Laurence Decore
Encyclopedia
Laurence G. Decore, CM
(June 28, 1940 – November 6, 1999) was a Ukrainian
-Canadian
lawyer and politician from Alberta
. He was mayor of Edmonton
, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
, and leader of the Alberta Liberal Party
.
on June 28, 1940, the son of future Liberal Party of Canada
MP
and judge John Decore
; the family later adopted Anglicized
names. He was educated in Vegreville, Edmonton, and Ottawa
, and graduated from the University of Alberta
in 1961 with B.A. in history and political economy, and in 1964 with an LL.B. He was called to the bar the year of his graduation, and eventually founded the firm Decore & Company. He married Anne Marie Decore (who later became the University of Alberta's Associate Vice President Academic), with whom he had two children, Michael and Andrea.
Decore was involved in a number of business ventures that made him a millionaire. These included an Edmonton cable television station, a hotel in Jasper
, and assorted other commercial enterprises. From 1973 until 1975 he was founding chairman of the Alberta Cultural Heritage Council.
, when he ran for alderman in Ward 2. He finished fourth of eleven candidates; among those who defeated him was Cec Purves
, against whom Decore would later run for mayor twice.
He was elected as an alderman to Edmonton City Council
in the 1974 election
, in which he finished first of the ward's fourteen candidates. After serving a three year term, he ran for mayor in 1977
. He wound up nine thousand votes behind Purves, while finishing ahead of incumbent Terry Cavanagh
, who had been appointed interim mayor by city council after the death of William Hawrelak
, and four other candidates.
Decore stayed out of politics for the next six years. He was a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies (1977-1981), president of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation (1979-1981), and chairman of the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism (1980-1983), a position from which he led a national lobby resulting in a Constitutional change acknowledging Canada's multicultural nature.
He returned to politics in the 1983 mayoral election
when he defeated Purves in a landslide, more than doubling the incumbent's vote count and establishing a new historical plurality record. He was re-elected by a similar margin in 1986
. As mayor Decore eliminated the city's Board of Commissioners - handing more power to its elected city council - put in place a fiscal program that would eliminate the city's debt, took key major steps which began downtown revitalization and won a high-profile battle with the Province of Alberta over the city-owned telephone company's right to a fair share of long distance revenue. He also oversaw the city's recovery after 1987's Edmonton Tornado
and expressed the city's sadness over the Edmonton Oilers
' trading Wayne Gretzky
(the hockey team had won its first four Stanley Cup
s during Decore's time as mayor).
On October 17, 1988 Decore resigned to enter provincial politics.
was led by Nick Taylor
, who had served in this capacity since 1974. For most of those years, the party had been shut out of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
, but in the 1986 election
it won its first four seats (including Taylor's) in more than a decade. This wasn't enough for some party faithful, however, and a 1987 leadership review resulted in a 1988 leadership convention (some have suggested that Decore helped orchestrate this result).
Taylor contested the convention, as did Edmonton Meadowlark
MLA Grant Mitchell
, but Decore won a first ballot victory. In the following year's snap election
, he led the party to eight seats, twice as many as it had held at dissolution of the legislature, while also getting the second-highest popular vote, though the NDP retained official opposition status with sixteen seats. Decore, who was elected in Edmonton Glengarry, defeating New Democrat John Younie
, declared "there is a new party on the horizon", as one of his candidates Percy Wickman
had unseated Premier Don Getty
.
In the legislature, Decore focused his attacks in the government around fiscal responsibility and the province's rapidly rising debt. He was also critical of the government's involvement in the private sector which had, in some high profile cases, resulted in companies defaulting on government loans. The Liberals rose rapidly in the polls, and Progressive Conservative
Premier Don Getty
resigned in 1992 rather than lead his party into another election that it might well lose.
The Progressive Conservatives' new leader, Ralph Klein, had won the leadership in part by making arguments similar to Decore's. He favoured a near-immediate balancing of the provincial budget and rapid debt repayment thereafter, and declared his government "out of the business of business". In the 1993 election
, Decore therefore faced a Premier with whom he agreed on many issues; he coped by arguing that the Progressive Conservatives had, as a party, no moral authority left on the issues on which Klein was campaigning. The campaign was also notable as the former mayors of Edmonton and Calgary were facing off as party leaders.
The Liberals won 32 of the province's 83 seats, the highest percentage they had won since leaving government in 1917 and the highest percentage won by any opposition party in the province's history. They returned to official opposition status for the first time since 1967, while banishing the New Democrats from the legislature.
Nonetheless, many members of the new caucus were unhappy to find themselves in the opposition benches after an election they had expected to win. The disappointing results led to calls within the party for Decore to step down. Decore resigned his leadership in 1994, and did not seek re-election as MLA in the 1997 election
.
in 1983, and received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Alberta
in 1999.
