Michael Mikellides | Oral History Archive | HHFGCA

Michael Mikellides

Interviewer(s):

Theo Xenophontos

Project:

Greek Canadian Stories

INTERVIEW LOCATION:

Burlington, ON

LANGUAGE:

English

DATE:

May 2, 2026

Interview Summary:

Michael Mikellides was born in Limassol, Cyprus in 1942. In this interview, he recalls memories from his youth of throwing stones at the British and being briefly imprisoned by them during the EOKA struggle. After serving in the Cypriot military, he migrated to Canada in 1966. A former Vice President of the Cypriot Brotherhood, he details how that group transformed into the Cypriot Community of Toronto as he was responsible for incorporating the latter organization. Michael also uses part of his interview to discuss the impeachment of a former President of the Cypriot Community of Toronto and the left/right political divide among the diaspora.

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Date and Location

May 2, 2026

Burlington, ON

Interviewee(s)

Michael Mikellides

Interviewer(s)

Theo Xenophontos

Languages

English

Reference ID

GICREF151

Project

Greek Canadian Stories

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Categories

Associational Life

Canadian Society

Culture and Tradition

Education

Historical Events

Migration

Working Life

Tags

Cleaning Work

Cypriot Canadian Identity

Cypriot Community of Toronto Inc.

Cyprus 1974

Dance

English Learning

Entrepreneurship

EOKA

Greek Community of Toronto Inc.

K12Education

Military Service

Pre-1974 Migration

The Cypriot Brotherhood

Decades Referenced

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Locations Referenced

Cyprus; Limassol; Nicosia; Canada; Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Panagia); Cypriana (restaurant and music venue in Scarborough); Cypriot Community Centre (Throncliffe); Danforth; Halifax; Scarborough; Soulas Modern Greek Cuisine; St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church; Toronto; Union Station (Toronto); Greece; Sparta; Australia; Chicago; New York City; Turkey

Occupation(s)

Cleaner, Cypriot military, machinist, and travel agent

Parents Occupation(s)

Father: worked for a transport company

Names Referenced

Achilleas Antoniades; Andreas Nicolaides; Andy Petrou; Archbishop Sotirios; Athina Charalambides; Christine Amygdalidis; Costis Hadjicostis; David Weatherhead; Georgia Pantelidis; Kostas Demetriou; Leon Kossar; Leonidas Polymenakos; Makarios III; Mel Lastman; Nick Loizou; Theodoros Xenophontos

[00:00:27] Life in Cyprus and why he chose Canada

[00:16:28] Handing out leaflets for EOKA & military service

[00:31:37] Migration and working life in Canada

[01:21:31] Incorporating the Cypriot Community of Toronto

[01:35:00] Sending Canadian MPs to Cyprus

[01:39:24] Starting his own business

[01:42:02] Impeaching a President of the Cypriot Community

[01:54:40] The left and right divide in the diaspora

[02:04:49] Discussing Cypriot identity

[02:10:55] Caravan Festival and the Cypriot dance group

[02:19:19] Cypriana and Cypriot restaurants

[02:23:59] Memories of Polymenakos

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