Growing Up in Canada: Childhood and Youth in the Memories of Estonian Canadians
Aino was born and grew up in London, ON. Even though the Estonian community wasn’t very large it was quite active – including her parents. Her mother organized numerous literary events and a number of exhibitions, both within the Estonian and local communities. Her father sang in a choir, was part of the London Estonian Society executive and the chief editor of “Estonians in London 1949-1979.” Aino grew up with two sisters, Asta and Käbi, in an Estonian speaking home with a strong Estonian mindset.
On Saturdays, Aino attended the London Estonian School, which she completed with honours. Summers were spent at Seedrioru summer camp. In 1967, the tradition of Girl Guides in London was reestablished with the founding of the troop “Endla,” which Aino joined. In 1970, Aino was one of the founders of the London Estonian Youth Organization, where she stepped into the role of secretary. The Kitchener-Waterloo-London Estonian folk dance group was established with the intent of performing at the gala of the first Estonian World Festival in 1972. Not only did Aino dance at the gala but their group also had a solo performance in front of the College St. Eaton’s store.
Upon moving to Toronto to attend university, Aino joined the Girl Guides Choir where she sang for a number of years. She also joined the Estonian Women’s Academic Society where she continues to play an active role. For numerous years, Aino was part of the Kotkajärve Forest University executive, planning the yearly program. As the “business” address of the organization was Aino’s family home, many administrative tasks were also part of her responsibilities. Aino joined Estonia Choir in its second year and was a stalwart singer for decades. In 1984, the choir qualified to perform in the Holy Land, with Aino becoming the chief organizer of the trip. Now as a pensioner, she volunteers at the Bibliography Club (her mother was a founding member), and also at the Tartu College lending library, which are a part of VEMU’s activities, and of which her mother was a founding member.
Aino completed an Honours BA in Sociology at the University of Toronto. Shortly after graduation she was hired by the federal government to work as an Employment Counsellor. A number of years later, she assumed the same role at Ryerson University, where in later years she also shouldered the administrative responsibilites of the department.
Born in 1966 in Toronto to Estonian refugee parents. As a child he attended Estonian school and Estonian boy scouts in Toronto. He first visited Estonia in 1979. Graduated from the University of Toronto with a history degree in 1989. Participating in the Muinsuskaitse Selts’i suvemalev in 1989 was a formative experience, which was followed by a year studying at the University of Tartu 1990-91.
After gaining his PhD from University College London in 1996, Andres moved to Estonia where he began to lecture at the University of Tartu. In 2000 he became the founding director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, a position he held until 2013. From 2004 he became a full professor in the political science department at Tartu (now the Skytte Institute). In 2017 he was appointed the Elmar Tampõld Chair of Estonian Studies and Professor of History at the University of Toronto.
His first book was The Radical Right in Interwar Estonia and his second, A History of the Baltic States, has been translated into eight languages.
He has served as the President of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, Chairman of the Open Estonia Foundation, and on numerous editorial boards and international advisory boards. He has been awarded the Estonian National Science Prize for Humanities and the Baltic Assembly Prize for Science, and been named an Honorary Fellow of the Baltic Defence College.
He has commented widely in the media on international politics.
He married Johanna Helin in Tallinn and they have two children who grew up in Viimsi.
Elin Kaia Marley was born in Toronto in 1983 to an Estonian family. Elin grew up in the Beaches neighbourhood, across the street from a lush green park, a short walk away from Lake Ontario. Thanks to her parents, grandparents and big sister, the language at home has always been Estonian. In school, she learned English and French, being in the French Immersion programme. Most activities outside of school were in the Estonian community: Guides, folkdance, Estonian school, church, gymnastics, and later also the Guide and Scout orchestra, LEEK choir, teaching folkdance… Jõekääru and Kotkajärve Estonian camps were places to enjoy various activities, friends and being in nature, and also opportunities to get early work and leadership experience.
There was a bit of time for non-Estonian activities as well, like swimming lessons, school sports, Harbourfront circus and tennis camps, and other fun activities! After graduating from high school, Elin went on to study Anthropology and French at the University of Guelph, and then on to Master’s studies at the University of Oslo. Work life has given Elin lots of opportunities to work outside in nature.
