Danielle Smith celebrates election victory
Marco Levytsky, Western Bureau Chief
Eight MLAs whose Ukrainian origin has been confirmed were elected in the May 29 Alberta election.
There may be more since many Ukrainian-origin MLAs have non-Ukrainian surnames. NP-UN will be updating our website as we find out more information.
Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party was re-elected with a reduced majority of 49 to former Premier Rachel Notley’s New Democratic Party’s 38.
However, the Ukrainian community’s strongest voice in the UCP Cabinet, Tyler Shandro lost his Calgary-Acadia seat by seven votes to the NDP’s Diana Batten. With such a narrow margin a recount is inevitable.
Leading the UCP’s Ukrainian-origin MLAs was Premier Danielle Smith herself.
In an April 2012 column for the Calgary Sun, Smith said her paternal great-grandfather Philipus Kolodnicki arrived in Canada in 1915 whereupon an immigration officer changed his name to Philip Smith. That is unlikely since immigration to Canada was halted when World War I broke out in 1914.
Last year she changed her story saying that “My Ukrainian great-grandfather, Philipis Kolodnycky, fled communism and immigrated to Canada after WW1, where he changed his name to Smith,”
But two documents compiled on the website ancestry.ca — a passenger list from the Hamburg-America Line and a passenger list compiled by Canadian immigration officials — indicate Filip Kolodnicki arrived in Halifax on May 23, 1913.
The incoming passenger list names Austria as his nation of origin, Ruthenian as his race, according to a November 19, 2022 article in the Toronto Star. At that time Ruthenian was the most common name used for Ukrainians, and the term race was often used to describe ethnicity.
Smith was easily re-elected in her Brooks-Medicine Hat constituency.
Three other Ukrainian-origin MLAs were re-elected for the UCP– Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish in Strathcona-Sherwood Park, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis in Calgary West, and Parliamentary Secretary for Ukrainian Refugee Settlement Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk in Fort Saskatchewan – Vegreville.
Glubish’s, great grandparents immigrated to Canada from Ukraine, as did Ellis’ maternal great-grandparents.
Armstrong-Homeniuk, who also serves as chair of the government Advisory Council on Alberta-Ukraine Relations (ACUAR) and the Premier’s Advisory Task Force on Ukraine is descended from Ivan Pylypiw, one of the first two Ukrainians to set foot in Canada on September 7, 1891. She has been active with the Ukrainian Bilingual program that her children attended in elementary school. Her daughter also performed with the Vegreville School of Ukrainian Dancing – Promin Dancers.
A UCP newcomer is Andrew Boitchenko, who swept Drayton Valley – Devon with over 73 per cent of the vote.
Boitchenko was born in Ukraine, and emigrated to Canada as a teenager. He is a member of ACUAR, where he helps provide firefighter aid to Ukraine, and organizes donations, among other services.
Two Ukrainian-origin NDP member were easily re-elected– Sarah Hoffman in Edmonton Glenora and Lorne Dach in Edmonton McClung.
Speaking during the debate on Bill 26, Ukrainian-Canadian Heritage Day Act, November 2, 2016, Hoffman recalled how she would visit her grandmother at Easter and divide the one hard-boiled egg into as many pieces as there were mouths sitting around the table.
“We talked about Christ, of course. Khrystos Voskres. The response was about: Indeed, He has risen. We’d talk about that unity that brings us together and that when there are many mouths to feed, we take the time to be grateful for what we have, acknowledge those around who need, and find a way to share the prosperity,” she said.
Dach’s grandparents came in 1913 and settled in the Thorhild area. His father never spoke English until he was about seven years old. Speaking during the Bill-26 debate, Dach stated: “I’m very proud to wear this (embroidered) shirt today and to be a member of the Ukrainian ancestral community here in this fantastic province of Alberta, and I’ll continue to support and be hopeful that I’ll be allowed to express this Ukrainianness forever and hope to celebrate this every year in this House on September 7.”
An NDP newcomer is Janet Eremenko who defeated Mental Health and Addictions Minister Nicholas Millikenin in Calgary−Currie. Both of her paternal grandparents were born in western Ukraine and immigrated to Saskatchewan as very young children. Eremenko herself was born and raised in Calgary.
Two UCP candidates who have been linked to anti-Ukrainian statements were also elected.
Eric Bouchard, who admitted he “may have” retweeted a ZelenskyWarCriminal” hashtag was elected in Calgary Lougheed, while Chelsea Petrovic, whose husband has had online statements in support of accused war criminal Vladimir Putin attributed to him easily won Livingstone-Macleod.
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