John N. Decore (born Ivan Dikur; April 9, 1909 – November 11, 1994) was a barrister, lawyer, teacher, and politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. Decore was born Ivan Dikur on a farm west of

Andrew, Alberta Andrew is a village in central Alberta, Canada that is northeast of Edmonton. Andrew is home of the world's largest duck roadside attraction, part of the Giants of the Prairies. Its post office was established March 2, 1902. The community has the ...

in a district called

Sniatyn Sniatyn ( uk, Сня́тин, translit=Sniatyn; pl, Śniatyn; ro, Sneatîn, older ; yi, שניאַטין) is a town located in Kolomyia Raion of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, in western Ukraine along the Prut river. It is located at around . Sniatyn ...

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

immigrant parents Nykola and Hafia (nee Kostiuk). Nykola arrived in Canada in 1898 at the age of ten; Nykola was Hafia's second husband. Hafia died when John was only four years old he did not along with his stepmother. He completed grade eleven before the

Great Depression in Canada The worldwide Great Depression of the early 1930s was a social and economic shock that left millions of Canadians unemployed, hungry and often homeless. Few countries were affected as severely as Canada during what became known as the "Dirty Thir ...

forced his father to stop supporting him financially. After attending the first eight grades at the local

one-room school One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

in Sniatyn, moved to

Vegreville Vegreville ( uk, Веґревіль) is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is on Highway 16A approximately east of Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. It was incorporated as a town in 1906, and that year also saw the founding of the ''Vegrev ...

and boarded with a woman from his father home village, and later went to Eastwood School and

Victoria School Victoria School (VS) is a government autonomous boys' secondary school in Siglap, Singapore. Established in 1876, it is Singapore's second oldest state secondary school. It offers a six-year Integrated Programme, which allows students to skip t ...

in Edmonton for grades 9 to 11, where he stayed in the ''bursa'' (

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

) for Ukrainian students called the Hrushevsky Institute. Students at the Institute took classes in Ukrainian language and culture in the evenings in addition to his studies in the regular English-language Albertan curriculum. After completing grade eleven he went to the Edmonton Normal School in 1929-30 and then taught in a series of rural school in the region near Andrew. He married Mysoslava Kupchenko in 1935 and also began attending the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

in a combined program that awarded him a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in 1937 and an

L.L.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1938. He

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

in Vegreville and was called to the bar in 1939. At university he played for the Golden Bears basketball team and was the national president of the

Ukrainian Youth Association The Ukrainian Youth Association ( uk, Спілка української молоді, transliterated as , known by the acronym , , pronounced "", and commonly rendered as CYM) is a youth organization in Ukraine, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, ...

. The couple lived in Vegreville where John practiced law during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as John was rejected by the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

due to arthritis. John help to lead work bees and the fundraising efforts during for a

public pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (as ...

so the children of men serving overseas would have recreational activity, and was the president of the

Kinsmen Club Kin Canada (formerly the Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs of Canada) is a secular Canadian non-profit service organization that promotes service, fellowship, positive values, and national pride. Kin Canada is an organization whose members comprise K ...

, the

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

, and the council of the local

Ukrainian Orthodox Church The history of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the history of Christianity, to the Apostolic Age, with mission trips along the Black Sea and a legend of Saint Andrew even ascending the hills of Kyiv. The first Chr ...

, and school board trustee where he promoted the hiring of

Ukrainian-Canadian Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born ...

teachers. He anglicized his name to John by 1940s.John N. Decore The Globe and Mail oronto, Ont14 Nov 1994: C.4. He first ran for the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate in the 1949 federal election. He defeated

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

incumbent

Anthony Hlynka Anthony Hlynka (May 28, 1907 – April 25, 1957) was a Canadian journalist, publisher, immigration activist and politician of Ukrainian descend. He represented Vegreville in the House of Commons of Canada from 1940 to 1949 as a member of the Soc ...

in the riding of

. He was re-elected in the 1953 election, once again defeating Hlynka. He was appointed an advisor to

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

during Pearson's time as Ambassador of Canada to the United Nations and gave several speeches in the United States including representing Canada at U.N. Headquarters (then at

Lake Success, New York Lake Success is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 2,897 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Lake Success was the temporary home of the Unit ...

) and speaking on Ukrainian issues at Carnegie Hall with U.S. Senator Lehman. In Parliament he was a vocal anti-communist and an activist for Ukrainian rights in both Canada and the Soviet Union. At his urging Canadian immigration documents began to recognize "Ukrainian" as nationality, and not merely the name of regional population within the Soviet Union. He also advocated for allowing the members of the controversial

14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) (german: 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS alizische Nr. 1}; uk, 14а Гренадерська Дивізія СС (1а галицька)), known as the 14th SS-Volunteer Division ...

to immigrate to Canada. He considered his "crowning achievement" in politics to be arranging for Prime Minister

Louis St. Laurent Louis Stephen St. Laurent (''Saint-Laurent'' or ''St-Laurent'' in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 19 ...

to open the Ukrainian Pioneer Home monument at

Elk Island National Park Elk Island National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada, that played an important part in the conservation of the Plains bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This "island of conservation" is east of Edmonton, alon ...

in 1951. He also arranged for a concert of the

Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus ( uk, Українська Капеля Бандуристів Північної Америки ім. Т. Г. Шевченка; full name: ''The Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America'') is a s ...

in the

Railway Committee Room The Centre Block (french: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of membe ...

of Parliament and the creation of a Ukrainian-language service at

Voice of Canada Radio Canada International (RCI) is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Prior to 1970, RCI was known as the CBC International Service. The broadcasting service was also previously referred to ...

. He retired from Parliament in 1957. Decore attempted to return to federal politics in the 1962 election, this time in the

Edmonton East Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

electoral district, but he lost to Progressive Conservative (PC) incumbent

William Skoreyko William Skoreyko (December 8, 1922 – September 28, 1987) was a businessman, service station owner, and politician from Alberta, Canada. Bio Skoreyko first ran for election to the House of Commons of Canada in the district of Edmonton East ...

. He ran once more in the 1963 federal election in

Edmonton—Strathcona Edmonton Strathcona (formerly known as Edmonton—Strathcona) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton ...

, losing to PC incumbent Terry Nugent. Was was made a Q.C. in 1964 and in 1965 was appointed Chief Justice of the District Court of Northern Alberta and supervised its merger with the southern district court. He was also involved in the creation of the Court of Queen's Bench for Alberta in 1979. He retired as chief justice in that year and was awarded an honourary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1980. Decore's son

Laurence Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from ...

was

mayor of Edmonton This is a list of mayors of Edmonton, a city in Alberta, Canada. Edmonton was incorporated as a town on January 9, 1892, with Matthew McCauley acclaimed as its first mayor during the town's first election, held February 10, 1892. On October 8 ...

and leader of the Opposition in the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sing ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Decore, John 1909 births 1994 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Liberal Party of Canada MPs Canadian people of Ukrainian descent 20th-century Canadian judges 20th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians Members of Ukrainian Orthodox church bodies University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumni People from Lamont County Canadian schoolteachers Canadian anti-communists Multiculturalism activists in Canada Eastern Orthodox Christians from Canada