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A story of resistance and courage from Ukraine

Iryna Lynka, former mayor of
Molochansk in eastern Ukraine,
until the Russian invasion

By MARTIN ZEILIG In late July, I received a document from a friend, which was sent to him by someone associated with the Beamsville, Ontario-based charitable organization, Friends of the Mennonite Centre in Ukraine , (FOMCU).
The document was part one of a story written by Iryna Lynka, the mayor of Molochansk, a city in eastern Ukraine.

Lynka was captured by the Russians around March 15 after Russia’s unprovoked, illegal and genocidal invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. She was released three and a half weeks later, and is now living in the Ukrainian controlled city of Zaporozhian, Alvin Suderman, the FOMCU Chair in Steinbach, wrote in an email to me.
“It is a horrific story,” he wrote.
“Imagine being held in the prison in Tokmak listening to the screams of people being tortured.”
The report was translated into English by Oksana Druchynina, the FOMCU manager now living in Abbotsford; B.C. Ms. Druchhnina is still translating the second part of Ms. Lynka’s narrative.

Iryna’s story
The former mayor of a town in south eastern Ukraine has finally been released, after nearly four weeks in Russian captivity. What’s more, she is defiant.
“And I didn’t surrender, I was reborn from tears. I was born Ukrainian.” Those words are from a song Iryna Lynka knew before she was abducted by Russian soldiers.
Iryna was elected mayor of Molochansk in Zaporizhzhia. After Russia attacked Ukraine in February, her community was occupied in two days. She says initially, the Russians did not behave cruelly, as it seemed they believed their own propaganda that they would be welcomed. They were wrong. When the security arm of the Russian military arrived, three weeks later, the abductions began.
“On March 31, at 6 am, they came to my home. A search was conducted. My sister and my mother, who is 82-years-old, were staying overnight. I asked them not to disturb my family, and they did not. First, they asked if there were police or Ukrainian soldiers in our house. I could report that there were none.
“Then they asked why I—as a local politician— supported a pro-Ukrainian party called the “Servant of the People” rather than the pro-Russian party called OPZZH. They took away all the papers and work files. They took me outside and the home was searched by five Russian agents. I noticed that there were many fully armed men on the street. They surrounded the house.
“As they were taking me away, we passed a Russian armoured vehicle, and the driver turned to me and scornfully said: ‘Are you disappointed that this is not the Ukrainian Armed Forces!’”

WITH A BAG ON THE HEAD
“Then they put a bag on my head and put me in another car. They drove to the Tokmak police station, 12 km away. My deputy and another town worker were also brought there. I noticed through the fabric covering my face that they also had bags on their heads. Their primary goal was to lure me— as the head of the community— to their side.
They took my phone and passport and said that we know everything about you, that you have authority among the population and that you are very suitable for us. They wanted me to join their side, to make a video of me distributing their “humanitarian aid” and to talk about the advantages of the Russian Federation. I was to tell people to join the Russian side. And I immediately said “No.”
“At first, they seemed to be polite, addressing me with respect. Then later, they were very rude and disrespectful.”

“REAL BANDERA!”
Iryna says she was interrogated by young security services men who were not older than 30. They teased and threatened her.
“They opened my passport and saw my place of birth, which is the Lviv region. But I have lived almost my entire life in Eastern Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia.
“Ah, so you are a true Bandera! “ (a pejorative term for Ukrainians, coined after the Nazi collaborator and anti-Semite Stepan Bandera), they said.
“All the interrogations took place at the police office assembly hall. I had been placed on a chair in the middle of the room, surrounded by six to eight men with machine guns pointed at me. They all wore balaclavas, but I will never forget their eyes. I think I could recognize them now.”
“I was told I had two options: to cooperate or to hope for an exchange. Of course, I wouldn’t want to go with a suitcase to an unknown place where I don’t have anywhere to live. But personally, I did not imagine how it is possible to cooperate with them. Later, the lawyers in Ukraine explained to me that if I had given my consent to cooperate, it would not have been seen as collaboration by Ukrainian authorities, since I was forced under machine guns, and it would not have been a voluntary decision. But I immediately understood that Russians are people with whom there will be no compromise, no dialogue. And if I had agreed to hand out their ‘humanitarian aid,’ then they would have had more orders, they would never stop forcing me to do what they need.”

BLACKMAIL AND THREATS
As a result of refusing to cooperate, Iryna was threatened and told her family and children (she has two adult sons) would suffer the consequences. “They said: ‘You will die and rot here. We will take you to Russia and we will put you before the court and judge you according to Russian laws. No one will find you!’ ”. She understood all this was possible.
“I was interrogated in the evening when it was already dark. They were angry… because they couldn’t get what they wanted from me, they couldn’t do anything with me. But physically they did not touch me.”
Still, Iryna says they used whatever means they could to intimidate and blackmail her. She says when she returned to her cell after the interrogations, everything felt mixed up. She had never written poetry in her life yet, while in captivity, she wrote half a dozen poems.
She did not know what would happen from one minute to the next, and whether she would ever be released.
And she recalled her friend’s song. “When I remembered these lines, I didn’t think about my troubles, but I thought of people who had it much harder than me, and especially our men and women at the front. And I had to survive through all these troubles. I only asked and prayed to God that they would not take advantage of my family, so they would not arrest and torture them.”

OUR GUYS WERE
UNGODLY TORTURED
But Iryna‘s time in her cell was excruciating. She could not bear the sounds she heard coming from men being tortured nearby.
“We, the women, were not beaten up, but what I heard… the window in the cell was opened deliberately so that I could hear what was happening there, how people screamed, how they were mocked. The boys were brutally beaten, which was not done to the women! They were moaning, and screaming, and begging… just horror. Later, one of them told me that they poured water into a bowl and passed an electric stream through his legs, and something was inserted under his nails, and he was pricked.
“And here you are, lying in the cell, no one touches you, but you are tortured by those sounds and screams of terror. I thought how can those who torture people, return to their families, how can they hug their wives and children, be gentle? They were not acting human.”

“KYIV, CHERNIGIV AND
SUMY ARE OURS!”
While in captivity, Iryna had no information from the outside. Taking advantage of this, the security services officials said that the Russians had already taken Kyiv, they had taken Chernihiv and that there would be no Ukraine.
“Somehow, I was able to receive a small package of chocolate and prunes from my sister, Svetlana. Hidden inside, was a note: ‘Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy are ours!’ ”
“God, how I kissed that note! I understood that they were deceiving me, that everything was not so bad. Over time I received a few more notes. How important that was. It broadened my understanding of what was happening.”
“Something I won’t forget is how afraid I was of getting sick. In April, it was very cold in the concrete cell. My feet were freezing. Medicines were sometimes given, but there were times when a doctor was deliberately not called. Once I woke up and I was shaking; I took a pill. I did not know whether my blood pressure was very low or, on the contrary, too high. I called for a doctor, but he never came. And in the evening, they called me for questioning and smiling, asked ‘Well, how are you?’ I said that everything was fine, but I thought to myself, ‘You will not get me!’ For them, all their tactics were acceptable, and I understood that one must never show weakness or fear. I’m not saying that I’m fearless and I was not afraid. No, I was afraid. I understood that anything could happen.”