Starting in 2010, Elin has worked as a School Garden Educator, teaching children about gardening and growing vegetables, exploring how plants grow, where our food comes from, and what other critters live in the garden. Elin also works in some other outdoor education programmes, such as High Park and Kortright Centre. In her free time, Elin enjoys cross-country skiing, hiking, cooking (especially after a Saturday farmer’s market!), playing guitar, and dancing folkdance.
Her parents each left Estonia in 1944 on separate paths. They married in Sweden in 1950, arrived in Canada in 1951 and made their home in St. Catharines where Elle (1952) and her brother Vello (1955) were born. Elle attended many rural St. Catharines elementary schools, as none were large enough to accept a small additional cohort for the next grade. Graduated Beamsville District High School after only four years, as she was accepted to a new “grade 12” programme offered by the fledgling Brock University to students who proved they were mature enough to ‘skip’ grade 13. After an interim year in social work courses at Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfred Laurier University), Elle graduated Brock with a double major BA in psychology and sociology.
“Headhunter’ in Toronto considered her a ‘people person’ and sent for job interviews in sales. She relocated to Toronto in 1974 and worked at Victor Business Machines, Robin Hood Multifoods, and A.S.May Food Brokers. At the first Estonian World Festival events in 1972 she met her husband to be and married Mart Rosenberg in 1975. She spent a few years at home raising her sons Priit, Taavo and Markus and helping friends with their childcare needs. In the early 1990’s Elle became dually licenced in investment funds and insurances and achieved the Certified Financial Planner and Elder Planning Counsellor designations.
Elle’s volunteer work has centred around the Estonian community. In St. Catharines she participated in Estonian school, girl guides, camps, folk dancing, gymnastics and was Miss Estonia in the Folk Arts Festival. In Toronto she participated in folk dancing and gymnastics and was a long time board member and president in the Estonian Kindergarten, Toronto Estonian Supplementary Schools and the Toronto Eesti Naisselts (renamed Jõekääru Suvekodu Selts). She is currently treasurer on the Eesti Kodu Inc. board as well as for the Toronto Estonian Society. Travel for Elle has also centred around visits to Estonia. Together with Edgar Marten and Reet Lindau-Voksepp, they led Toronto Eesti Koolikoori Estonian School’s children’s choir trips to song and dance festivals and to the West Coast Estonian Days. Travel throughout Estonia was also part of the trips to experience the history, geography and culture of our tiny ‘homeland’. Mart and Elle continue to travel significantly and work while travelling, thanks to modern technology!
Born in 1963 in Tallinn. After graduating from high school, she studied English language and literature at the University of Tartu (graduated in 1989), as Soviet-era history education did not seem trustworthy. She had planned to become a teacher, but life took a different turn. In 1987, she married an engineer who graduated from Tallinn University of Technology. In the late 1980s, they left Estonia to prevent her husband Toomas from being conscripted into the Soviet army. They lived in Sweden for a year and a half, where Ene’s uncle had ended up during the war. In 1991, they continued on to Canada, where Toomas’s relatives provided support. Although there was initially a desire to return to Estonia someday, Canada has since become their home. Their daughters, Mari and Kirke, were born there, both raised in the Estonian spirit.
From 1991 to 2025, worked at the Estonian (Toronto) Credit Union (Northern Birch Credit Union today), advancing rapidly up the career ladder and holding various positions. She taught at the Toronto Estonian School for 13 years, serving as head of the high school in her final year. She was the treasurer of the Toronto Estonian Kindergarten. She was a member of the Estonian Canadian Historical Commission and one of the editors of the three-volume work Estonians in Canada.
She has published articles in Eesti Elu and wrote the book “Minu Kanada” (My Canada). Preserving Estonian language and culture in Canada and maintaining ties with the homeland are very important to her. This led her to become a support person for the Estonian team at the Invictus Games held in Toronto in 2017—a role that, in a poignant way, recalled her family’s reason for leaving Estonia: here, in her new home, Ene supported soldiers who had represented Estonia in NATO forces.