Decore was a two-time cancer survivor, having survived colon cancer
in 1990 and liver cancer
two years later, but a third incidence took his life in 1999. In paying tribute to him, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
called Decore "an extraordinarily gifted leader" and "a man of vision and perseverance", while Klein said that he "brought great passion and a keen intellect to all he did in public life".
Laurence Decore Lookout, a viewing point overlooking the North Saskatchewan River
in Edmonton, is named in Decore's honour, as are the Edmonton Decore
electoral district and the Laurence Decore Award for Student Leadership, a provincially endowed scholarship.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(June 28, 1940 – November 6, 1999) was a Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
-Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
lawyer and politician from Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. He was mayor of Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
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...
, and leader 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...
.
Early life
Decore was born Lavrentiy Dikur in Vegreville, AlbertaVegreville, Alberta
-Notable Vegrevillans :*Brent Severyn, former NHL defenseman*Cam Cole, Canadian sports writer*Laurence Decore, lawyer, former mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, and former leader of the Alberta Liberal Party*Roderick Fraser, former president of the University of Alberta...
on June 28, 1940, the son of future Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
MP
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
and judge John Decore
John Decore
John Decore was a barrister, lawyer, teacher and a Canadian federal politician....
; the family later adopted Anglicized
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
names. He was educated in Vegreville, Edmonton, and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, and graduated from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
in 1961 with B.A. in history and political economy, and in 1964 with an LL.B. He was called to the bar the year of his graduation, and eventually founded the firm Decore & Company. He married Anne Marie Decore (who later became the University of Alberta's Associate Vice President Academic), with whom he had two children, Michael and Andrea.
Decore was involved in a number of business ventures that made him a millionaire. These included an Edmonton cable television station, a hotel in Jasper
Jasper, Alberta
Jasper is a specialized municipality in western Alberta, Canada. It is the commercial centre of Jasper National Park, located in the Canadian Rockies in the Athabasca River valley....
, and assorted other commercial enterprises. From 1973 until 1975 he was founding chairman of the Alberta Cultural Heritage Council.
Municipal politics
Decore first sought office in the 1971 municipal electionEdmonton municipal election, 1971
The 1971 municipal election was held October 13, 1971 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and seven trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards.This was the first election in which a ward system was used...
, when he ran for alderman in Ward 2. He finished fourth of eleven candidates; among those who defeated him was Cec Purves
Cec Purves
Cecil John Harry Purves is a politician in Alberta, Canada, who served as mayor of Edmonton.-Early life:Purves was born in Edmonton on October 18, 1933. He grew up in the city's Riverdale district and graduated high school in the city...
, against whom Decore would later run for mayor twice.
He was elected as an alderman to Edmonton City Council
Edmonton City Council
The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors. Until 2010, Edmonton was divided in six wards with two councillors representing citizens in each ward...
in the 1974 election
Edmonton municipal election, 1974
The 1974 municipal election was held October 16, 1974 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council and seven trustees to sit on each of the public and separate school boards.-Voter turnout:...
, in which he finished first of the ward's fourteen candidates. After serving a three year term, he ran for mayor in 1977
Edmonton municipal election, 1977
The 1977 municipal election was held October 19, 1977 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council, nine trustees to sit on the public school board, and seven trustees to sit on the separate school board....
. He wound up nine thousand votes behind Purves, while finishing ahead of incumbent Terry Cavanagh
Terry Cavanagh
Terence James Cavanagh is a Canadian politician, municipal councillor in Edmonton, Alberta, who served as mayor. He was Edmonton's first native-born mayor.-Early life:...
, who had been appointed interim mayor by city council after the death of William Hawrelak
William Hawrelak
William Hawrelak was a politician in Alberta, Canada, the longest-serving mayor in Edmonton's history, and a candidate for election to the Canadian House of Commons.-Early life:...
, and four other candidates.
Decore stayed out of politics for the next six years. He was a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies (1977-1981), president of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation (1979-1981), and chairman of the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism (1980-1983), a position from which he led a national lobby resulting in a Constitutional change acknowledging Canada's multicultural nature.
He returned to politics in the 1983 mayoral election
Edmonton municipal election, 1983
The 1983 municipal election was held October 17, 1983 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council in Alberta, Canada, nine trustees to sit on the public school board, and seven trustees to sit on the separate school board.-Voter turnout:...
when he defeated Purves in a landslide, more than doubling the incumbent's vote count and establishing a new historical plurality record. He was re-elected by a similar margin in 1986
Edmonton municipal election, 1986
The 1986 municipal election was held October 20, 1986 to elect a mayor and twelve aldermen to sit on Edmonton City Council, nine trustees to sit on the public school board, and seven trustees to sit on the separate school board....
. As mayor Decore eliminated the city's Board of Commissioners - handing more power to its elected city council - put in place a fiscal program that would eliminate the city's debt, took key major steps which began downtown revitalization and won a high-profile battle with the Province of Alberta over the city-owned telephone company's right to a fair share of long distance revenue. He also oversaw the city's recovery after 1987's Edmonton Tornado
Edmonton Tornado
The Edmonton Tornado, an event also known as Black Friday to Edmontonians, was a powerful and devastating tornado that ripped through the eastern part of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and parts of neighbouring Strathcona County on the afternoon of Friday, July 31, 1987.The tornado remained on the...
and expressed the city's sadness over the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
' trading Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
(the hockey team had won its first four Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
s during Decore's time as mayor).