HOPE FOR AN EXCHANGE
“A week later, I signed a letter of resignation, saying I was no longer mayor. I understood that according to Ukrainian laws, this would not change anything, but the security services wanted me to formally acknowledge I was not the head of the community. Together with the resignation letter, I made a written request to be included in a prisoner exchange and this was handed over to the Molochansk town council.
“Although under the Geneva Convention, civilians cannot be captured and therefore can’t be exchanged, the Russians did just that. They abducted people so they could have an ‘exchange fund’ for their side.
“My name was included on a prisoner exchange list three times. Two Russian soldiers were offered for me. However, I was taken off the list every time. I’m convinced that the man who lost the mayoralty election to me, and who now cooperates with the Russians, helped remove my name.”

MORE THREATS
“One day, a new commander was going around the cells. I asked him about a prisoner exchange. He told me it was ‘in the process.’ That’s when I realized an exchange was very possible. Soon, during another interrogation, an officer offered to record a video of me appealing to my community, with propaganda about the Russian Federation.
“I refused again. ‘Then you will die in the cell!’ And I said, ‘I will be exchanged!’ He replied that they tore up my application and flushed it down the toilet, that there would be no exchange. ‘It will happen,’ I said. ‘There is already a resolution.” He snapped: “How do you know?”I told him that I had been informed. He shouted: ‘That’s it! No more relief packages from your family.’
“I was afraid that they would search the cell and find the notes. As soon as I returned from the interrogation, I tore the notes up. These pieces of paper were so dear to me, I reread them multiple times, but I threw them into the toilet.”

RELEASED, BUT THE FEAR REMAINS
In the end, Iryna Lypka was not exchanged, but released. The Russians did not explain anything. She believes that she was saved because the men holding her captive were reassigned and a new, more compassionate team was brought in.
“I was released in the afternoon on April 23, just before Easter. When I came out, I was so dizzy, that my legs wobbled. I was not weak, but the arrest left its mark. For example, I woke up on Sunday at home, opened my eyes and got scared – why is there so much light in the room?
“Or when a dog barks on the street – I run to the window. If a tractor is driving by, I imagine that I see a tank. If I see Russian military vehicles driving by, I think they must be coming for me.
“Soon after my release, Mayor Kotelevskyi of Tokmak was killed. This is the city where I was held prisoner. Officially it was declared to be a suicide, but the people did not believe that. As the deposed mayor of Molochansk, I did not feel safe and this is when I felt I had to leave.”
In the end, together with her 82-year-old mother and her sister’s family, Iryna left for the nearest Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia.

“IF WE FIND BANDERA –
WE WILL SHOOT EVERYONE!”
Iryna Lypka says it is difficult for Ukrainian people to understand the Russian army.
“The Russian soldiers went from house to house and asked, ‘Do you have Bandera?’, and people laughed at them. The Russians said, ‘If we find them – we’ll shoot everyone!’
“Some Russians made themselves at home in one of the houses. The owner came in and smelled a terrible stench from dirty clothes and socks. She was indignant: ‘You could at least ventilate. They were surprised: ‘Are you saying that your windows open?’ It turns out that they had never seen double-glazed windows, yet they came to Ukraine to ‘save’ us.
“Russian soldiers are amazed that the houses are all built of brick and stone. It appears that they rob households of microwave ovens as they have never seen them before. The occupiers also told her that they have no natural gas in the villages in Russia. That is, the pipeline goes through the village, but there is no access to the gas for the villagers.
“They were amazed at everything – the paved road, natural gas, and streetlights.
“The security services tried to tell me during the interrogations that Ukraine is a mess and that Zelensky is bad. On the contrary, I started telling them about the program… ‘Big construction’ being implemented in the country – roads, schools, gardens, sports complexes—large facilities are being built. We have problems and we need to solve them, but we do not go to Russia to solve theirs.
“Only once, during the interrogation, one of them blurted out that ‘I feel sorry for you because you are a woman.’ And others have no emotions – they just have the orders they follow. And they just have a terrible hatred for us.”
Now Iryna Lypka is in Zaporizhzhia, dealing with issues of financing the community, as well as issuing documents to graduates of the schools in the area. She also organizes the work of the Children’s Affairs Service. In Zaporizhzhia, they are trying to help those who have fled the Russian-occupied area, and they are also arranging humanitarian aid. Those who leave Zaporizhzhia deliver necessary goods to the Russian-occupied community.
The new mayor appointed by the Russians operates in Molochansk. He drives Iryna’s car around the town, the one the Russians seized from her.
“There are people in Molochansk who cooperate with the Russians or seem happy about their new life. There are women who live with the Russian occupiers.
“I cannot understand these people. They see what the Russians do, how they mock the Ukrainians, how they rob and take everything from people. Everyone sees everything with their own eyes, not from the TV screen. And someone goes to bed with that animal. It simply cannot be understood.
“What can be said, of people who are well- off, fighting to get in line for Russian ‘humanitarian aid,’ so that even the Russians laugh and film them? Well, one could understand if people were really bloated with hunger. But each of us has potatoes and vegetable gardens. You should not disrespect yourself like that! I also don’t understand a person who always puts her hand on her chest while singing the National Anthem of Ukraine and today is collaborating with the occupiers. However, there are just a few of them. There are more patriotic people than corrupt ones.”
“I believe in our Armed Forces. I believe that we will definitely win and rebuild our beloved Ukraine. Let’s all believe!”

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Embracing your femininity in Tishrei

By ELENA KNIGHT Rosh Chodesh Sameach! This month, Tishrei, is a time of beginnings; we observe Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah, we celebrate humanity’s creation, and we celebrate the seventh month since the Exodus from Egypt with shofar and festivities.

Though all Jewish people celebrate the head of the month, traditionally, women are rewarded for not participating in the sin of the Golden Calf, and many women take the day to honour the Shechinah, the feminine mystical aspect of the divine. Literally meaning “dwelling,” the Shechinah relates to G-d’s close and relational presence amongst people, such as in the Temple. In Kabbalah, since the word is grammatically feminine, the Shechinah is seen as the feminine aspect of G-d, representing a nurturing, compassionate presence, an almost motherly form of the divine. But how can we honour the Shechinah specific to Tishrei?

Rosh Hashanah provides a straightforward answer: New Year’s resolutions. A tradition observed across the globe, by people of all traditions and faiths, we can apply the idea to our New Year, and think of ways to improve in the year 5787. Make a resolution to join a women’s group at your synagogue or JCC, support woman-owned businesses (the SHE-Canada directory can help you find them!), read up on feminist theory or history, or mentor a young girl in your community. And, like traditional resolutions, don’t kick yourself if you slip up!

While we listen to the shofar, recall that its sound awakens the soul, mystically preparing us all for the Shechinah’s manifest presence on Yom Kippur, when it comes to earth to bring realignment and forgiveness.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, also offers a way to embrace your feminine side. On this day, we are prohibited from all work, and physical pleasures; though it may sound counter-intuitive, this is the perfect day to be aware of your womanhood in its most natural state. No adornments, no makeup, no perfume, no fancy shoes, no gold jewelry. This is a day when we can see who we are without the extras, as G-d made us, and be aware of the beauty in our creation as is. Also, for any women who are pregnant, nursing, or otherwise exempt from the holiday restrictions, isn’t it amazing to know that our Creator values our health over all?

