Most Canadians helping Ukraine not members of diaspora - head of charity foundation

The vast majority of Canadian volunteers and philanthropists who help Ukraine are not of Ukrainian origin.

Victor Hetmanczuk, Chair of the Board of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"Only 12% of volunteers participating in our medical missions have Ukrainian roots. Therefore, we are supported by the entire Canadian society," he said.

According to Hetmanczuk, in total, there are about 70,000 people in the donor base.

"Until 2022, most of the donations came from Canadians of Ukrainian origin, but the full-scale invasion changed people's worldview, and we gained access to much wider masses," he said.

At the same time, he admitted that the extent of support for Ukraine had decreased significantly as of late.

"I have online access to daily donation statistics. These days, about ten people are transferring money to us. Before, there were hundreds, even thousands of transfers. Although the average amount has not fundamentally changed during this time, people are tired of daily requests. In addition, there are many other disasters in the world. Ukraine is not the only hot spot on the map," Hetmanczuk said.