Adolph Sylvester "Al" Matsalla (March 22, 1926 – May 18, 2015) was a Canadian educator, municipal administrator and political figure in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He represented Canora from 1967 to 1982 in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

as a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP) member.

Life and career

Matsalla was born in

Buchanan, Saskatchewan Buchanan ( ; 2021 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Buchanan No. 304 and Census Division No. 9. History Buchanan incorporated as a village on June 11, 1907. The village ...

, the son of Victor Anton Matsalla and Mary Balawyder, both natives of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and grew up on a farm in the area. Matsalla was educated in Buchanan, in

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...

, at the Saskatoon Teacher's College and at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

, where he completed a program in municipal administration. He taught school from 1943 to 1953 and then became secretary-treasurer for the rural municipality of Buchanan. In 1948, he married Anne Pura. Matsalla served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Tourism and Renewable Resources. He retired from provincial politics in 1982. Matsalla next served as administrator for the rural municipality of Sliding Hills. From 1983 to 1987, he served on the town council for Canora. In 1978, his cousin Joseph Matsalla ran unsuccessfully against him as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

candidate for the Canora seat. Matsalla died on May 18, 2015.

References

Saskatchewan New Democratic Party MLAs 1926 births 2015 deaths Canadian people of Polish descent People from Buchanan, Saskatchewan Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan {{NDP-Saskatchewan-MLA-stub