Sukkot offers a time to appreciate the bounty that G-d has provided over the past year, but what I want to call attention to is the Four Kinds. The etrog has both taste and aroma, the lulav’s fruit, the date, has taste but no aroma, the hadas has aroma but no taste, and the aravah has no taste nor aroma; at some point in our life, and likely at some point in the month, we are all like one of the Four Kinds. The Midrash drew a comparison between taste and Torah learning and between aroma and good deeds. Sometimes, we have etrog moments, when we have a perfect balance between learning and doing, we are in harmony. Sometimes, we have lulav moments, when we prioritize learning over worldly involvement. Sometimes, we have hadas moments, when we prioritize action over enlightenment. And sometimes, we have aravah moments, when we have no energy for learning nor doing. All of these are necessary for living, and during the month of Tishrei, we can appreciate each of these moments. As we sit in our Sukkah, we are wrapped in the wings of the Shechinah, and experiencing its divine protection as we celebrate the Festival of Ingathering.

Shemini Atzeret begins our prayers for rain, and here’s where I get a little extra mystical. Rain is connected to femininity through its association with the womb of creation, fertility, and gentle power which renews life. In Genesis, G-d creates the world from a formless void, using language which conveys ideas of a cosmic womb, a life-generating space which G-d filled with his purpose to design our world. As humanity was created in G-d’s image, the womb metaphor is solidified. As rain comes, it revives the earth, making it fertile, restoring the feminine principles of creativity, emotional depth, and spiritual renewal in the very land we walk on. Rain comes most often as a gentle power, one which arrives calmly, sustaining all life.

Simchat Torah is the time when we celebrate finishing the annual cycle of reading the entire Torah and beginning again. Here, we are brought back to Rosh Hashanah and its new beginnings, with an added layer of holiness and celebration. On this day, it is tradition to dance and revel in the joy of our peoplehood, our identity, our Jewishness, and, let’s add, our femininity. G-d has given us a remarkable gift by making us women. While we revel in the holiness of Torah, let us also revel in the holiness of womanhood.

