Perfect Landings | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

Immigration and Figure Skating in Canada

For a limited time only! Saturday, October 26 to Monday, November 11, 2024

Discover the immigration stories behind some of Canada’s pioneering figure skaters, coaches and builders. Some came to skate, while others immigrated to join their families or in some cases to escape persecution or conflicts in their home countries. Perfect Landings explores the relationship between immigration and figure skating in Canada through a series of biographies. Visitors can learn more about John Knebli, a talented craftsman who arrived at Pier 21 in 1930, or Ellen Burka, a Holocaust survivor who came to Canada in 1951 and went on to train some of the country’s best-known skaters, including her daughter Petra Burka and Toller Cranston. The sport of figure skating in Canada continues to be shaped by the skills and talents of immigrants today.

This exhibit was created in partnership with Skate Canada.

A black and white photo of a man figure skating with a woman who is wearing a small crown with her leg up in the air. — Austrian Olympian Hellmut May immigrated to Canada in 1955, where he taught, coached, and governed figure skating for more than fifty years.
*Credit: Skate Canada*.