proficient, we formed the Second Mandolin Orchestra and performed at concerts. I also took an interest in Ukrainian folk dancing and danced in groups at many concerts. The community kept us all busy and cared for. My sister Olie played in the First Girls’ All-Mandolin Orchestra in the mid- 1920s. They played at concerts in many Canadian cities as well as in California.
Today the Ukrainian Labour Temple is a branch of the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians (AUUC), the successor organization of the ULFTA. The building is a National Historic Site.