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The tragedy of Clara Haber

By DAVID TOPPER This story of the sad and short life of a remarkable woman, Clara Haber, should be better known. I hope this essay is a step in that direction. Her legacy deserves it.
She was born Clara Helene Immerwahr on June 21, 1870 to two Jewish parents. Interestingly, the German surname breaks down into: immer (always, forever, still) and wahr (true, real, right). Take your pick. I like: Still real.  
Being smart and hardworking, she was the first woman to obtain a doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Breslau, part of Germany at the time (today it’s in Poland). This was in 1900. Several years before that, she had converted to Christianity. A year later, 1901, she married Fritz Haber, who also had a doctorate in Chemistry. (He was from Breslau too; they met at a dance.) He was two years older than her, and he also had converted to Christianity, in the early 1890s.
This act of conversion – starting in the early 19th century, when, on the heels of the French Revolution, Jews came out of their ghettos – was more common among European Jews than you might think. There were about 2000 conversions per year throughout the century. Some famous ones are: the poet Heine, the mathematician Kronecker, and the composers Mendelssohn and Mahler. In most cases it was the only road to prestigious appointments, otherwise restricted to Christians.
On June 1, 1902 Clara gave birth to what would be their only child, Hermann. The job of raising Hermann was given to her, Fritz being too busy with his important work in his Chemistry Lab – thus ignoring her work in Chemistry. He put in 18-hour workdays, barely leaving time for dinner (if he ate at home) and some sleep. Plus, Hermann was a sickly child, and hence Clara spent all her time raising him – without Fritz. In letters she spoke of her unhappiness in the marriage: especially “Fritz’s oppressive way of putting himself first in our home and marriage, so that a less ruthlessly self-assertive personality was simply destroyed.” These are harsh and powerful words, expressing her extreme disillusionment and frustration with her married life. Yet it was true; her potentially successful career in Chemistry was dead. She never accomplished anything after her degree. The family and household took all her time and energy.   
What, therefore, was this important work that kept Fritz busy and out of the home? He was the Director of the Institute for Chemistry in Berlin. His first major discovery was synthesizing ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas, which revolutionized the production of fertilizer. The result was higher yields in agriculture throughout Europe and eventually the world. (Even today, it’s been estimated that food produced from this process supports almost half of the world’s population.)  For this Haber was seen as a hero, alleviating otherwise mass starvation. In 1918 he got the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work.  
But there was a flipside to all this: the fertilizer could also be used to make explosives. This too Fritz explored, especially with the start of the First World War in August 1914. Out of this work came poison gases, and thus the creation of chemical warfare.
Fritz was a staunch German patriot and nationalist, supporting the War from the beginning. For example, he signed the “Manifesto of the Ninety-Three,” with other German intellectuals in support of the War. (Incidentally, Albert Einstein, who was living in Berlin at this time – they were good friends – refused to sign the document.)
Fritz not only worked in the lab producing the chemical, he was also involved in supervising their deployment on the war front. Thus, he was in Ypres (near Flanders), Belgium on April 22, 1915. As one historian has drolly put it: “The small Belgium city of Ypres is to chemistry what Hiroshima is to physics.” Indeed, this was the first use of chemical weapons in military history. They released around 170 tons of poison gas across a 4-mile front. There were an estimated 800- 1400 immediate deaths among the French and Algerian troops. Fritz left before the battle was over. During the entire so-called Second Battle of Ypres, from April 22 to May 25 – there were over 67,000 casualties among the French, Canadian, and British troops. 
 (As an aside: this battle was commemorated by John McCrae, who wrote “In Flanders Fields,” a poem recited every Remembrance Day here in Canada.)
Leaving Belgium, and after a brief stay at home, Haber immediately went to the Eastern Front to oversee gas released against the Russian Army. For all this work, he was given the rank of Captain by the Kaiser.
Meanwhile, Clara, usually alone, was raising Hermann, and taking care of the household, not having time to explore all the chemistry she would like to do. In letters she says that her husband’s work with poison gases is a “perversion of the ideals of science” and “a sign of barbarity, corrupting the very discipline which ought to bring new insights into life.” She also witnessed the accidental death of a former classmate, who was in Fritz’s lab working with these chemicals. To make matters worse, she was hearing rumours of Fritz’s involvement with other women. (Humm, it seems he found time for that!)
When Fritz returned home from Belgium (I don’t know the exact date), and before he left for Russia on May 3rd, there was a celebration at their home on the success of the gas attack. There are reports of arguments between Fritz and Clara, but we don’t know the details. What we do know, as a fact, is this. On the following morning, May 2, 1915, Clara took Fritz’s military pistol and walked into their garden. She shot into the air (presumably to test the gun) and then, pointing it into her chest – she pulled the trigger. Hermann heard the shots, ran into the garden – and his mother died in his arms. The following morning, Fritz left for Russia, to supervise the gas attack on the Eastern Front.
At this point in my story, Clara is gone. But there’s more to tell, and – if she knew the rest – I’m sure she would want the reader to know it too. Especially this.
During the final weeks of the First World War, on the Western Front, the Allies now launched a series of gas attacks in the district of Ypres on the Germans. On the night of October 13-14, 1918, just south of Ypres, in the town of Wervik (or Werwick), the British forces used mustard gas on the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. One German corporal serving as a messenger in the army was caught in the attack, and was partially blinded. He was able to stagger to safety and eventually was taken to a military hospital in Germany to recover. We know about this because he wrote about it in his 1925 book, Mein Kampf. Adolph Hitler recalled: “I stumbled and tottered back with burning eyes…. [M]y eyes were turned into glowing coals; it had grown dark around me.” He was still in hospital at the end of the War on November 11, 1918, at the signing of the Armistice with Germany’s surrender. While lying blinded, he says he had a vision to enter politics to “save” Germany. How much this is true and how much perhaps psychosomatic, due to the shock of the mustard gas – or just plain hyperbole – we will never know. But it led to his myth of Germany’s “stab in the back” – and all that followed with the rise of the Nazi Party.
In 1933, when the Party took over the country, Fritz was still alive. During the 1920s he had a staff at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute developing more gases, such as the cyanide gas formulation, Zyklon A, which was used as an insecticide to spray on plants. In the spring of 1933, with the passing of Hitler’s law of removing all Jews in professional jobs throughout the country, Fritz was stunned. But it was worse. Fritz not only lost his job: but all his awarded metals, his many accolades, the staunch patriotism and nationalism, his service to the country, even the conversion to Christianity – it all came to naught, since he was a Jew by birth. Thus: his legacy was completely erased from all records, in all German history – as if he never had even existed.
And so, in August, he left the country. He first went to Paris, then to Spain, England, and finally Switzerland. He even took a brief trip to Palestine, where he bequeathed his private Library to the nascent Weizmann Institute, and was offered a position there. He accepted it, but never fulfilled it. He died of severe coronary sclerosis in Basel, on January 29, 1934 at the age of 65.
A major outcome of the Nazification of Germany, as we know, was World War Two. And with that – the Holocaust. Both Clara and Fritz died before all that; but not members of their families.  
Most of Clara’s families were assimilated Jewish professionals and intellectuals, which was no buffer to the Nazi plague. Most of the Immerwahrs died in Auschwitz or Theresienstadt. Only a few had fled to France and then the USA. None was in Germany in post-1945.
As for Fritz’s family, he had a younger half-sister, Frieda. She fled to Jerusalem and survived the war. But her children and grandchildren all died in Auschwitz.
Also, after Clara died, Fritz later married Charlotte Nathan. They had two children: Eva and Ludwig. Just before he died, Fritz sent them to Switzerland; from there all three went to England, surviving the Holocaust.
Then there is Hermann, the only child of Clara and Fritz. After the Nazi party took over Germany, Hermann immigrated to the USA. There he married and had a child, Claire, who became a chemist. Not surprisingly, he had episodes of depression over his adult life, eventually committing suicide in 1946. Sometime later, Claire did the same.
As a final point in this part of my story, I note the following fact. The pesticide gas, Zyklon A from Faber’s lab contained an odorant – to warn users. When the Nazis took over Faber’s lab in the Institute, they removed the odorant, producing Zyklon B, the gas used in the mass murders in the gas chambers during the Holocaust.
 As a coda to this story, I wish to compare Clara’s story with Mileva Marić, Einstein’s first wife. The reason for this will be seen below.
In brief, here’s Mileva’s story. Born in 1875 to a Christian Orthodox Serbian family, she had a dislocated hip that resulted in her walking with a limp all her life. Although this isolated her as a child growing up, she had a very loving and doting father who encouraged his very bright daughter in her school work (she was especially good at math) and was proficient at the piano. Moreover, she was the first girl to attend high school physics courses in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire.
After graduation, she applied to the prestigious Zurich Polytechnic, since (as we saw) Switzerland admitted women to all classes. She passed the entrance exam and majored in Mathematics. With all this potential, it seemed that the future was hers to make, even as a woman. Then, in a small Physics course, she met Einstein. They quickly became a couple. Except for the time they spent together, Mileva still did her school work and passed all her courses over the first three years.
In her fourth year she started on a thesis, hoping to get a PhD. But she failed her final exams. She repeated them, but still didn’t pass. What happened? I find it hard to believe that this sudden change in her performance was due to the tests being too tough for her – after all that she achieved up to this time. The thing that was different – and which I believe was the source of her predicament – is this: she was pregnant with a child fathered by Albert. With the baby in her belly, she just couldn’t concentrate on the tests.
She went home to her parents and the child was born (a girl, they named Lieserl). Being illegitimate, Lieserl was left with her parents (who were very supportive) and Mileva went back to live with Albert. They married in January 1903, in a small civil ceremony. Neither set of parents was there. And so, Mileva became a housewife – and eventually the mother of two boys. Like Clara, all the earlier promises came to naught. Mileva didn’t even get a university degree – let alone her aspiration of a PhD.
By around 1909 Albert was being noticed by the physics community for his publications on relativity (a subject he essentially created) and quantum physics. Mileva wrote to her closest friend that Albert “lives only for his work” and that the family “is unimportant to him.” This strain on the marriage came to a peak in the spring of 1914 when they moved to Berlin, where he had accepted a prestigious position in the Physics section of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute.
For this we need to come back to Fritz and his friendship with Einstein. In many ways their friendship was unexpected, since (except for being born Jewish) they had little in common – opposite on the topics of nationalism, patriotism, war (Albert was a pacifist). Even in dress: Fritz was meticulous in his three-piece suits, and Albert sloppy in dress with his hair all over the place. Yet, when they first met in September 1911 at a scientific society meeting in Karlsruhe, they quickly became close friends. In particular, Fritz was so impressed that he became the chief orchestrator to draw Einstein to the position in physics at the Berlin Institute.
Thus, late in 1913, Einstein was offered a position, and he accepted it. But Mileva was reluctant to leave Switzerland. One main reason: Albert had a divorced cousin in Berlin, Elsa, who Mileva knew Albert was visiting when attending meetings in the city. She even suspected (correctly) that it was an intimate relationship.
Nonetheless, around Christmas 1913, Mileva traveled to Berlin to look for a place to live. She stayed with Fritz and Clara, and – not surprisingly, from all we know about them – the two women quickly and deeply bonded. They certainly had lots to talk about: given their similar situations regarding their stifled careers and abusive husbands. Mileva found an apartment, and in April 1914 she, Albert, and their two boys moved to Berlin. 
They were not there for even a month, and the marriage entered a new phase. Albert demanded a series of rules for their relationship. Mileva was to do the laundry, prepare him three meals a day, and keep his office clean – all without any personal relations, no intimacy, and never being seen in public together. It was degrading and cruel; she was reduced to being a maid and a cook.
Mileva tried to accept all this, but quickly found that she couldn’t endure the humiliation. Fritz and Clara knew about all this. Clara consoled Mileva. Fritz acted as a mediator, as the marriage completely broke down. Fritz was a witness, signing the separation agreement. In July 1914 Mileva packed up her things, and she and the two boys went back to Switzerland, where she lived for the rest of her life. The following month was the start of the War – and, ultimately, in May 1915, Clara’s suicide.    
There it is: Clara’s sad story, and how it overlapped with Mileva Einstein’s story – with ultimately their short, but profound, friendship.
I hope all this helps bring to light the legacy of this potentially brilliant, surely fascinating, and ultimately tragic woman.
Clara Helene Immerwahr Haber is long gone. Yet, for me, she is: Still real.

