David Walter Chomiak (born February 15, 1953) is a former politician in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. He served as a cabinet minister in the

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 ...

government of

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government o ...

. Chomiak was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

and grew up in East Kildonan, graduating from Miles Macdonell Collegiate; he lives in the West Kildonan area. He worked as a lawyer before entering politics, and was a member of the

Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre The Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre (, )—also known as Oseredok (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian for 'centre')—is a museum, Art gallery, gallery, and library in Winnipeg, Manitoba, celebrating the Ukrainian Canadians, Ukrainian Canad ...

, the Canadian Shield Foundation and the Big Brother's Association of Manitoba. Chomiak was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

in the 1990 provincial election, in the north Winnipeg riding of Kildonan. He defeated Progressive Conservative candidate David Langtry by 210 votes; Progressive Party leader Sidney Green finished fourth. After the election, Chomiak joined with 19 other NDP MLAs as the official opposition to

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian politician from Manitoba who served as the 19th premier of Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from ...

's government. Chomiak was re-elected in the 1995 election, defeating Tory Robert Praznik 5812 votes to 3624. He again increased his margin of victory in the 1999 election, defeating PC candidate Shannon Martin by 6101 votes to 2542. The NDP won this election, and Chomiak was appointed to cabinet as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

and Minister responsible for Sport. He was relieved of responsibility for Sport on January 17, 2001. In 2003, Chomiak supported

Bill Blaikie William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie (June 19, 1951 – September 24, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings in the House of Commons ...

's campaign to lead the federal

. In 2003, he was re-elected in the once-marginal riding of Kildonan with over 70% of the vote. On October 12, 2004, he was appointed as Manitoba's Minister of Energy, Science and Technology, with responsibility for the Gaming Control Act and the Manitoba Hydro Act. Chomiak had been the longest-serving health minister in Canada prior to this shuffle, and there were rumours that he requested a transfer to a less stressful portfolio. In September 2006, Chomiak was appointed as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and to the Manitoba Public Insurance and Manitoba Gaming Control Commission in

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

's new cabinet.Squires, Rochelle (22 September 2006) "Premier's New Lineup" ''Winnipeg Sun'' Manitoba, p. 4 Chomiak is

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

, but as health minister never sought to criminalize abortions. He was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election. In the 2016 provincial election, he was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate

Nic Curry Nic Curry is a Canadian provincial politician, who was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the riding of Kildonan in the 2016 election. He is a member of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party. He did not st ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chomiak, David 1953 births Living people Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Politicians from Winnipeg 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba