Maury Shapka is a former 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...

 fringe party politician. He served as leader of the provincial Natural Law Party

Natural Law Party of Canada

The Natural Law Party of Canada was the Canadian branch of the international Natural Law Party founded in 1992 by a group of educators, business leaders, and lawyers who practiced Transcendental Meditation....

 in 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...

 from 1992 until 2002

Political career

Shapka helped found and became leader of the Alberta branch of the Natural Law Party of Canada in 1992. The party itself achieved registration with Elections Alberta

Elections Alberta

Elections Alberta is the non-partisan organization which oversees general elections and by-elections for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Elections Alberta also oversees Senatorial elections and plebiscites.-History:...

 on May 27, 1993 by fielding enough candidates province wide in the 1993 Alberta general 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...

. Shapka led a slate of 45 candidates, earning 5,017 votes which amounted to 0.51% of the total popular vote. Shapka himself ran in the electoral district of Edmonton-Norwood

Edmonton-Norwood

Edmonton-Norwood was provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The District was created from the Edmonton district in 1959 and was abolished in 2004 when it merged with Edmonton-Highlands to form Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. The district was a swing riding and was held by every major party...

 in that election. He would be defeated finishing last to Andrew Beniuk

Andrew Beniuk

Andrew George Beniuk is a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a Member of the Alberta Legislature from 1993 until 1997 and has since tried to regain his seat twice since being defeated.-Political career:...

 taking just 88 votes.

The 1993 Canadian federal election

Canadian federal election, 1993

The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...

 was held in October of that year. Shapka ran as a candidate in the Edmonton—Strathcona

Edmonton—Strathcona

Edmonton—Strathcona is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton.-Geography:...

 finishing sixth winning 292 votes but finishing well behind winner Hugh Hanrahan

Hugh Hanrahan

Hugh F. Hanrahan was a member of the Canadian House of Commons for the Edmonton—Strathcona electoral district from 1993 to 1997. His career has been in education and writing....

. Shakpa would run for the federal Natural Law Party for a second time in the 1997 Canadian federal election

Canadian federal election, 1997

The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...

. He would finish seventh out of nine candidates taking 153 votes finishing well behind Rahim Jaffer

Rahim Jaffer

Rahim Nizar Jaffer is a former Canadian politician and a former Member of Parliament. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2008, representing the Alberta riding of Edmonton—Strathcona as a member of the Conservative Party. He was the first Muslim elected to the Canadian Parliament...

.

Shapka would step down as party leader become President of the party in 2002.