Mitro "Mac" Makarchuk (November 1, 1929 – July 24, 2021) was a Canadian politician and journalist. He was an Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament for Brantford from 1967 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1981.[1]

Mac Makarchuk
Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament
for Brantford
In office
1975–1981
Preceded byDick Beckett
Succeeded byPhil Gillies
In office
1967–1971
Preceded byGeorge Gordon
Succeeded byDick Beckett
Personal details
Born(1929-11-01)November 1, 1929
Stenen, Saskatchewan
DiedJuly 24, 2021(2021-07-24) (aged 91)
Barrie, Ontario
Political partyNew Democrat
Residence(s)Brantford, Ontario
ProfessionJournalist

Early life

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Makarchuk was born in Saskatchewan in 1929.[2] In 1959, as a first year student at the University of Toronto, Makarchuk offered to underwrite a Canadian intercollegiate hockey championship between the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team and University of Saskatchewan Huskies as there was no national playoff between eastern and western Canadian regional hockey champions. The University of Saskatchewan accepted the offer but it was rejected by the University of Toronto.[3][4] A national university hockey championship, the University Cup was ultimately established in 1963. He then moved to Ontario and worked as a journalist for the Brantford Expositor.

Politics

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He was the New Democratic Party of Canada's candidate in the 1965 federal election in the riding of Brantford but was defeated, coming in third place.[5] He was nominated to be the provincial party's candidate in the 1967 provincial election and sought a leave of absence from the Expositor but was refused and then fired.[6][7]

He was elected to the provincial riding of Brantford to the Ontario legislature in 1967.[8] He served a term before being defeated in 1971 by Progressive Conservative Dick Beckett.[9] He was then elected to Brantford city council as an alderman in 1972.

He returned to the legislature in the 1975, this time defeating Beckett.[10] He was re-elected in the 1977 provincial election.[11] He lost his seat in 1981 to PC candidate Phil Gillies.[12][13]

Makarchuk returned to Brantford City Council by winning a seat in the 1982 municipal election, serving for a three-year term as councillor for ward 4 before retiring from politics in 1985.

References

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  1. ^ "Former Brantford politician was 'one of a kind'". The Expositor. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  2. ^ "Guide Parlementaire Canadien". 1971.
  3. ^ "Varsity Playoff: Saskatoon Interested". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. February 2, 1959.
  4. ^ "Huskies Receiving New Trophy: Dominion Honors Claimed". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. March 13, 1959.
  5. ^ "Results in political ridings across the nation in Canada's federal election". The Globe and Mail. November 9, 1965. p. 10.
  6. ^ MacDonald, Donald C. (1998). The Happy Warrior: Political Memoirs. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 9781550023077.
  7. ^ Walter John Joseph Szmigielski (1977). "Constituency level politics: A case study of the Co-operative Federation and New Democratic Party in Brantford, Ontario" (PDF). Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster University.
  8. ^ Canadian Press (October 18, 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  9. ^ "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  10. ^ "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  11. ^ "Ontario provincial election results riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 10, 1977. p. D9.
  12. ^ Marunchak, Mykhaĭlo H. (1982). The Ukrainian Canadians: a history. Canada: Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  13. ^ Canadian Press (March 20, 1981). "Winds of change, sea of security". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 22. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
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