Early Armenian Community in Brantford

When the Armenian community in Brantford was beginning to grow, some issues and milestones arose as well. In 1905, the first Armenian wedding in Brantford took place at Grace Anglican Church between Safarian Vahan and Kasparian Vantanooks. Also, an Armenian bakery opened on Market Street, selling Armenian bread from their shop, as well as a baker’s cart. 

Despite the growing Armenian community, there were many who were unable to immigrate to Canada. For instance, the Turkish government restricted the immigration of Armenian women, stopping the Armenian men in Brantford from bringing their wives with them. Harry Gourjian told the Brantford Expositor that the Armenian community had applied to the Dominion government to get this restriction removed, but it was rejected. One such man, John Mardisrosian, lived in Brantford for 15 years until he returned to Armenia due to sickness in 1908, and he was unable to see his wife the entire time.

Early Community Stories

The Armenian community in Brantford was determined to remain informed about the struggles within Armenia and to send as much help as possible. In Brantford, there were two publications available about the struggles in Armenia, Free Armenia and Hairenik. Free Armenia was a paper published locally that contained poems, letters, and more focusing on the topic of freeing Armenia from Turkish rule. Hairenik was a publication from Boston that was published in Armenian and available to Brantford residents through its subscription service.

Over the years, there were many fundraisers held in Brantford to help the people suffering in Armenia. This included reliefs, mass meetings, church services, messages published in the Brantford Expositor, and more. One such fundraiser was held in 1918, when the Armenian S. L. H. "Spark" Dramatic Association presented a play in the Armenian language, with English interpreters. It was about the treatment of Armenian people by the Turkish, with the benefits going to help Armenian refugees.