Born in Pärnu, Estonia in 1943. Her mother was also a teacher, there were several educators in her family. She spent her childhood at Tõstamaa Manor, where her mother served as the school principal. She graduated from Pärnu Koidula High School and went on to study at Tallinn University in the Department of Primary Education Methodology and Psychology. She was a long-time teacher at Viimsi High School, leaving in 1992 after 29 years of service. She moved to Canada for family reasons, mainly to support her grandchildren. In the fall of 1992, she began working at the Toronto Estonian Society Supplementary School, where she taught for 33 years. She has received the Estonian Central Council in Canada’s Badge of Merit and, in 2025, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Estonia’s Ministry of Education and Research.
Born 1942 in Tartu, Estonia. In 1944, family escaped by small boat to Sweden. After two years in D.P. camps, was relocated to Stockholm. Started Estonian elementary school in Stockholm. Moved to Canada in 1951. Graduated Willingdon Elementary and West Hill High School in Montreal and Mc Gill University with a BSc. For a year attended the Ontario College of Education in Toronto. In mid 1980’s, enrolled at Concordia University evening MA program in teaching. Back in Montreal, taught science at the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal and later at Centennial College and High School, where she became the Science Department Head. Retired from teaching in 2010. In 2019 she was asked by her dentist to become her dental assistant. In 2024, after five years, Hille and her dentist retired together.
Hille has been living in two cultures. Throughout her life Hille is immersed in Estonian cultural life in Montreal and elsewhere. Been active in Girl Guides on various levels. She is an avid photographer, sang in choirs, played violin in the school orchestra, and took piano lessons with Dagmar Kokker. Since 1966 has taken various art courses (pottery, silk screen printing, sculpture, watercoulour etc) and participated in numerous exhibits in Montreal, Toronto etc.
Hille loves sports. She has been involved in basketball, volleyball, badminton, relay, hockey and figure skating, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and curling. Coached the school running teams. Has been involved with rhythmic gymnastics 1960-2020 as a competitor, performer, coach, judge, administrator, executive on both provincial and national levels. Performed at FIG World Gymnaestradas, at the 1976 Olympic games opening ceremonies, and various ESTO festivals. Was team leader for rhythmic gymnastics and alternate judge at Seoul Olympics in 1988, walked out at opening and closing ceremonies with the Canadian teams. Developed programs together with manuals and videos, gave coaching certification workshops, judging courses, created competitive routines. Was instrumental in creation of the Canadian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation in the early 1970’s.
Was born in 1961 in Toronto as a first-generation child to parents that escaped from Estonia as 7-year-old children with their own parents during the war. She graduated from Thornhill High School and studied architecture at U of T for 3 years.
She also completed the Toronto Estonian Society (TES) kindergarten, supplementary school and middle school. She did modern rhythmic gymnastics with Kalev Estienne, danced with Kungla folk dancers and performed at Esto’s in Baltimore, Stockholm, New York and Melbourne. She worked for 3 years as the little girls’ camp counsellor at Jõekääru.
Closest to her heart is the Estonian Guiding movement, working as a brownie leader, Rajaleidjate district leader, at countless camps, as a leader of international travel groups, and now the Chief Guide of Estonian Girl Guides Outside of Estonia. Since 1989, she has worked for the Estonian (Toronto) Credit Union Ltd) as an MSR, in the loan department and in investments, presently at Northern Birch Credit Union as the CAMLO.
Born in 2003 in Helsinki, Finland, to a Finnish mother and Estonian father. Growing up in Estonia, attended Viimsi Keskkool and, for a couple of years, Finnish classes on Saturday mornings. Moving to Canada at the age of 13 due to father’s work opportunity, and to be closer to her Estonian grandparents living in Toronto since the end of the WWII, she attended Harbord Collegiate Institute in Toronto for high school. Currently Kaisa is finishing her bachelor’s degree in Ethics, Society & Law, Finnish Studies, and Environmental Ethics at the University of Toronto, having also been on an exchange semester at the Central European University in Vienna.
Spending summers immersed in Finnish music and literature at her family’s mökki as well as visiting friends in Estonia, Kaisa feels as if she has 2 identities – Estonian and Finnish – although she has lived in Canada for over 8 years. In Toronto, Kaisa is active in the Estonian community, both attending events and volunteering to write articles for Eesti Elu, doing photography or videography work for Estonian Music Week, or more recently helping with event planning for community events. Kaisa was also chosen as the president of the Estonian Worldwide Youth Network (ÜENV) after attending ESTO 2025, where she connects Estonian youth living abroad by disseminating news and information and organizing events.
