Anton Bernard Weselak (11 February 1918 – 17 January 1989) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Weselak was a Liberal party member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. He was born in Beausejour, Manitoba and became a lawyer after studies at the

Manitoba Law School The Robson Hall Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Manitoba (U of M) located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is on the university's Fort Garry, Winnipeg, Fort Garry campus. History In 1914, Hugh Robson (politician), Hugh A ...

. Weselak began a legal practice in Beausejour after his

Call to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1948. He was first elected to Parliament at the

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

riding in the 1953 general election. After serving only one term, the

22nd Canadian Parliament The 22nd Canadian Parliament was in session from November 12, 1953, until April 12, 1957. The membership was set by the 1953 federal election on August 10, 1953, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dis ...

, he was defeated by

Jake Schulz Jacob (Jake) Shulz (October 12, 1901 – August 14, 1983) was a Canadian farmer and politician as well as the father-in-law of Governor General Ed Schreyer. Shulz was born in Friedensthal, a Bessarabia German community in the Russian Empire, fr ...

of the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

in the 1957 election. Weselak made a further attempt to win back the seat in the 1958 election but lost to

Val Yacula Val Yacula (1908 – September 24, 1958) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Springfield in the House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the l ...

who unseated Schulz. When Yacula died shortly after that victory, Weselak was again unsuccessful in a December 1958 by-election campaign. During the 1956

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

, Weselak was part of Lester B. Pearson's delegation to the United Nations. Pearson was then External Affairs minister under the

Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent (''Saint-Laurent'' or ''St-Laurent'' in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 19 ...

government, and his efforts led to the formation of United Nations peacekeeping force which defused a full-scale Middle Eastern war. In the years before his retirement in 1985, Weselak was a Toronto-based immigration appeal court judge. He died on 17 January 1989 and his funeral was in Trenton, Ontario.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weselak, Anton Bernard 1918 births 1989 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Lawyers in Manitoba Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba People from Eastman Region, Manitoba University of Manitoba alumni 20th-century Canadian lawyers Robson Hall alumni