William Arthur Kardash (June 10, 1912 – January 17, 1997) was a politician and member of the Legislative Assembly of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

from 1941 until 1958. He served as Winnipeg MLA from 1941 to 1958, as Worker's Candidate at first, then as a representative of the Labor-Progressive Party. He was among the handful of Communists elected in Winnipeg between 1927 and 1983. The youngest child of

Ukrainian Canadian Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Ukrainians, Ukrainian desce ...

parents Danylo Kardash and Ulyta Byck, he was born in

Hafford Hafford is a town in the RM of Redberry, Saskatchewan, Canada, consisting of 414 residents at the 2021 Canadian census. It is located near Redberry Lake, which consists of only salt water. History The first overseer was T.G. Bavin for the ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and educated at Hafford High School. Kardash was a veteran of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, having fought with the

Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion The Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion or Mac-Paps were a battalion of Canadians who fought as part of the XV International Brigade on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. Except for France, no other country had a greater p ...

. He was a member of the

Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada (french: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality. Although it does not currently have any parliamentary representation, the party's can ...

and, after 1943, the

Labor-Progressive Party The Labor-Progressive Party (french: Parti ouvrier-progressiste) was the legal Front organization, front of the Communist Party of Canada from 1943 to 1959. Origins and initial success In the 1940 Canadian federal election, 1940 federal elect ...

, which was the legal front of the Communist Party after it was banned. Kardash became the first leader of the Manitoba LPP in 1943, retaining the position until 1948 when he resigned for health reasons. He was also the first national chairman of the LPP. In 1940, Kardash married Mary Kostaniuk. In

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

, he was elected to the provincial legislature in the ten-member district of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. He was re-elected in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

. In

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

and 1953, he was reelected in the new four-member district of

Winnipeg North Winnipeg North (french: Winnipeg-Nord) is a federal electoral district in Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It covers the northern portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Geography The riding includes the ne ...

. The LPP's popularity declined after 1945. Kardash was the only candidate to run for the LPP in the Manitoba elections of 1953 and 1958. Kardash was defeated in the 1958 general election. His defeat was due in part to the pressures of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, as well as the abolition of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

and multi-member districts. This caused him to contest a single-member election held under

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

. After his defeat, the LPP would never again elect a candidate to the legislature. In 1948, Kardash became general manager of the People's Co-operative Dairy, Fuel and Lumber Yards in 1948, retiring in 1982. He served as president of the board of directors for the co-operative until the business was sold to its employees in 1993. Kardash ran in

Point Douglas Point Douglas is a provincial electoral district in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is named for a part of the city that is surrounded by a bend in the Red River. The riding covers the neighbourhoods of William Whyte, Dufferin Industrial, Nort ...

in 1969 for the (renamed) Communist Party of Manitoba, but received only 421 votes (9.81%), coming in last in a four-candidate race. Kardash remained active in Winnipeg's Ukrainian community for the rest of his life. In 1995, he attended a public dedication ceremony at the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

legislature held to honour veterans of the

, of which he was one. After Kardash's death in 1997, the Manitoba legislature held a moment of silence in his honour.

External links

Election Handbills of a Spanish Civil War Veteran
by Kaarina Mikalson: Lieutenant William (Bill) Kardash * Canada and the Spanish Civil War website has reproductions of three pieces of Kardash's 1941 election campaign literature: "Elect a True Champion of People's Democracy.. Restore Democratic Rights..Tax profits, not wages.. For workers' representation, not sell-out and coalition" (four-page pamphlet), "Who is Kardash?" (four-page pamphlet); "Mothers and Wives of Winnipeg" (3-page pamphlet).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kardash, Bill 1912 births 1997 deaths Communist Party of Canada (Manitoba) MLAs Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian people of the Spanish Civil War