Kaisa loves the arts, especially painting, photography, and videography. She has made videos with friends in Estonia since she was 10, and produced a fairly popular video on Canadians taste-testing Estonian candy on YouTube when she was 13. In Estonia, Kaisa attended different art clubs, such as the Viimsi animation club. In Canada, Kaisa worked as a design editor and as the Creative Director of University of Toronto’s tri-campus newspaper, The Varsity, where she got to produce weekly newspaper issues and magazines. Kaisa also loves sports, having done artistic rollerskating in Estonia and competed with her team Rullest in the European championships twice. She has also done swimming, ballet, judo, soccer, cross-country skiing, taekwondo, and took part in her high school taiko club. Overall, Kaisa enjoys staying active, contributing to her communities, and connecting with people.
Kati Kiilaspea was born in 1995 in Toronto to a Canadian-Estonian father and a mother from Estonia. She received both her secondary and higher education in Toronto, studying ethnomusicology at Toronto Metropolitan University. She also attended the Toronto Estonian Society (TES) kindergarten and supplementary school from 1998 to 2012. For several years, she was active in Guides. She serves on the TES board, has played bassoon and cymbals in the Scouts and Guides orchestra Kõla, and sings in the Toronto Academic Mixed Choir Ööbik, the St. Andrew’s Estonian Church choir, and the chamber choir Rõõm. Since 2022, she has been working at VEMU, where she helps organize events, translates and writes texts, manages social media, and more. She has been involved in organizing VEMU’s largest event, Estonian Music Week, since it began in 2018. Kati has spent nearly every summer in Estonia, is very familiar with the cultural scene there—especially the music scene—and speaks excellent Estonian.
Marianne Melrose was born in Tallinn in 1987 to Katrin and Jaakko Pettinen. In late summer 1990, she moved to Toronto with her parents, younger sister, grandmother, and aunt. As a child, she attended Toronto Estonian Society Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, and High School. She practiced rhythmic gymnastics for several years and spent her summers at Jõekääru summer camp.Marianne has worked as a teacher at T.E.S. Kindergarten, Elementary School, and Middle School, and has also been a camp counselor at Jõekääru and Seedrioru. She is a member and current Vice-President of sorority Indla. She has written poetry throughout her life, some of which has been published in the newspaper Eesti Elu. Marianne lives just north of Toronto with her husband and their two daughters, Aila-Mari and Annaliis.
Mihkel Jürima was born in Toronto in 1966 to Helma and Ulo Jürima. Mihkel was a pleasant surprise for the 44-year-old parents, who already had two children, Madis 9 years old and Malle, 7 years old.
Ulo Jürima was very engaged in all things political within the Estonian community. He insisted on Estonian being the home language and that his children attend Estonian children’s programs, such as Estonian school, Kalev cubs and scouts and Seedrioru summer camp.
Mihkel is recently retired from one of the Canadian banks, having worked earlier as a Business Systems Analyst and then as a Project Manager in the HR & Payroll IT department. He is married with two grown children, Jaan and Etta.
In retirement, Mihkel enjoys volunteering with the Ehatare Retirement & Nursing Home Board of Directors, where his mother happily resides at the age of 104. Mihkel is proud that he phones and visits mom regularly. He also likes to have fun with the VEMU Writing Club, learning to be a better writer. He is especially excited when Eesti Elu is kind enough to print one of his stories.
I grew up in an Estonian-minded and Estonian-speaking family in Toronto. My father was a long-time principal of Estonian schools and an active member of the community. I have four adult children and, to my own great joy as a grandmother, ten grandchildren.
Volunteer work is central to preserving the Estonian community in Canada—over the decades, I have devoted most of my free time to it. I am the President of the Estonian Central Council in Canada (EKN), a long-time board member, and a board member of the Estonian World Council. I am actively involved as the Assistant Director of the Toronto Estonian Kindergarten. I am a member of the sorority Korp! Filiae Patriae. I have sung in the Estonia Choir and in the T.E.A. Mixed Choir Ööbik. For decades, I served on the council and board of the St. Peter’s Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Toronto.