On October 17, 1988 Decore resigned to enter provincial politics.
Provincial politics
As 1988 opened, the Alberta Liberal PartyAlberta 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...
was led by Nick Taylor
Nicholas Taylor
Nicholas "Nick" William Taylor is a retired geologist, businessman and politician and former Canadian Senator from Alberta, Canada....
, who had served in this capacity since 1974. For most of those years, the party had been shut out of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
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...
, but in the 1986 election
Alberta 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....
it won its first four seats (including Taylor's) in more than a decade. This wasn't enough for some party faithful, however, and a 1987 leadership review resulted in a 1988 leadership convention (some have suggested that Decore helped orchestrate this result).
Taylor contested the convention, as did Edmonton Meadowlark
Edmonton Meadowlark
Edmonton Meadowlark is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 83 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....
MLA Grant Mitchell
Grant Mitchell (politician)
-Early life:He received a B.A. degree from the University of Alberta and an M.A. degree from Queen's University. From 1976 to 1979, he worked as a public servant with the Government of Alberta...
, but Decore won a first ballot victory. In the following year's snap 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....
, he led the party to eight seats, twice as many as it had held at dissolution of the legislature, while also getting the second-highest popular vote, though the NDP retained official opposition status with sixteen seats. Decore, who was elected in Edmonton Glengarry, defeating New Democrat John Younie
John Younie
John Younie is a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for a single term from 1986 to 1989 and sat as a member of the New Democrats caucus when they held official opposition status....
, declared "there is a new party on the horizon", as one of his candidates Percy Wickman
Percy Wickman
Percy Dwight Wickman was a Canadian politician and well-known activist for people with disabilities. He was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario.Wickman served as an alderman on Edmonton City Council from 1977 to 1986...
had unseated Premier Don Getty
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty, OC, AOE is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 11th Premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before...
.
In the legislature, Decore focused his attacks in the government around fiscal responsibility and the province's rapidly rising debt. He was also critical of the government's involvement in the private sector which had, in some high profile cases, resulted in companies defaulting on government loans. The Liberals rose rapidly in the polls, and 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...
Premier Don Getty
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty, OC, AOE is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 11th Premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before...
resigned in 1992 rather than lead his party into another election that it might well lose.
The Progressive Conservatives' new leader, Ralph Klein, had won the leadership in part by making arguments similar to Decore's. He favoured a near-immediate balancing of the provincial budget and rapid debt repayment thereafter, and declared his government "out of the business of business". In the 1993 election
Alberta general election, 1993
The Alberta general election of 1993 was the twenty-third general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 15, 1993 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta...
, Decore therefore faced a Premier with whom he agreed on many issues; he coped by arguing that the Progressive Conservatives had, as a party, no moral authority left on the issues on which Klein was campaigning. The campaign was also notable as the former mayors of Edmonton and Calgary were facing off as party leaders.
The Liberals won 32 of the province's 83 seats, the highest percentage they had won since leaving government in 1917 and the highest percentage won by any opposition party in the province's history. They returned to official opposition status for the first time since 1967, while banishing the New Democrats from the legislature.
Nonetheless, many members of the new caucus were unhappy to find themselves in the opposition benches after an election they had expected to win. The disappointing results led to calls within the party for Decore to step down. Decore resigned his leadership in 1994, and did not seek re-election as MLA in the 1997 election
Alberta general election, 1997
The Alberta general election of 1997 was the twenty-fourth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 11, 1997 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
.
Personal life, death, and legacy
After leaving politics, Decore returned to business and became chairman of the Canada-Ukraine Business Initiative. He was admitted to the Order of CanadaOrder of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 1983, and received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
in 1999.
Decore was a two-time cancer survivor, having survived colon cancer
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer, commonly known as bowel cancer, is a cancer caused by uncontrolled cell growth , in the colon, rectum, or vermiform appendix. Colorectal cancer is clinically distinct from anal cancer, which affects the anus....
in 1990 and liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common type of liver cancer. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitide infection or cirrhosis .Compared to other cancers, HCC is quite a rare tumor in the United States...
two years later, but a third incidence took his life in 1999. In paying tribute to him, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
called Decore "an extraordinarily gifted leader" and "a man of vision and perseverance", while Klein said that he "brought great passion and a keen intellect to all he did in public life".
Laurence Decore Lookout, a viewing point overlooking the North Saskatchewan River
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....
in Edmonton, is named in Decore's honour, as are the Edmonton Decore
Edmonton Decore
Edmonton-Decore is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. It is one of 83 districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting....
electoral district and the Laurence Decore Award for Student Leadership, a provincially endowed scholarship.