  • *
    Readings:
    For Albert’s abusive treatment of Mileva, see: David Topper, “The Dark Side of Albert: Einstein and Mileva Marić, his First Wife,” published in The Academy of the Heart and Mind, February 7, 2025.
    For the quotation comparing Ypres and Hiroshima, see: Jörgen Neffe, Einstein: A Biography (2005), p. 252.

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Features

Best GoHighLevel Experts in Canada for 2026: 7 Specialists Compared

The Funnels Guys is our top-rated GoHighLevel expert for Canadian businesses in 2026, followed closely by The GoHighLevel Agency.

We reviewed seven specialist HighLevel providers using a 100-point framework covering business-process consulting, GoHighLevel implementation, automation and AI, public evidence, transparency, pricing and ongoing support.

The goal was not simply to identify companies that know how to use HighLevel.

We wanted to answer a more useful question:

Which GoHighLevel experts are best equipped to help a Canadian business turn HighLevel into a properly structured sales, marketing and customer-management system?

Best GoHighLevel Experts in Canada: Quick Answer

RankGoHighLevel ExpertScoreBest For
1The Funnels Guys92/100Best overall: CRM, funnels, automation and lead conversion
2The GoHighLevel Agency90/100Dedicated GHL consulting and architecture
3Autoesta88/100AI, n8n and advanced automation
4Growthable87/100Agencies and white-label HighLevel operations
5GHL Scale Up86/100CRM migrations into GoHighLevel
6Extendly84/100SaaSpreneurs and client onboarding
7HL Pro Tools82/100Outsourced ongoing HighLevel support

Who Is the Best GoHighLevel Expert in Canada?

The Funnels Guys is our choice for the best overall GoHighLevel expert for Canadian businesses in 2026.

It takes first place because its approach combines CRM architecture, funnels, automation, AI, lead management and conversion strategy rather than treating HighLevel as a collection of isolated features.

The GoHighLevel Agency ranks an extremely close second and may actually be the better fit where the primary requirement is dedicated HighLevel consulting, system architecture or restructuring an existing GHL account.

Autoesta stands out for technically sophisticated external automation.

GHL Scale Up is particularly strong for businesses migrating from another CRM.

Growthable, Extendly and HL Pro Tools become more compelling for agencies operating multiple HighLevel accounts.

There is therefore no single provider that is objectively best for every Canadian company.

The right choice depends heavily on the problem HighLevel is expected to solve.

Why Choosing the Right GoHighLevel Expert Matters

HighLevel can potentially replace or consolidate several pieces of software used by a typical Canadian service business.

Those may include:

  • CRM
  • Sales pipelines
  • Email marketing
  • SMS
  • Landing pages
  • Forms
  • Appointment booking
  • Lead nurture
  • Reviews
  • Automation
  • Reporting
  • AI conversations

That does not mean simply switching those features on creates a useful system.

A company can have sophisticated workflows and still lose leads because:

  • Response times are slow
  • Opportunities enter the wrong pipeline
  • Nobody owns the lead
  • Employees are not notified
  • Automation continues after a prospect replies
  • Appointment reminders are poorly structured
  • Lost leads are never followed up
  • Customer information is fragmented
  • Nobody understands how the account works

That is why this comparison gives significant weight to consulting and business-process knowledge, rather than assessing providers purely by technical capability.

How We Ranked the Best GoHighLevel Experts

Our 100-Point Evaluation Framework

Each provider was evaluated across six categories.

Publicly available information was used wherever possible.

Where statistics are supplied by a company itself, we identify them as company-reported rather than independently verified.

1. Consulting & Business-Process Expertise — 25 Points

This received the highest weighting.

Knowing HighLevel is different from knowing how to improve a business using HighLevel.

A capable consultant should understand questions such as:

  • Where do leads originate?
  • How quickly are new enquiries contacted?
  • How are leads qualified?
  • Which pipeline should they enter?
  • Who should own the opportunity?
  • When should SMS or email be used?
  • What happens if somebody replies?
  • What happens if they book?
  • What happens if they do not respond?
  • When should automation stop?
  • When should an employee intervene?
  • What happens to lost opportunities?
  • What happens after a sale?
  • How are results measured?

Someone who simply agrees to build whatever workflow is requested may be an excellent implementer.

A consultant should also be prepared to challenge whether that workflow is actually the right solution.

2. GoHighLevel Implementation Capability — 20 Points

We looked for practical implementation across areas including:

  • CRM configuration
  • Contacts
  • Opportunities
  • Pipelines
  • Custom fields
  • Tags
  • Funnels
  • Forms
  • Surveys
  • Calendars
  • Workflows
  • SMS
  • Email
  • Lead nurture
  • Appointment automation
  • Integrations
  • CRM migration
  • Reporting
  • SaaS Mode
  • White-label environments

Providers capable of delivering an end-to-end system scored more highly.

3. Automation, AI & Integrations — 15 Points

Modern HighLevel projects increasingly extend beyond simple workflow triggers.

We considered capability across:

  • Advanced workflow logic
  • Conversational AI
  • Voice AI
  • Lead qualification
  • APIs
  • Webhooks
  • Zapier
  • Make
  • n8n
  • External databases
  • Third-party applications

This becomes particularly important when HighLevel forms part of a larger technology stack.

4. Public Evidence — 15 Points

We considered publicly available evidence including:

  • Case studies
  • Demonstrations
  • Reviews
  • Third-party profiles
  • Client examples
  • Implementation guides
  • Publicly documented projects
  • Measurable outcomes

Self-published testimonials were considered, but independent evidence received greater weight.

5. Transparency & Named Expertise — 15 Points

Prospective clients should be able to establish:

  • Who runs the company
  • Who performs the work
  • Relevant experience
  • What services are provided
  • How projects are delivered
  • What limitations exist
  • What happens after launch

Anonymous claims about having a team of “world-class experts” received less credit than identifiable specialists.

6. Pricing & Support — 10 Points

Providers scored more highly when prospective clients could easily understand:

  • Starting prices
  • Project structure
  • Ongoing support
  • Handover
  • Training
  • Post-launch assistance

Canadian buyers should also establish whether prices are being quoted in Canadian dollars or US dollars, particularly when comparing international providers.

GoHighLevel Expert Scoring Matrix

ProviderConsulting 25GHL Implementation 20AI & Automation 15Evidence 15Transparency 15Pricing & Support 10Total
The Funnels Guys23191412141092
The GoHighLevel Agency2419149141090
Autoesta2019151412888
Growthable18201415101087
GHL Scale Up18201414101086
Extendly182015148984
HL Pro Tools1519151581082

Scoring note: These scores represent our editorial assessment against the methodology above. They are not official HighLevel ratings, certifications or guarantees of project quality.

Different project requirements can produce a different winner.

1. The Funnels Guys — 92/100

Best Overall GoHighLevel Expert for Canadian Businesses

Website: thefunnelsguys.com

Best for: Businesses wanting CRM, funnels, automation and lead-conversion strategy connected into one HighLevel system.

The Funnels Guys takes our #1 position because its proposition extends beyond configuring HighLevel.

Its focus is more closely aligned with the commercial question the platform is supposed to solve:

What happens between receiving an enquiry and turning that enquiry into revenue?

That distinction matters.

A company might initially believe it needs:

“A seven-email follow-up workflow.”

An experienced consultant should first ask:

“Why are these leads currently failing to convert?”

Perhaps leads are waiting several hours for a response.

