Steve Paproski (23 September 1928 – 3 December 1993) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and professional football player. He played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL) from 1949 to 1954 and served as a federal Member of Parliament from 1968 to 1993.

Early life

Born in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, he came to

Edmonton 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 anc ...

, Alberta as a child. He attended the University of Arizona on a sports scholarship.

Pro football career

He was a lineman for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

of the

from 1949 to 1954. In this role he became part of the Edmonton Eskimo alumni which would come to dominate Alberta political life in future decades. Among other Eskimoes from this era who achieved prominence in politics are Alberta premiers Peter Lougheed and Don Getty, plus lieutenant governor the honourable Norman Kwong.

Political career

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of Edmonton Centre. A Progressive Conservative, he was re-elected in 1972, and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

. He was elected in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, 1980,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, and 1988 for

Edmonton North Edmonton North was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 2004. Demographics Geography The riding consisted of the northern part of the city of Edmonton, Alberta. H ...

. From 1976 to 1978, he was the Chief Opposition Whip. During

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

's brief term as Prime Minister from 1979 to 1980, he was the Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport and Minister of State for Multiculturalism. During

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political ...

's terms as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1993, he was the Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. While in opposition, Steve served leader Robert Stanfield as deputy whip and later chief whip for the Progressive Conservative caucus. Paproski was an ethnic Ukrainian and a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

. His brothers Kenneth Paproski and

Carl Paproski Carl Michael Paproski (January 25, 1945 – January 13, 2008) was a teacher and provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1982 to 1986 sitting with the governing Progressi ...

also served as members of 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:Paproski, Steve 1928 births 1993 deaths Sportspeople from Lviv People from Lwów Voivodeship Edmonton Elks players Players of Canadian football from Alberta Ukrainian players of Canadian football Members of the 21st Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Canadian football people from Edmonton Politicians from Edmonton Ukrainian Roman Catholics Ukrainian emigrants to Canada Canadian sportsperson-politicians Canadian Roman Catholics