From the Promised Land to the Prairies: Breaking the Ice in a New Country

By Jana Zalmanowitz, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

(AJNews) – There aren’t many people who say playing hockey is the key to becoming an engineer in Canada, but Michael Gurevich is one of them.

Michael’s path to professional success in Calgary wasn’t straightforward. There were roadblocks, but he overcame them with the kind of grit and determination familiar to many shaped by life in Israel.

Born in the Soviet Union, Michael moved with his parents to Israel as a child. He completed high school there, then served three years in the army before earning an engineering degree from the Technion in Haifa.

He began a successful career with an international company where he managed projects all over the world including Africa, Ukraine and Mexico. At the same time, he continued his service in  Israel through the miluim (army reserves).

During these years, Michael married and started a family. After their third child was born, Michael’s wife expressed she wanted to raise their family in a place with greater peace and stability. Michael, too, was ready for something new.

“I love Israel. It’s my country,” he says, “But it’s a small country with too many people around and there’s too much tension.”

With a smile he adds another motivation: “And I saw there’s snowboarding in Canada. I wanted to try snowboarding,”

At 37 years old, Michael moved with his wife and children to Canada. Their first stop was Saskatchewan.

Despite more than a decade in engineering starting over was not easy. Michael approached companies in Saskatoon, confident in his skills, but realized there were cultural differences.

“I was overqualified and maybe too confident because I am from Israel,” he says. “I speak what I think and here it’s a different mentality. But I am who I am. I’m Israeli.”

To work as an engineer in Canada, Michael needed to requalify. It was a demanding process requiring him to demonstrate proficiency in 22 competencies under the supervision of a validator.

Setting his sights on an Alberta engineering designation through APEGA, Michael started looking for someone who could serve as his validator. He reached out to an engineer on Linkedin and they went for coffee. During this meeting, Michael learned a key piece of information he needed. This contact liked hockey.

With the tenacity he attributes to growing up in Israel, Michael learned to ice skate. “It took several weeks,” he says, but then he bought a hockey stick and took the coffee connection to the ice.

“I went to play hockey with him. Not very good, but I played hockey.”

Three months later, that same engineer offered Michael some project work, eventually hiring him and becoming the validator he needed. Two years later, Michael earned his P.Eng designation in Alberta.

Michael and his wife bought a house in Calgary. They spent some time in Abbotsford and then returned to Calgary. Interestingly Michael found that because Abbotsford is so small, there a was stronger sense of Jewish community there for him.

In Calgary, Michael stays connected to his roots mostly through a community of fellow Israelis. “We understand each other,” he says. “Especially if they served in the army. We know Israeli life and can understand each other much better.”

Today, Michael has achieved what he set out to build. He has a peaceful place to raise a family, a Canadian engineering career and even some respectable hockey skills. But what about snowboarding?

While he jokes that it brought him to Canada, it has become more symbolic. A reflection of how he approaches challenges. He taught himself the same way he rebuilt his career: by committing fully. Michael bought a used snowboard, took a lesson, watched videos and after a year of practicing and falling down, he got the hang of it. Now he free rides, climbing up the mountain on his own and riding down.

When his persistence is pointed out, Michael shrugs. “What can I do? I’m from Israel,” he says. “If we don’t do it like this, it’s very difficult to survive.”

That mindset, he notes, is one of the cultural differences between Israelis and Canadian-born Jews. Growing up in a country where military service is a shared experience fosters a particular kind of resilience and determination and is one that has shaped his journey and identity.

What about his children’s identities? “Canadian and Israeli,” he says. “The best parts of both.”

Jana Zalmanowitz is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.