Barry Pashak
Encyclopedia
Barry Leonard Pashak is a former college instructor and a Canadian provincial and federal level politician. He served as member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
from 1986 to 1993 sitting with the opposition New Democratic Party caucus. He briefly served as leader for The Equity Party, a minor Alberta provincial party from 2000 to 2001.
Pashak got his start as a perennial candidate by running for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the 1971 Alberta general election
as a candidate for the Alberta New Democrats
in the electoral district of Calgary-North Hill. He finished a distant third out of fourth place in the hotly contested race behind incumbent Social Credit MLA Robert Simpson
and winning Progressive Conservative candidate Roy Farran
.
A year later, Pashak ran in his first federal election. He stood as a federal New Democratic Party
candidate running in the 1972 federal election
in the Calgary North
federal electoral district. Pashak once again finished a distant third place out of five candidates losing to Progressive Conservative incumbent Eldon Woolliams
.
Pashak attempted a second run at federal politics running for a seat in the 1979 federal election
. For the third time he finished third place in his district. He ran in the federal electoral district of Calgary East
for the NDP. He was defeated by Progressive Conservative incumbent John Kushner
and also finished behind former MLA Albert Ludwig
in the field of seven candidates.
The minority government of Joe Clark
fell less than a year later resulting in the 1980 federal election
. Pashak ran for a second time in the electoral district of Calgary East. The election was a virtual rerun with Pashak facing Kushner and Ludwig for the second time. On election night Pashak finished third out of the eight candidates but lost almost 700 votes from his 1979 total. He finished behind Kushner and Ludwig respectively.
Pashak returned to provincial politics running as a candidate in the 1982 provincial election
in the electoral district of Calgary-Buffalo. He finished a distant third out of fourth place for the fifth time in his career behind winner Progressive Conservative candidate Brian Lee and defeated incumbent Tom Sindlinger
.
Two years later Pashak attempted his fourth and final run at federal politics running in the electoral district of Calgary East for the third straight time. He finished a distant third out of eighth place in the open district behind winner Progressive Conservative candidate Alex Kindy
and former Mayor Rod Sykes
.
in the electoral district of Calgary-Forest Lawn. The race was hotly contested with nine candidates running. Pashak won the open district on heavy vote splitting finishing just ahead of Progressive Conservative candidate Moe Amery
to win his first term in office.
He ran for a second term in office in the 1989 provincial election
. Pashak faced off for the second time against Amery. Both candidates increased their popular vote in the hotly contested race. Pashak defeated Amery and two other candidates by a much wider margin then in 1986 to return to office.
The electoral district of Calgary-Forest Lawn was abolished to redistribution in 1993. Pashak ran for re-election in the provincial electoral district of Calgary-East. For the third time in a row Pashak faced Amery. Amery's vote surged in the new district while Pashak's popular vote sank from the previous general election. Pashak finished a distant second out of five candidates. He has attempted to run for office since.
Pashak most recently endorsed Dave Taylor in his run for leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party
.
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
from 1986 to 1993 sitting with the opposition New Democratic Party caucus. He briefly served as leader for The Equity Party, a minor Alberta provincial party from 2000 to 2001.
Perennial candidate
| 1971 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 1971 The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.... results |
||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary-North Hill | Turnout 71.06% | |||||||||||||||||||
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta... |
Roy Farran Roy Farran Major Roy Alexander Farran DSO, MC & Two Bars was a British-Canadian soldier, politician, farmer, author and journalist... |
4,961 | 43.81% |
Social Credit Social Credit Party of Alberta The Alberta Social Credit Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, that was founded on the social credit monetary policy and conservative Christian social values.... |
Robert Simpson Robert A. Simpson Robert Archibald "Bob" Simpson was a former provincial politician.-Political career:Simpson attempted to run for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1962 Canadian federal election. He finished second to incumbent Douglas Scott Harkness in a hotly contested election by roughly 6000 votes... |
4,900 | 43.28% |
NDP Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation... |
Barry Pashak | 1,341 | 11.84% |
Independent | Carl Reich | 121 | 1.07% | |
| Total | 11,323 | 100% | ||||||||||||||||||
Pashak got his start as a perennial candidate by running for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the 1971 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1971
The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
as a candidate for the Alberta New Democrats
Alberta New Democratic Party
The Alberta New Democratic Party or Alberta NDP is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which was originally founded as the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
in the electoral district of Calgary-North Hill. He finished a distant third out of fourth place in the hotly contested race behind incumbent Social Credit MLA Robert Simpson
Robert A. Simpson
Robert Archibald "Bob" Simpson was a former provincial politician.-Political career:Simpson attempted to run for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1962 Canadian federal election. He finished second to incumbent Douglas Scott Harkness in a hotly contested election by roughly 6000 votes...
and winning Progressive Conservative candidate Roy Farran
Roy Farran
Major Roy Alexander Farran DSO, MC & Two Bars was a British-Canadian soldier, politician, farmer, author and journalist...
