Martin Semchuk (August 20, 1914 – November 15, 2000) was a merchant and political figure in

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 ...

. He represented Meadow Lake from 1960 to 1964 in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

as a

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 ...

(CCF) member. He was born in

Meath Park, Saskatchewan Meath Park ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Garden River No. 490 and Census Division No. 15. History Meath Park incorporated as a village on May 23, 1938. Demogra ...

, the son of Bill Semchuk, and was educated in Prince Albert. In 1935, he married Josephine Mary Gerlowski. Semchuk was president of the Meadow Lake

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

and was a director of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. He also helped create

Meadow Lake Provincial Park Meadow Lake Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest provincial recreational park along the Waterhen and Cold Rivers in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The park was founded on 10 March 1959, is the largest provincial park in Sask ...

. Semchuk operated a grocery store in Meadow Lake. He served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of

Telephones A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...

, Minister of Public Health, Minister of Highways and Transportation and Minister of Industry and Commerce. He was defeated by Henry Coupland when he ran for reelection to the provincial assembly in 1964, and defeated again in 1967 after running as the

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 ...

candidate. Semchuk later worked with the Saskatchewan Department of Natural Resources in Regina. In 1975, he retired to

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Semchuk died in

Oliver, British Columbia Oliver is a town near the south end of the Okanagan Valley in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, with a population of nearly 5,000 people. It is located along the Okanagan River by Tuc-el-nuit Lake between Osoyoos and Okanagan Fal ...

at the age of 86. Semchuk helped establish the first

winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice.Proskin et al, 2011. Guidelines for the Construction an ...

Uranium City Uranium City is a northern settlement in Saskatchewan, Canada. Located on the northern shores of Lake Athabasca near the border of the Northwest Territories, it is above sea level. The settlement is northwest of Prince Albert, northeast of E ...

during the 1950s. When a permanent road was established in 1980, it was named the Semchuk Trail in his honour.

References

1914 births 2000 deaths Canadian people of Ukrainian descent People from Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MLAs 20th-century Canadian politicians {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub