I'm guessing that John Gotch is or was one of over a million Ukrainian Canadians, the eighth-largest ethnic group in the country. The back cover of this record, the sum total of what I know about him, states only that his parents were Ukrainian and Polish, that he took up the violin at a young age before moving on to the saxophone and clarinet, and that he studied music with "some of the most prominent teachers in the country".

Happily, there's more information out there on two of the other musicians named on the back cover, accordionist Bill Mankiss and violinist Victor Pasowisty, both of whom have been named Barn Dance Pioneers, just like Sharon Strong. This torrent site lists the liner notes to Mankiss' album Echoes of Poland, which says that he lived in Scarborough, where he taught piano and accordion, and played weddings, clubs and dances throughout southwestern Ontario. As for Pasowisty, the liner notes to a different album listed here state that he was born in Mountain Road, Manitoba and once won a fiddling competition named The Shelburne Cup. His name actually pops up all over the place, as he played on a ton of Canadian country albums, often alongside Mankiss.

The Canadian Encyclopedia's entry on country music states that "Because ethnic cultures in Canada have maintained their individuality and preserved their languages and customs to a greater degree than have their counterparts in the USA, European folk and popular musics have had an influence on country music". That's definitely true of the two tracks I've posted here, both of which are recognizable as country/polka tunes but still show their eastern European roots, and not just because "The Washerwoman Polka" is sung in Ukrainian (presumably by the Werchowina Trio).

Musician's Polka
The Washerwoman's Polka