John Yaremko, (August 10, 1918 – August 7, 2010) was a politician in

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 ...

, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1951 until 1975 who represented the downtown

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

riding of

Bellwoods Bellwoods was a provincial riding in Ontario, Canada in the old City of Toronto's west-end. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 until 1987, when it was abolished and redistributed into the Dovercourt, and Fort Yo ...

. He was the first Ukrainian-Canadian to be elected to the Ontario legislature.

Background

Yaremko was born in

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-o ...

and educated in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and at

Osgoode Hall Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgoode, ...

. He was called to the bar in 1946 and named a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1953. He married Mary Materyn in 1945.

Politics

In the 1951 provincial election, Yaremko was named the Progressive Conservative candidate in Bellwoods in its successful bid to unseat incumbent A. A. MacLeod, one of only two Communist

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 ...

MPPs in the

Ontario legislature The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

. Yaremko served in the provincial cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio in 1958, Minister of Transport from 1958 to 1960, Provincial Secretary and Registrar from 1960 to 1966, Minister of Public Welfare from 1966 to 1967, Minister of Social and Family Services from 1967 to 1971, Provincial Secretary and Minister of Citizenship from 1971 to 1972 and Solicitor General from 1972 to 1974. Very active in the Ukrainian Canadian community he was a benefactor of many of its causes and in 2009 was the recipient of the first Senator Paul Yuzyk Award for his commitment to multiculturalism.

Cabinet positions

Later life

Yaremko served as chairman for the appeals tribunal for commercial liquor licenses for the province of Ontario from 1976 to 1985. He died in Toronto on August 7, 2010.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yaremko, John 1918 births 2010 deaths People from Welland Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Provincial Secretaries of Ontario University of Toronto alumni Canadian King's Counsel