Paul Joseph Yakabuski (October 29, 1922 – July 31, 1987) 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 C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Background

Yakabuski was born in Barry's Bay, Ontario, where his family had lived for more than a century after emigrating from the Kashub area of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. He married Doreen Mary Conway (April 6, 1924 - December 21, 1974) on December 7, 1946, and the couple had fourteen children. Fellow Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP)

Norm Sterling Norman William "Norm" Sterling (born February 19, 1942) is a Canadian politician, who served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 2011. Background Sterling attended Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, and worked as ...

once joked that Yakabuski "thought in terms of campaign organization" in his family planning. Yakabuski served overseas in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

as an infantry officer with the

Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of 33 Canadian Brigade Group, 4th Canadian Division and is headquartered in Cornwall, Ontario. Regimental badge Superimposed upon a ...

. On returning to Canada, he joined his father in managing the family's hardware, building supply and furniture business. He served on the St. Francis Memorial Hospital Board from 1955 to 1962. He was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, and a member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. One of Yakabuski's sons, John Yakabuski, currently serves in the Ontario legislature for

Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons since 1979. It is represented by Cheryl Gallant of the Conservative Party. Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke inc ...

as a Progressive Conservative. Another of his sons, Kim Yakabuski, was the life partner of former Attorney General of Ontario Ian Scott. His son Konrad Yakabuski is a columnist for the Globe and Mail.Yakabuski was also the cousin-in-law of prominent Liberal politician

Sean Conway Sean Conway, (born July 24, 1951) is a former provincial politician in Ontario, Canada and a university professor. He served for 28 years as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 2003, and was a high-profile cabin ...

. The Paul J. Yakabuski Community Centre in Barry's Bay was named in his honour. Yakabuski and his wife are buried in St. Lawrence O'toole R.C. Cemetery, in Barry's Bay.

Politics

He was elected to the Barry's Bay council in 1951 by a single vote, was Reeve of Barry's Bay from 1952 to 1961. Yakabuski was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1963 provincial election, defeating

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate Leonard Quilty by 889 votes in

Renfrew South Renfrew South was a federal riding represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. The federal riding was created by the British North America Act of 1867 and was abolished in 1966, w ...

. He was re-elected over Quilty by an increased margin in the 1967 election, and was returned without difficulty in 1971 and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. After a narrow victory over Liberal Dick Trainor in the 1977 election, he was again elected without difficulty in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. During his tenure, he was a backbench supporter of the

John Robarts John Parmenter Robarts (January 11, 1917 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. Early life Robar ...

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

and

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

administrations. He served as the

Parliamentary Assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

to the Minister of Natural Resources from 1975 to 1985. He chose not seek re-election in 1987, and died on the day of his retirement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yakabuski, Paul 1922 births 1987 deaths Canadian people of Polish descent People from Renfrew County Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Army officers Canadian Roman Catholics Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Canadian military personnel from Ontario