Mark G. Smerchanski (November 1, 1914 – September 21, 1989) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He was a member of the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...
from 1962 to 1966, and a 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 ...
from 1968 to 1972. Smerchanski was a member of the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
and the
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Manitoba) is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late 19th century, following the province's creation in 1870.
Origins and early development (to 1883)
Origina ...
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 ...
, the son of Anton Smerchanski and Dora Huley, both of Ukrainian descent, Smerchanski was educated at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Virginia Polytechnical Institute, graduating in 1938. In 1940, Smerchanski married Patricia N. Paget. He worked as a professor of Engineering before entering politics, and was a member of the Canadian Institute for Mining and Metallurgy, the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, the Pan-American Institute of Mining Engineers and the Society of Economic Geologists. In 1953, he was appointed to the inaugural Board of Commissioners of the Winnipeg Transit System.
Smerchanski was a successful businessman, and was a leading organizer in the Manitoba Liberal Party long before he first ran for office himself. When Douglas Campbell resigned as Liberal leader in 1961, Smerchanski entered the race to succeed him and initially emerged as the frontrunner. He resigned on the weekend of the convention, however, and allowed
Gildas Molgat
Gildas Laurent Molgat, CD (January 25, 1927 – February 28, 2001) was a Canadian politician. He served as leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 1961 to 1969, and was subsequently appointed to the Senate of Canada, where he served as Speak ...
to take his place as a candidate. Molgat won the contest on the first ballot, and it is likely that Smerchanski's last-minute withdrawal was arranged well in advance.
He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1962 provincial election, and defeated
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National Deve ...
incumbent John Hawryluk by 289 votes in the north-end
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 ...
constituency of Burrows. He served in the parliamentary opposition for the next four years, but lost his seat by almost 1,000 votes to NDP candidate
Ben Hanuschak
Ben Hanuschak (born April 29, 1930) is a Manitoba politician. He was a cabinet minister in the government of New Democratic Premier Edward Schreyer, and was subsequently a founding member of the Progressive Party of Manitoba.
Hanuschak was b ...
in the 1966 election.
He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the "
Trudeaumania
Trudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Elliott Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeaumania continued during the subsequent federal election campaign and d ...
Warner Jorgenson
Warner Herbert Jorgenson (26 March 1918 – 30 July 2005) was a Canadian politician in Manitoba. He served as a Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1957 to 1968, and as ...
by 1,230 votes in the rural, southeastern riding of
Provencher
Provencher is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1871. It is a largely rural district in the province's southeast corner. Its largest community is the city of St ...
. He served as a backbench supporter of Pierre Trudeau's government for four years, and lost to PC candidate
Jake Epp
Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a Canadian executive and former politician.
Life and career
Born into a Mennonite family in Manitoba, Epp was a high school history teacher in Steinbach, Manitoba before entering politics. J ...
in the federal election of 1972.
He sought a return to the Manitoba legislature in the 1973 election, running in the rural constituency of Emerson. He did not win, but took enough votes away from the Progressive Conservative candidate to give the NDP a victory in the riding for the first and (to date) only time. He did not run again after this.
Smerchanski died in Winnipeg at the age of 74.
There is currently a Mark Smerchanski Memorial Prize in Women's Studies offered by the University of Manitoba, and the Mark G. Smerchanski Prize in geology/geophysics.