Mark Smerchanski
| Mark G. Smerchanski | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Provencher |
|
|
In office 1968–1972 |
|
| Preceded by | Warner Jorgenson |
| Succeeded by | Jake Epp |
| MLA for Burrows | |
|
In office 1962–1966 |
|
| Preceded by | John Hawryluk |
| Succeeded by | Ben Hanuschak |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 1, 1914 Malonton, Manitoba |
| Died | September 21, 1989 (aged 74) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Other political affiliations |
Manitoba Liberal Party |
| Alma mater |
University of Manitoba Virginia Polytechnical Institute |
Mark G. Smerchanski (November 1, 1914 – September 21, 1989) was a Canadian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1962 to 1966, and a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1972. Smerchanski was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Manitoba Liberal Party.
Born in Malonton, Manitoba, the son of Anton Smerchanski and Dora Huley, both of Ukrainian descent, Smerchanski was educated at the University of Manitoba and the 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 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 incumbent John Hawryluk by 289 votes in the north-end Winnipeg 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 in the 1966 election.
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