John Cannis (Interview 2)
Interviewer(s):
Vasilis (Bill) Molos
Angelo Laskaris
Project:
Greek Canadian Stories
INTERVIEW LOCATION:
Scarborough, ON
LANGUAGE:
English
DATE:
April 5, 2023

Interview Summary:

John Cannis was born in Kalymnos in 1951 and migrated to Canada in the 1960s, settling in Toronto, where he became actively involved in the Greek community, including St. George and St. Irene churches. He later entered politics, serving as a Member of Parliament. Cannis strongly advocated for Greek and Cypriot issues, raising matters like the Cyprus problem, the Macedonia naming dispute, the Pontian Genocide, and Greek-Turkish relations in Parliament. He also worked to strengthen Canada-Greece relations through trade, diplomacy, and cultural cooperation.

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Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Date and Location
April 5, 2023
Scarborough, ON
Interviewee(s)
John Cannis (Interview 2)
Interviewer(s)
Vasilis (Bill) Molos
Angelo Laskaris
Languages
English
Reference ID
GICREF015B
Project
Greek Canadian Stories
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Categories
Working Life
Historical Events
Homeland Activism
Tags
Canadian Politics
Cyprus 1974
Greek Canadian Economic Relations
Greek Canadian Identity
Macedonia Naming Dispute
Pontian Genocide
Decades Referenced
1990s
2010s
Locations Referenced
Macedonia, Kalymnos, Kos
Occupation(s)
Entrepreneur, Member of the House of Commons of Canada
Parents Occupation(s)
Carpenter (father)
Names Referenced
Eleni Mpekopanos, Dinos Sofokleous, Kostis Chatzikostis, Athanasios Fousias, Michael Mouratidis, Dimitris Dianomichalis, Vaso Papandreou, Constantinos Stafanopoulos, Patriarch Bartholomew

[00:00:40] Creating the High Commission of Cyprus in Ottawa

[00:27:00] The Macedonia naming dispute

[00:43:04] Highlighting the Pontian issue to Parliament

[00:55:05] Canada's stance on the Imia issue

[01:10:00] Greek-Turkish relations today and in the future

[01:23:43] Communication between Canada and the Middle East

[01:29:30] 1999 trade mission to Greece

[01:40:40] Being Canadian in Greece

[01:45:20] Efforts for cooperation between Canada and Greece

[01:57:25] Creating Philehellenes

[02:02:10] Meeting Patriarch Bartholomew & the Halki school

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