James Williams Melenchuk (born June 24, 1953) is a former Canadian politician. He represented the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Saskatoon Northwest 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 ...

from 1999 to 2003. He was educated at the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

and 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 ...

and practised medicine in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. Melenchuk became the leader of the

Saskatchewan Liberal Party The Saskatchewan Progress Party (SPP) is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was founded in 1905 as the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan, and retained that name until members voted to change it in 2023. Until 20 ...

in 1996 following the resignation of Lynda Haverstock.In August 1997, 4 Liberal MLAs left to found a new political party, the

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative ...

, causing the Liberals to lose their Official Opposition status. Melenchuk was elected to the Legislature in the 1999 election. With the governing

New Democrats New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United State ...

in a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

situation, the party entered a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

agreement and all three Liberal MLAs — Melenchuk, Ron Osika and Jack Hillson — were appointed to the provincial cabinet. Melenchuk served as Minister of Education. The coalition was controversial among party members, however, and Hillson subsequently left to sit as an independent. Melenchuk stepped down as Liberal leader in 2001 and was succeeded by David Karwacki. Karwacki ordered Melenchuk and Osika to disband the coalition — however, both refused and officially left the Liberal caucus. They sat as independent MLAs until 2003 when they both ran for re-election as NDP candidates in the 2003 election. Both were, however, defeated by members of the Saskatchewan Party. In 2005, Melenchuk was named academic health sciences liaison between the Saskatchewan government and the University of Saskatchewan.

References

1953 births Independent MLAs in Saskatchewan Living people Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan Politicians from Regina, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs Saskatchewan political party leaders 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan Ministers of finance of Saskatchewan Leaders of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party {{Liberal-Saskatchewan-MLA-stub