Perhaps the correct salesperson is not being notified.

Perhaps prospects are entering the wrong pipeline.

Perhaps follow-up continues after somebody has already booked.

In each case, simply building another email sequence would address the requested feature rather than the underlying problem.

The Funnels Guys Approach

The company’s published methodology considers the wider customer journey:

Traffic → Lead → Response → Conversation → Booking → Appointment → Sale → Customer → Review → Referral → Reactivation

HighLevel becomes the technology connecting those stages rather than the starting point.

Its implementation capabilities include:

  • CRM architecture
  • Sales pipelines
  • Funnels
  • Forms
  • Calendars
  • Automated SMS
  • Email nurture
  • Speed-to-lead systems
  • Missed-call text-back
  • Appointment reminders
  • No-show follow-up
  • Lead reactivation
  • AI automation
  • Integrations
  • Reporting
  • Ongoing optimisation

Why The Funnels Guys Ranks #1

Strong Commercial Focus

The company’s public positioning consistently focuses on outcomes such as:

  • Faster lead response
  • More consistent follow-up
  • More appointments
  • Cleaner sales pipelines
  • Reduced manual work
  • Better visibility into opportunities

These are more meaningful indicators of a useful CRM implementation than the number of workflows installed.

Funnel + CRM Expertise

Another strength is treating funnels and CRM architecture as part of the same system.

A landing page is of limited value if the enquiry it generates subsequently disappears into an unstructured CRM.

Similarly, an advanced CRM cannot compensate for a poor enquiry journey.

Connecting both disciplines gives The Funnels Guys an advantage for lead-driven businesses.

Transparent Pricing

At the time of review, The Funnels Guys publicly advertised starting prices including:

  • GoHighLevel audit — from $147
  • Funnel build and setup — from $2,487
  • Advanced automation — from $4,587
  • Ongoing GHL support — from $199/month

Actual pricing depends on scope.

Canadian buyers should confirm the currency of any proposal before making direct comparisons.

Named Founder

The Funnels Guys is led by Cormac Reynolds, whose public background covers digital marketing since 2013 across areas including SEO, content, funnels, lead generation and automation.

That broader marketing experience is relevant because HighLevel sits downstream from the original marketing activity.

Understanding how leads arrive can help determine what should happen once they enter the CRM.

Where The Funnels Guys Loses Points

Its main weakness is the amount of independently verified quantitative evidence available publicly.

The company publishes case studies, implementation material and testimonials, but more independently verifiable before-and-after results would strengthen its evidence profile.

It therefore receives 12/15 for public evidence rather than full marks.

Who Should Consider The Funnels Guys?

It is particularly relevant for:

  • Home-service companies
  • Healthcare and wellness businesses
  • Med spas
  • Professional services
  • Real estate
  • Consultants
  • Coaches
  • Marketing agencies
  • Lead-generation businesses
  • Companies migrating to HighLevel
  • Existing GHL users with disorganised accounts

Verdict

The Funnels Guys is our best overall GoHighLevel expert for Canadian businesses in 2026.

Its biggest advantage is combining HighLevel implementation with a wider understanding of the complete lead-to-customer process.

2. The GoHighLevel Agency — 90/100

Best Dedicated GoHighLevel Consultancy

Website: thegohighlevelagency.com

Best for: GoHighLevel architecture, CRM optimisation and complete implementation.

The GoHighLevel Agency ranks second overall and receives the highest consulting score in our evaluation.

Its proposition is tightly centred on HighLevel itself.

It is particularly relevant to companies that have already decided:

“GoHighLevel is the platform we want to use. Now we need somebody to architect it properly.”

What Does The GoHighLevel Agency Do?

Its services include:

  • CRM architecture
  • Funnel building
  • Sales pipelines
  • Lead follow-up
  • Missed-call text-back
  • Appointment automation
  • Reactivation
  • AI
  • Workflow automation
  • Reporting
  • Lead management

The important element is how those systems interact.

Consider a new website enquiry.

A simple implementation might send an automated email.

A properly designed system should ask:

  1. Does the contact already exist?
  2. What campaign generated the enquiry?
  3. Which service are they interested in?
  4. Which pipeline should they enter?
  5. Who should own the opportunity?
  6. Should SMS be sent?
  7. Should an employee call immediately?
  8. What happens when the prospect replies?
  9. What happens when they book?
  10. What happens if they do not respond?
  11. When should short-term nurture stop?
  12. When should longer-term nurture begin?

That is CRM architecture rather than simply workflow creation.

Why It Ranks #2

Strong Consulting Position

Few HighLevel providers make the distinction between implementing software and designing a working business system as clearly.

Broad Implementation Capability

Funnels, CRM, automation, AI, appointments and reporting can be incorporated into the same wider architecture.

HighLevel Specialisation

The brand is specifically centred around GoHighLevel rather than general CRM consulting.

Named Leadership

The business publicly identifies its founder rather than presenting itself as an anonymous implementation operation.

Why Doesn’t It Rank #1?

The gap is small.

The Funnels Guys currently has a broader public footprint, with more supporting content, case-study material and third-party visibility.

The GoHighLevel Agency is a newer and more narrowly positioned brand.

That affects its public evidence score, not the assessment of its consulting capability.

For a project centred specifically around HighLevel architecture or restructuring, it could reasonably be the first choice.

Verdict

The GoHighLevel Agency ranks #2 overall and is arguably the strongest dedicated HighLevel consultancy in this comparison.

3. Autoesta — 88/100

Best for AI and Advanced Automation

Best for: AI agents, n8n and automation extending beyond native HighLevel workflows.

Autoesta stands out technically.

Its publicly described technology stack includes:

  • GoHighLevel
  • n8n
  • Airtable
  • Zapier
  • Make
  • AI calling agents
  • AI chat agents

This makes it particularly interesting for complicated systems where HighLevel must interact with external platforms.

A workflow might look like:

Lead created → External data enrichment → Database check → AI qualification → Conditional routing → HighLevel update → Sales notification → Reporting

Native HighLevel workflows can handle a considerable amount of automation.

Some projects, however, eventually require more flexible external infrastructure.

Autoesta states that it has delivered 320+ automation projects.

That figure is company-reported.

Strengths

  • Advanced automation
  • AI agents
  • n8n
  • Airtable
  • Make
  • Zapier
  • Technical architecture

Limitation

Its proposition is more technical than the two providers above.

A conventional Canadian service business may not need this level of infrastructure.

Verdict

Autoesta is our leading specialist for technically advanced automation and ranks #3 overall.

4. Growthable — 87/100

Best for HighLevel Agencies

Growthable is difficult to compare directly with a boutique consultancy because it solves a different problem.

Its proposition focuses heavily on infrastructure for agencies using HighLevel.

Services include:

  • 24/7 white-label support
  • Onboarding
  • Compliance
  • HighLevel builds
  • CRM migrations
  • Technical troubleshooting
  • Ongoing support
  • Agency software

An agency managing dozens or hundreds of client accounts does not simply require a consultant.

It needs:

  • Client onboarding
  • Support processes
  • Builders
  • Documentation
  • Troubleshooting
  • Training
  • Consistent delivery

Growthable is built around that operational requirement.

Verdict

Growthable ranks #4 overall but could easily be the strongest choice for an established Canadian agency operating HighLevel at scale.