I graduated from the University of Toronto, the University of Western Ontario, and York University, and completed the Ontario Principals’ Council’s advanced courses in educational leadership. I have worked as a trainer, teacher, school principal, and department head at the Ontario Ministry of Education. I was a developer of international curricula and a lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Education (OISE), and served as Faculty Advisor in the Master of Education program.
For over 35 years, I have participated in various educational projects between Canada and Estonia, most recently organizing the training of 23 Estonian education leaders in Ontario educational institutions in the fall of 2025.
I represent Canada on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Global Estonian Cooperation Commission. As a board member of the Estonian World Council (ÜEKN) and Chair of its Foreign Policy Committee, I organized high-level security conferences in Stockholm (2022) and Helsinki (2024), and together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Global Estonian Networking Day at ESTO 2025. At ESTO 2019, I was the organizer of the ÜEKN National Congress.
In 1990, I was elected as Canada’s delegate to the Estonian Congress.
A large part of my activities involves cooperation with the Estonian government and diaspora organizations to preserve and promote Estonian identity abroad. On a personal level, I truly enjoy meeting new and interesting people.
In my free time, I play the piano and practice yoga, swimming, and Nordic walking.
Silvi Verder was born in 1960 in Toronto to Leili and Jaan Terts, joining her older brother Andres. Her parents, who were active in the Estonian community, served as role models for Silvi: Estonian House, St. Andrew’s Church, and Kotkajärve were like a second home to the family. Silvi was among the first children to attend the Toronto Estonian Society Kindergarten, followed by studies at the TES Supplementary Elementary and High School, which she graduated from cum laude. In her final exam, Silvi pledged to preserve Estonian culture and language—she took that pledge seriously: the following autumn, she already began working as an assistant teacher at the Estonian kindergarten, where she taught for 23 years and served for several years as assistant director. This was followed by teaching at various levels of the TES school and ultimately leading all levels. In total, Silvi was active in Estonian school for 43 years.
From childhood, she was involved in Guides: she has served as director of the Estonian Girl Guides in Canada, is a board member of the Association of Estonian Guides Abroad, is an elder of the Estonian Scouts and Guides in Canada and was promoted to gaider in recognition of her lifelong service. Through Guides and Scouts, she also met her husband Erik Verder, who was born in the United States. They were married in Toronto in 1980 and had two sons, Vello and Margus. Estonian was spoken at home. Erik passed away unexpectedly in 2024, after which Silvi moved from her suburban home to Eesti Kodu in eastern Toronto, where she enjoys sauna evenings and the swimming pool. She spends her summers at a lakeside cottage, surrounded by nature. She is a member of Korp! Amicitia and of the council of Toronto’s St. Andrew’s congregation.
Silvi graduated from Seneca College in early childhood education, worked for many years as a teacher of young children and as director of a local Canadian daycare. Later, she developed an interest in the world of computers and has worked at HR.com for 25 years.
Vello Tõu was born in Estonia in 1942. His parents escaped from there in 1944 in a barely seaworthy boat which somehow managed to cross over to Sweden. Lived in Väse, a small town in southern Sweden where he became fluent in Swedish and spoke the language with a Värmland accent. In 1950, emigrated to Canada and lived in rental rooms in Toronto for several years until parents bought a 3-storey house on Huron Street. Due to the reconstruction of the adjacent school the family was forced to sell their house and moved to North York where Vello attended Bathurst Heights Collegiate. From there he went on to University of Toronto to study Chemical Engineering. Upon graduating worked for Imperial Oil in Sarnia for two years and then received an MBA at University of Western Ontario (now Western University). Following that, he worked for Du Pont Canada for 25 years, then Ontario Clean Water Agency and finally at Royal Group Technologies.
Vello has been an avid downhill skier and an enthusiastic cottager on Georgian Bay where he loves boating, fishing and sailing. After retiring, he did a lot of traveling, visiting Estonia and Sweden several times and also Iceland, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. One of his favourite pastimes is gardening, he has a sizeable back yard, which keeps him well occupied throughout the year.
He volunteered at Estonian Central Archives in Canada and at Bibliography Club at VEMU. One of his tasks there was to sort and record several thousand reels of motion picture film.