Mike Pawlus (1923-2010) was a minor provincial level politician 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 led the right-wing Heritage Party of Alberta during the entire existence of the party.

Political career

After the Heritage Party was founded in 1984 and registered with Elections Alberta, Pawlus, a "semi-retired engineer and businessman," became leader. He first ran for a seat in the Alberta Legislature in the

Spirit River-Fairview Spirit River-Fairview was a provincial electoral district in northwestern 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 1986. History Spirit ...

by-election held on February 21, 1985. Pawlus and the Heritage Party won just 18 votes in the election, finishing last in a field of 17 candidates. He lost to

Jim Gurnett James Gurnett (born October 10, 1949) is a former politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1985 until 1986. He is currently the principal of Common Place Services, doing a variety of cons ...

of the New Democratic Party. Pawlus ran for his second attempt at office in the

Edmonton-Whitemud Edmonton-Whitemud is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. In 1989, its constituents unseated the Premier of the day, Donald Getty, by voting for Liberal candidate Percy Wickman. The district was rep ...

by-election held on December 11, 1985. He improved his performance but still finished last and lost to Premier

Don Getty Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...

this time, only winning 53 votes for a vote share of 0.54%. Pawlus led the Heritage Party into the failed coalition with the Western Canada Concept and Social Credit that created the Alberta Political Alliance in 1986. The Heritage Party left the coalition and ran candidates under its own banner in the 1986 general election. Pawlus ran in the electoral district of

Edmonton-Mill Woods Edmonton-Mill Woods is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. It is one of 87 current electoral districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. T ...

, finishing last in the field of five candidates. He lost to New Democrat candidate

Gerry Gibeault Gerry Gibeault (born 1953) is a Canadian former politician who was a school trustee with Edmonton Public Schools from 1995 to 2010 representing Ward I (Mill Woods). He also served as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1986 to 1993 ...

and garnered just 132 votes. Pawlus managed to field five other candidates earning 601 votes in total across the province. Pawlus did not return to provincial politics after the 1986 general election. Mike Pawlus died April 17, 2010, at the age of 86 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawlus, Mike Candidates in Alberta provincial elections Alberta political party leaders 2010 deaths 1923 births