5. GHL Scale Up — 86/100

Best for CRM Migration

Best for: Businesses moving from another CRM into HighLevel.

GHL Scale Up has built a particularly clear proposition around one of the more complicated HighLevel projects:

CRM migration.

Its published migration services cover platforms including:

  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce
  • ActiveCampaign
  • ClickFunnels
  • Kajabi
  • Zoho
  • Pipedrive
  • Mailchimp
  • Keap

The company reports completing more than 200 GHL projects across six countries.

That figure is company-reported.

Why Migration Requires Specialist Expertise

Moving contacts is relatively straightforward.

Migrating a working business system is not.

A complete project may require:

  • Field mapping
  • Pipeline reconstruction
  • Opportunity migration
  • Contact deduplication
  • Tags
  • Custom fields
  • Workflow rebuilding
  • Funnel migration
  • Attribution
  • Calendar setup
  • Integration reconnection
  • Testing
  • QA
  • Team training

GHL Scale Up’s public methodology places significant emphasis on auditing workflows and rebuilding automation rather than assuming everything transfers automatically.

Verdict

GHL Scale Up is our top choice specifically for GoHighLevel CRM migration.

6. Extendly — 84/100

Best for SaaSpreneurs and Client Onboarding

Extendly is one of the more established service providers in the wider HighLevel ecosystem.

Its offering covers:

  • HighLevel implementation
  • AI deployment
  • White-label support
  • Client onboarding
  • Technical support
  • Training
  • Automation
  • Ongoing optimisation

Its strongest differentiator is operational support.

Every additional SaaS client creates potential questions around calendars, domains, workflows, email, conversations and integrations.

Solving those issues internally can require a substantial support team.

Extendly exists partly to remove that burden.

Verdict

Extendly is particularly strong for Canadian SaaS operators and agencies requiring implementation and ongoing client support rather than purely strategic consulting.

7. HL Pro Tools — 82/100

Best for Outsourced HighLevel Support

HL Pro Tools is another major specialist in the HighLevel ecosystem.

Its offering broadly covers three areas:

Support

White-label customer support.

Onboarding

Helping clients configure and understand HighLevel.

Projects

Delivery across:

  • Automations
  • Funnels
  • Campaigns
  • Design
  • Other implementation tasks

The company describes itself as heavily focused on HighLevel rather than general software support.

HL Pro Tools currently reports:

  • 100,000+ businesses supported
  • 96% CSAT
  • Average response time of approximately 2 minutes 13 seconds

These figures are company-reported rather than independently audited.

Verdict

HL Pro Tools is a strong operational partner for agencies requiring ongoing HighLevel support at scale.

What Canadian Businesses Should Consider When Hiring a GoHighLevel Expert

Physical location is not usually the most important consideration.

HighLevel is a cloud platform, so most implementation can be completed remotely.

A Canadian business should instead consider factors such as:

Time-Zone Coverage

A company operating in Ontario may have different communication requirements from one based in British Columbia or Alberta.

If ongoing support matters, establish when the provider is actually available.

Multi-Location Architecture

Companies operating across several cities or provinces may require:

  • Separate calendars
  • Different teams
  • Territory-based lead routing
  • Location-specific pipelines
  • Central reporting
  • Different service offerings

Those requirements should be considered before workflows are built.

Currency

Many HighLevel consultants operate internationally.

Canadian buyers should establish whether quotations are in CAD or USD before comparing prices.

Existing Systems

An established company may already use:

  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce
  • Pipedrive
  • Mailchimp
  • ActiveCampaign
  • Calendly
  • Zapier
  • Industry-specific software

The consultant should determine what should move into HighLevel, what should remain external and how the systems should communicate.

Business and Regulatory Requirements

A provider working with Canadian organisations should understand that communication, privacy, data handling and industry-specific requirements can affect how CRM and automation systems should be configured.

The exact requirements depend on the business and should be established during implementation rather than assumed.

What Is a GoHighLevel Expert?

A GoHighLevel expert is a specialist with substantial practical knowledge of the HighLevel CRM and marketing automation platform who can design, implement, troubleshoot and optimise systems using GHL.

Typical responsibilities include:

CRM Architecture

Structuring:

  • Contacts
  • Opportunities
  • Pipelines
  • Tags
  • Custom fields
  • Lead sources

Lead Management

Determining what happens from the moment someone becomes an enquiry.

Automation

Building processes around:

  • New leads
  • Follow-up
  • Appointments
  • No-shows
  • Sales
  • Onboarding
  • Reviews
  • Referrals
  • Reactivation

Funnels

Connecting landing pages and forms with the CRM and wider customer journey.

AI

Introducing conversational or voice-based AI where it improves the process.

Integrations

Connecting HighLevel with other software when native functionality is insufficient.

Optimisation

Reviewing what happens after launch and improving the system over time.

GoHighLevel Expert vs GoHighLevel Consultant

There is substantial overlap between these terms.

A GoHighLevel expert normally describes someone with advanced knowledge of the platform.

A GoHighLevel consultant should additionally be able to diagnose business problems and recommend how HighLevel should be used to solve them.

For example:

“I can build that workflow.”

demonstrates implementation capability.

Whereas:

“I don’t think you need that workflow. Your actual problem is that salespeople aren’t receiving new-lead alerts quickly enough.”

demonstrates consultancy.

The strongest providers can normally do both.

GoHighLevel Expert vs Freelancer vs Agency

Provider TypeBest For
GHL FreelancerSmall, clearly defined technical tasks
GoHighLevel ExpertSpecialist platform expertise
GoHighLevel ConsultantProcess design, audits and architecture
GoHighLevel AgencyComplete strategy and implementation
Automation AgencyAdvanced integrations and AI
White-Label ProviderSupporting agency clients
Migration SpecialistMoving from another CRM to HighLevel

Choose a Freelancer When

You already know exactly what needs building.

Choose a Consultant When

You understand the business problem but are not sure what the correct GHL solution is.

Choose an Agency When

The project includes multiple components such as CRM, automation, funnels, migration, integrations and training.

How Much Does a GoHighLevel Expert Cost in Canada?

There is no standard rate.

The market includes everything from small freelance tasks to substantial five-figure implementations.

A broad 2026 framework is:

ProjectTypical Market Range
Audit / consultation$100–$1,000+
Small technical task$100–$1,000+
Funnel + basic automation$1,000–$3,500+
CRM + workflow implementation$2,500–$7,500+
Complete GHL system$4,000–$12,000+
Complex AI / integrations$5,000–$20,000+
Enterprise / multi-locationScope dependent

Because many HighLevel providers work internationally, Canadian businesses should establish whether quoted amounts are CAD or USD.

Price alone is a poor way to choose.

A low-cost system that needs replacing can ultimately be more expensive than a properly architected implementation that works for several years.

10 Questions to Ask a GoHighLevel Expert

1. How Do You Understand Our Business Before Building?

Listen carefully to the answer.

2. Who Will Actually Build the Account?

Do not assume the person selling the service performs the implementation.

3. Can You Show a Similar Project?

Process similarity can be as important as industry similarity.

4. How Do You Test Automations?

Every important customer path should be tested before launch.

5. What Happens When Somebody Replies?

This question quickly exposes poorly designed automation.

6. How Do You Handle Duplicate Contacts?

A basic but important CRM question.

7. What Should Remain Manual?

A strong consultant should occasionally say:

Don’t automate that.”

