Mike Pawlus was a minor provincial level 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...

, Canada

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...

. He led the fringe right wing The Heritage Party of Alberta

The Heritage Party of Alberta

The Heritage Party of Alberta was a right-wing political party active in Politics of Canada during the 1980s. Throughout its existence, it was led by Mike Pawlus....

 during the entire existence of the party.

Political career

After The Heritage Party of Alberta was founded in 1984 and registered 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:...

, Pawlus, a "semi-retired engineer and businessman," became leader. He first ran for a seat in the Alberta Legislature in the Spirit River-Fairview

Spirit River-Fairview

Spirit River-Fairview was a provincial electoral district in Northwestern Alberta. In 1971 the district created by a merger of the Spirit River and Dunvegan electoral districts. The district was abolished in 1986 and recreated into Dunvegan....

 by-election held on February 21, 1985. Pawlus and The Heritage Party won just 18 votes in the election, finishing last in a field of 17 candidates. He lost to Jim Gurnett

Jim Gurnett

Jim Gurnett was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1985 until 1986.-Career:Jim Gurnett was Executive Director of Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers from 2001-2009...

 of the New Democratic Party.

Pawlus ran for his second attempt at office in the Edmonton-Whitemud

Edmonton-Whitemud

Edmonton-Whitemud is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. In 1989, its constituents unseated the Premier of the day, Donald Getty, by voting for Liberal candidate, Percy Wickman....

 by-election held on December 11, 1985. He improved his performance but still finished last and lost to 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...

 this time, only winning 53 votes for a vote share of 0.54%.

Pawlus led the Heritage Party into the failed coalition with the Western Canada Concept

Western Canada Concept

The Western Canada Concept was a Western Canadian political party founded in 1980 to promote the separation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and the Yukon and Northwest Territories from Canada in order to create a new nation.The party argued that Western...

 and Social Credit that created the Alberta Political Alliance

Alberta Party

The Alberta Party Political Association, more commonly known as the Alberta Party, is a political party in the province of Alberta, Canada...

 in 1986. The Heritage Party left the coalition and ran candidates under its own banner in the 1986 Alberta general 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....

.

Pawlus ran in the electoral district of Edmonton-Mill Woods, finishing last in the field of five candidates. He lost to New Democrat candidate Gerry Gibeault

Gerry Gibeault

Gerry Gibeault is a former School Trustee with Edmonton Public Schools and served as the Trusee for Ward I. He previously served as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1986 to 1993 sitting with the New Democrat caucus in opposition.-Early life:Gibeault graduated post secondary...

 and garnered just 132 votes. Pawlus managed to field five other candidates earning 601 votes in total across the province. Pawlus did not return to provincial politics after the 1986 general election.

Mike Pawlus died April 17, 2010 at the age of 86 in 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...

.