Julia Kiniski (1899 in

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 ...

– October 11, 1969 in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

), served seven years on the

Edmonton City Council The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Edmonton currently has one mayor and twelve city councillors. Elections are held every four years. The most recent was held in 2021, and the next is in 20 ...

, from 1963 until her death in 1969. Prior to her election in 1963, she ran as an independent or as a candidate for grassroots or reform-minded parties unsuccessfully in 14 city elections between 1945 and 1962. Kiniski's family emigrated to

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in 1912.Merrily K. Aubrey, "Kiniski Gardens", ''Naming Edmonton: From Ada to Zoie'' (2004), p. 182. At the age of sixteen she married her husband, Nicholas, with whom she raised six children, including wrestler

Gene Kiniski Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he ...

. In 1936, Kiniski and her husband moved to Edmonton.Edmonton Public Library
Election biographies
. He worked as a barber, making $5 ($ today) a week, while she sold cosmetics and managed a café. Having dropped out of school after Grade 7, in later life Kiniski " rolled in

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Extension courses, studying psychology, philosophy and world affairs". She campaigned as a candidate for election to Edmonton city council numerous times starting in 1945. Kiniski "became an accomplished, albeit unconventional, speaker". As a politician, she was " own and loved as supporter of the common people". Her persistence and eventual success spurred renewed civic involvement: As a member of the city council, " e of her pet projects... was her fight to support tenants in basement suites".Obituary, Edmonton Journal, October 14, 1969, p. 1,3,10 That is, to allow basement rental suites, which was a way for empty-nesters to cover the cost of housing. She died of a heart attack at the age of 70 in 1969. She was succeeded in office by her son, Julian Kinisky. He won his mother's old seat in a 1970 by-election. An elementary school in Edmonton is named for her, as is the neighbourhood of Kiniski Gardens in Mill Woods.

Table of election results

Elections won are in bold. From 1899 to 1963, Edmonton held annual municipal elections, replacing half of the alderman each year. Kiniski stood for election in 14 of 18 elections from 1945 to 1962, winning in her 15th attempt in 1963. Beginning in 1964, all seats were up for election every two years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiniski, Julia 1899 births 1969 deaths Women municipal councillors in Alberta Edmonton city councillors 20th-century Canadian women politicians Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors