George Topolnisky (August 13, 1916 – March 19, 2012) was a provincial level politician and teacher from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

from 1971 to 1986 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative caucus. During his time in office he served as a member of the

Executive Council of Alberta The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typica ...

from 1971 to 1975 as a Minister without portfolio Responsible for rural development.

Political career

Topolnisky joined the Progressive Conservatives in 1956 and became politically active in 1959 as a party organizer. Topolnisky ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the

1971 Alberta general election The 1971 Alberta general election was the seventeenth general election held in the Province of Alberta, Canada on August 30, 1971, to elect seventy-five members of the Alberta Legislature to form the 17th Alberta Legislative Assembly. The Progre ...

. He defeated incumbent Social Credit MLA

Michael Senych Michael Senych (September 24, 1926 - March 27, 2002) was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1963 to 1971 as a member of the Social Credit Party. Early life Michael Senych was born in Corbin ...

to pick up the new electoral district of

Redwater-Andrew Redwater-Andrew was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1971 to 1993. History Boundary history Red ...

for the Progressive Conservatives. His win helped the Progressive Conservatives gain enough seats to form government that year. After the election Topolnisky was appointed to the Executive Council by Premier

Peter Lougheed Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth. Bo ...

as a Minister without portfolio Responsible for rural development. Topolnisky ran for re-election as an incumbent cabinet minister in the

1975 Alberta general election The 1975 Alberta general election was held on March 26, 1975, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to the 18th Alberta Legislature. The election was called on February 14, 1975 prorogued and dissolved of the 17th Alberta Legis ...

, he won a slightly higher popular vote easily keeping his seat. After the election the Premier did not renew Topolnisky's cabinet portfolio, he served in the assembly as a private member for the rest of his career. In the run up to the 1979 general election, Topolnisky faces two challengers for the Progressive Conservative nomination in his district. He won a first ballot victory on July 13, 1978. There were over 1,000 people in attendance at the nomination meeting. In the election itself Topolnisky rolled up a slightly bigger popular vote over his 1975 result to win his third term in office. Topolnisky would run for his fourth term in the 1982 general election. He would face a crowded field of candidates to win his highest popular vote. Michael Senych would attempt to make a comeback in that election as an Independent candidate but would be badly defeated finishing fourth. He retired from provincial politics at dissolution of the legislature in 1986. In August 1997 George Topolnisky was awarded the

Michael Luchkovich Michael Luchkovich (November 13, 1892 – April 21, 1973) was a Canadian politician. He was the first person of Ukrainian origin to be elected to the Parliament of Canada. Early life His father, Ephraim and mother Maria immigrated from Nova V ...

Award given annually to Albertan parliamentarians of a Ukrainian origin to honor outstanding public service.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topolnisky, George Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs 1916 births 2012 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Canadian people of Ukrainian descent