.
A year later, Pashak ran in his first federal election. He stood as a federal New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
candidate running in the 1972 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1972
The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...
in the Calgary North
Calgary North
Calgary North was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1997.This riding was created in 1952 from parts of the Bow River, Calgary West and East Calgary ridings....
federal electoral district. Pashak once again finished a distant third place out of five candidates losing to Progressive Conservative incumbent Eldon Woolliams
Eldon Woolliams
Eldon Mattison Woolliams, QC was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was born in Rosetown, Saskatchewan and his career included law and education. He was shadow Justice Minister and Chairman of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Legal...
.
Pashak attempted a second run at federal politics running for a seat in the 1979 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1979
The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...
. For the third time he finished third place in his district. He ran in the federal electoral district of Calgary East
Calgary East
Calgary East is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1953, 1979 to 1988, and since 1997...
for the NDP. He was defeated by Progressive Conservative incumbent John Kushner
John Kushner
John Kushner was a Canadian federal and provincial level politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1975 to 1979 and then served as a Member of Parliament from 1979 until his death in 1984...
and also finished behind former MLA Albert Ludwig
Albert Ludwig
Albert Ludwig was a long serving politician and World War II combat veteran, layer judge and current author from Alberta, Canada.-Early life:Ludwig was born in 1919 in Melfort, Saskatchewan...
in the field of seven candidates.
The minority government of Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
fell less than a year later resulting in the 1980 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1980
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
. Pashak ran for a second time in the electoral district of Calgary East. The election was a virtual rerun with Pashak facing Kushner and Ludwig for the second time. On election night Pashak finished third out of the eight candidates but lost almost 700 votes from his 1979 total. He finished behind Kushner and Ludwig respectively.
Pashak returned to provincial politics running as a candidate in the 1982 provincial election
Alberta general election, 1982
The Alberta general election of 1982 was the twentieth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 2, 1982 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
in the electoral district of Calgary-Buffalo. He finished a distant third out of fourth place for the fifth time in his career behind winner Progressive Conservative candidate Brian Lee and defeated incumbent Tom Sindlinger
Tom Sindlinger
Tom Sindlinger is a politician in Alberta, Canada, and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Tom Sindlinger was elected as a member for the district of Calgary-Buffalo in the 1979 for the Progressive Conservatives. He disagreed with his party on matters relating to the Heritage Trust...
.
Two years later Pashak attempted his fourth and final run at federal politics running in the electoral district of Calgary East for the third straight time. He finished a distant third out of eighth place in the open district behind winner Progressive Conservative candidate Alex Kindy
Alex Kindy
Alex Kindy, M.D. is a former Canadian politician. Kindy was born in Warsaw, Poland.His first attempt at entering federal politics was in the 1962 federal election when he ran as an "Independent Liberal" in the Quebec riding of Maisonneuve—Rosemont...
and former Mayor Rod Sykes
Rod Sykes
James Rodney "Rod" Winter Sykes is a Canadian politician. He served as the 30th Mayor of Calgary from 1969 to 1977 and as leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party from 1980 to 1982...
.
Legislative assembly
Pashak made an electoral breakthrough when he ran for a seat in the 1986 provincial electionAlberta general election, 1986
The Alberta general election of 1986 was the twenty-first general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on May 8, 1986 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
in the electoral district of Calgary-Forest Lawn. The race was hotly contested with nine candidates running. Pashak won the open district on heavy vote splitting finishing just ahead of Progressive Conservative candidate Moe Amery
Moe Amery
Moe Amery is a Canadian politician and current member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Calgary-East as a Progressive Conservative.-Early life:...
to win his first term in office.
He ran for a second term in office in the 1989 provincial election
Alberta general election, 1989
The Alberta general election of 1989 was the twenty-second general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 20, 1989 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. Pashak faced off for the second time against Amery. Both candidates increased their popular vote in the hotly contested race. Pashak defeated Amery and two other candidates by a much wider margin then in 1986 to return to office.
The electoral district of Calgary-Forest Lawn was abolished to redistribution in 1993. Pashak ran for re-election in the provincial electoral district of Calgary-East. For the third time in a row Pashak faced Amery. Amery's vote surged in the new district while Pashak's popular vote sank from the previous general election. Pashak finished a distant second out of five candidates. He has attempted to run for office since.
After defeat
Pashak briefly returned to the Alberta provincial political scene in 2000 to become leader of The Equity Party, a minor centrist political party in Alberta. He served in that role briefly and departed in 2001.Pashak most recently endorsed Dave Taylor in his run for leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party
Alberta Liberal Party
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Originally founded in 1905, when the province was created, it was the dominant political party until 1921 when it was defeated. It has never been in government since that time...
.