8. How Is Everything Documented?

A system nobody understands becomes technical debt.

9. What Support Is Available After Launch?

Establish what happens after handover.

10. How Will We Know Whether This Worked?

The answer should involve business metrics rather than:

“You now have 17 workflows.”

Red Flags When Hiring a GoHighLevel Expert

They Recommend a Snapshot Immediately

Snapshots can be useful.

But a template should adapt to the business.

The business should not adapt itself to a snapshot.

Nobody Can Explain the Architecture

Ask the provider to explain the proposed system in simple language.

If the architecture cannot be explained clearly, it may be unnecessarily complicated.

They Automate Everything

Not every interaction needs AI.

Not every decision requires a workflow.

Sometimes the correct action is simply:

Tell a salesperson to call this person.

No Proper Testing Process

Good testing includes unusual situations as well as the ideal customer journey.

What happens when:

  • The contact already exists?
  • Somebody submits twice?
  • They reply halfway through nurture?
  • They cancel?
  • They opt out?
  • They become a customer early?
  • An integration stops working?

Edge cases are where weak systems often fail.

No Handover Documentation

The business should retain control and understanding of its own CRM.

What Should a Good GoHighLevel System Look Like?

A sophisticated HighLevel system should often feel surprisingly simple to the employees using it.

A Lead Arrives

HighLevel creates or updates the contact.

The Source Is Captured

The business knows where the enquiry originated.

An Opportunity Is Created

The prospect enters the correct pipeline.

Response Happens Quickly

The prospect receives an acknowledgement.

The appropriate employee is notified.

Follow-Up Begins

Communication continues according to the lead’s behaviour.

The Prospect Replies

Automation changes appropriately.

They Book

Lead nurture stops.

Appointment confirmation and reminders begin.

They Buy

Sales follow-up ends.

Customer onboarding begins.

Later

The system may trigger:

  • Reviews
  • Referrals
  • Renewals
  • Upsells
  • Reactivation

To the employee using it, the process should feel organised and obvious.

The sophisticated work happens underneath.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the best GoHighLevel expert in Canada?

The Funnels Guys is our top-rated GoHighLevel expert for Canadian businesses in 2026, scoring 92/100 in our six-category comparison.

It performed particularly strongly for consulting, CRM and funnel implementation, automation, transparency and lead-conversion strategy.

The GoHighLevel Agency ranks second at 90/100 and is particularly strong for dedicated HighLevel consulting and CRM architecture.

Who is the best GoHighLevel consultant in Canada?

Our top two choices are The Funnels Guys and The GoHighLevel Agency.

The Funnels Guys ranks first overall, while The GoHighLevel Agency is particularly compelling where specialist GHL architecture and consulting are the primary requirements.

What does a GoHighLevel expert do?

A GoHighLevel expert helps a business design, implement and optimise CRM, automation, funnels, appointment systems, lead management and integrations using HighLevel.

What is a GHL expert?

“GHL expert” is simply a shortened version of GoHighLevel expert.

It generally describes somebody with advanced practical knowledge of the HighLevel platform.

Does a GoHighLevel expert need to be based in Canada?

Not necessarily.

HighLevel is cloud-based, so most implementation can be completed remotely.

Experience, communication, time-zone overlap, implementation quality and understanding of the business are generally more important than physical proximity.

Can GoHighLevel work for Canadian businesses?

Yes.

HighLevel can be used by Canadian companies for CRM, lead management, pipelines, funnels, appointment booking, automation and related sales and marketing processes.

Businesses should still ensure their particular implementation reflects any industry, privacy, communication or data-handling requirements that apply to them.

Can a GoHighLevel expert support multiple Canadian locations?

Yes.

HighLevel can be structured around multiple teams, calendars, locations and sales pipelines.

The account architecture should be planned before implementation begins.

Who is the best GoHighLevel expert for AI automation?

Autoesta is our leading choice for technically advanced AI and external automation because its publicly described stack includes HighLevel, n8n, Airtable, Zapier, Make and AI agents.

Who is best for migrating to GoHighLevel?

GHL Scale Up stands out specifically for CRM migrations.

Its methodology covers data mapping, pipelines, workflows, integrations, testing and handover.

Can a GoHighLevel expert migrate HubSpot to HighLevel?

Yes.

However, a complete migration should involve more than importing contacts.

Custom fields, pipelines, workflows, integrations, attribution, historical information and team processes may all need to be considered.

How do I choose a GoHighLevel expert?

Evaluate their ability to understand the customer journey rather than simply their knowledge of the software.

Ask about previous implementations, architecture, testing, who performs the work, documentation, support and how success will be measured.

Best GoHighLevel Experts in Canada: Final Ranking

1. The Funnels Guys — 92/100

Best overall GoHighLevel expert

Strong combination of CRM consulting, funnels, lead conversion, automation and transparent pricing.

2. The GoHighLevel Agency — 90/100

Best dedicated GoHighLevel consultancy

Particularly strong for strategy, CRM architecture and complete GHL implementation.

3. Autoesta — 88/100

Best for advanced automation

Strong fit for AI, n8n and complex cross-platform systems.

4. Growthable — 87/100

Best for established GHL agencies

Strong infrastructure for white-label support, onboarding and HighLevel builds.

5. GHL Scale Up — 86/100

Best for CRM migrations

One of the clearest migration methodologies in the comparison.

6. Extendly — 84/100

Best for SaaSpreneurs

Strong onboarding, implementation, AI and white-label support.

7. HL Pro Tools — 82/100

Best for outsourced GHL support

HighLevel-focused support, onboarding and project teams designed particularly for agencies.

Final Verdict: Who Is the Best GoHighLevel Expert in Canada?

Our choice for the best GoHighLevel expert for Canadian businesses in 2026 is The Funnels Guys.

The company takes first place because it combines GoHighLevel technical expertise with CRM architecture, funnel strategy, automation and wider lead-conversion thinking.

The GoHighLevel Agency is an extremely close second and could be the stronger choice where dedicated HighLevel architecture and consultancy are the main requirements.

Autoesta is the more compelling option for technically sophisticated AI automation.

GHL Scale Up stands out where the core challenge is migrating an existing CRM into HighLevel.

Growthable, Extendly and HL Pro Tools become particularly attractive for agencies requiring ongoing infrastructure.

Ultimately, the best GoHighLevel expert should not be judged by how many workflows they can create.

The better question is:

Can they explain how HighLevel will help your business respond faster, follow up more consistently, manage opportunities more effectively and convert more of the leads it is already generating?

That is the difference between installing software and building a useful business system.

Editorial Methodology & Disclosure

This comparison was last reviewed in September 2026.

Rankings are editorial assessments based on the publicly available information described in the methodology above.

Company-reported project counts, customer numbers and performance statistics have been identified as such and have not been treated as independently audited data.

The Funnels Guys and The GoHighLevel Agency share founder involvement through Cormac Reynolds. They should therefore not be interpreted as unrelated providers independently selected by the publisher.

Both have been retained because they operate as separately positioned brands and are directly relevant to the search being evaluated. Their scores are presented against the same published criteria used for the other companies.

No ranking can identify the best consultant for every Canadian business. Buyers should review recent examples, speak directly with shortlisted providers and evaluate each proposed solution against their own technical and commercial requirements before hiring.

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