Heritage Savings and Trust Company was created by a special act of the Alberta Legislature on May 1, 1967, and after raising 90% of the required capital from the Ukrainian community in Canada, it began operations in 1968. The company reached its operational peak in 1984 with more than 10,000 customers and greater than $170 million of total assets and was licensed in Alberta, BC, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
High-interest rates, the National Energy Program, and a global drop in commodity prices in the mid-1980s led to the erosion of real estate values which resulted in the company’s insolvency. On March 13, 1987, the company’s assets and liabilities were transferred to the North West Trust Company.
Olena Hlibowych was the artistic director of Verkhovyna Vocal Ensemble from its inception in 1952.