Klaudios Mustakas | Oral History Archive | HHFGCA

Klaudios Mustakas

Interviewer(s):

Theo Xenophontos

Project:

Greek Canadian Stories

INTERVIEW LOCATION:

Waterloo, ON

LANGUAGE:

English

DATE:

March 17, 2026

Interview Summary:

Klaudios Mustakas was born in Limassol, Cyprus in 1955. In 1965, he migrated to Canada with his family. His working life has been defined by his relationship to the Canadian state as he served in the Canadian military, worked as a Canadian diplomat, and held various jobs pertaining to immigration. In this interview, Klaudios provides insight into how his own experiences as an immigrant influenced his work, while at the same time noting how he felt the need to keep his ethnic identity separate from his job. Klaudios also discusses his familial relations to Andreas Moustakas (member of both EOKA and EOKA-B) and to actor Sotiris Moustakas.

‍

Date and Location

March 17, 2026

Waterloo, ON

Interviewee(s)

Klaudios Mustakas

Interviewer(s)

Theo Xenophontos

Languages

English

Reference ID

GICREF145

Project

Greek Canadian Stories

Use and Reproduction: Digital content found on the HHF GCA digital portal is meant for research and private study used in compliance with copyright legislation. Access to digital content, and the technical capacity to download or copy it, does not imply permission to re-use. Prior written permission to publish or otherwise use content must be obtained from the copyright holder. Please contact the HHF GCA at hhfgca@yorku.ca for further information.

Categories

Associational Life

Canadian Society

Culture and Tradition

Education

Historical Events

Migration

Rites

Working Life

Tags

Decades Referenced

1940s

Locations Referenced

Cyprus; Akrotiri (British base); Canadian Embassy (Nicosia); Famagusta; Kato Platres (Limassol District); Kykkos Monastery; Limassol; Nicosia International Airport; Troodos Mountains; Canada; Cambridge; Danforth; Grand Bend; Hamilton; John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport; Kitchener; Kypreos Restaurant (Kitchener); Mississauga; Ottawa; Penetanguishene; Pier 21 (Halifax); Queen’s University (Kingston); St. Jacobs; St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church (Scarborough); Stratford; Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church (Kitchener); Toronto; University of Waterloo; Waterloo; Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo); Greece; Athens; Thessaloniki; Lebanon; Beirut; Palestine; Gaza; United Kingdom; London; United States of America; Alaska; Africa; Australia; Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; South Africa; Turkey; Yugoslavia

Occupation(s)

Canadian diplomat, Canadian military, course instructor at Queen’s University, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, senior manager with both the Canada Border Services Agency and Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Parents Occupation(s)

Both parents: hotel owners in Cyprus and restaurant owners in Canada.

Names Referenced

Alex Mustakas; Andreas Georghiades; Andreas Moustakas; Andreas Pingos; Costas Antoniou; Donald Trump; George Patinios; Georgios Grivas; Grigoris Afxentiou; Henry Kissinger; Makarios III; Mikis Theodorakis; Sotiris Moustakas; Themis Drakos

[00:00:24] Familial memories of Cyprus and the EOKA period

[00:03:29] His relation to Sotiris Moustakas

[00:05:46] His relation to Andreas Moustakas

[00:07:31] Migration and serving in the Canadian army

[00:09:33] His Greek wife and her family’s migration story

[00:11:13] Opening the first Canadian embassy in Cyprus

[00:13:03] Early memories of Canada

[00:19:14] Family hotel in Cyprus & the church in Kitchener

[00:21:26] Andreas Moustakas in 1974 and visiting Famagusta

[00:32:54] Discrimination from Greeks and deporting a Greek

[00:39:41] Memories of 1974 and Cypriots in Kitchener

[00:46:07] His brother’s theatre career

[00:48:44] Working in a multicultural environment

[00:54:00] Details about his working life

[00:58:26] 9/11 and the Canada Border Services Agency

[01:00:07] His various jobs pertaining to immigration

[01:12:34] His children assimilating and teaching at Queen’s

[01:15:03] How his parents viewed Makarios and politics

[01:17:18] Familial migration patterns

[01:19:29] Memories of a missing relative & returns to Cyprus

[01:23:09] Community life in Kitchener-Waterloo

[01:28:02] Running the family restaurant one summer

[01:33:33] Discussing contemporary geopolitics

[01:36:52] Cypriot Canadians living in the past

[01:41:34] Greek Cypriots needing to take accountability

[01:50:30] The immigration process being harder in Canada now

No items found.

Land Acknowledgement: York University recognizes that many Indigenous Nations have longstanding relationships with the territories upon which York University campuses are located that precede the establishment of York University. York University acknowledges its presence on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations. The area known as Tkaronto has been care taken by the Anishinabek Nation, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Huron-Wendat. It is now home to many First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities. We acknowledge the current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This territory is subject of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement to peaceably share and care for the Great Lakes region.