Bill C-203 Ukrainian Heritage Month

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C-203 An Act Respecting Ukrainian Heritage Month

Short Title: Ukrainian Heritage Month Act

Bill Type: Private Member’s Bill

Bill Sponsor: Yvan Baker (Etobicoke Centre)

Status: 1st Reading — June 4, 2025. This bill hasn't passed yet. How would YOU vote?

WHO GAINS POWER

  • No new government powers created by this Bill
  • Parliament formally recognizes Ukrainian Canadian heritage and history — symbolic authority only

WHO LOSES POWER

  • No one loses power under this Bill

WHO GAINS MONEY

  • No funding allocated or directed by this Bill

WHO LOSES MONEY

  • No costs imposed by this Bill

THE CATCH

  • No warning flags — this Bill designates a heritage month only; it creates no obligations, no spending and no enforcement mechanisms

Bill C-203 would officially designate September as Ukrainian Heritage Month across Canada. The Bill is symbolic — it creates no new powers, no spending and no enforcement mechanisms. It recognizes the arrival of the first Ukrainian immigrants on September 7, 1891, the contributions of more than 1.3 million Ukrainian Canadians, Canada's recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide and Canada's opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Bill was introduced by Yvan Baker, MP for Etobicoke Centre, who serves as Chair of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group.

A companion Bill — Bill S-210 — is working through the Senate on the same subject, meaning this designation is moving on two tracks simultaneously.

[Source: www.ourcommons.ca — Bill C-203, 1st Session, 45th Parliament] [See also: Bill S-210 — LEGISinfo, Parliament of Canada]