The Ukrainian Museum of Canada was founded by the Ukrainian Women's Association of Canada (UWAC) in 1936 in Saskatoon. It was Canada's first Ukrainian museum and served as a center dedicated to the advancement of the knowledge of and the preservation of Ukrainian heritage in Canada. The first gallery space was at the Petro Mohyla Institute (401 Main Street) and opened to the public in 1941. In 1965, gallery space was also provided in the new Mohyla Institute when they moved to 1240 Temperance Street. Rapid growth in the late 1960s and early 1970s resulted in the need for expanded space to house the museum's growing collection.
A new museum building, at our current location of 910 Spadina Crescent East, was completed in the summer of 1979. The museum's staff and summer students began to move in artifacts beginning on Monday, July 9, 1979. It took two weeks to move everything from the old location to the new. Unpacking and set-up, however, took the rest of the summer. The first displays opened in early 1980. The official public opening took place on Saturday, May 24, 1980.
There are currently four branches and an associated collection connected to this museum. The Ontario and Alberta branches were established in 1944, Manitoba in 1950 and British Columbia in 1957. The associated collection was established in Calgary in the 1970s.
The Ukrainian Music Association of Alberta was founded on February 27th, 1972 at a Ukrainian National Federation meeting. The founders were four members of the Alberta Registered Music Teachers: Maria Dytyniak (piano), Iryna Pawlykowsky (piano), Serge Eremenko (violin), and Neonila Dmytruk (piano). They noticed that many professional musicians of Ukrainian descent regularly attended the Alberta Registered Music Teacher's meetings. They founded the association because they believed that professional musicians and enthusiasts that have an interest in Ukrainian music, should have a place to come together. 8 years later, on March 1st, 1980 the UMAA became part of the Province of Alberta.
The goal of the association is to "emphasize that Ukrainian music be preserved and promoted by skilled and talented musicians, and that an appreciation and understanding of Ukrainian music and its composers be fostered through performance, education and media within and beyond the Ukrainian community" (Ukrainian Music Society of Alberta).
Today, the Ukrainian Music Association of Alberta (UMAA) goes by the name of the Ukrainian Music Society of Alberta (UMSA).