Matti Kurikka

Who was Matti Kurikka?

Matti Kurikka was a Finnish journalist, theosophist, and utopian socialist.

Kurikka was the editor of the Työmies newspaper from 1897–1899. In 1908 Kurikka purchased the Wiipurin Sanomat. As editor of Wiipurin Sanomat, Kurikka was initially influenced by the Young Finns political movement, later moving towards Christian socialism. Kurikka moved to North America in the year 1900 and founded the newspaper Aika, the first Finnish-Canadian newspaper.

In 1901 Kurikka helped establish Sointula, a utopian island colony on Malcolm Island, British Columbia based on cooperative principles. Sointula dissolved as a utopian colony in 1905 after financial difficulties and a devastating fire, but continued as a fishing and logging based community. Kurikka had attempted to found utopian communities in Canada and Australia prior to Sointula.