Janis Tarchuk is a 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...

 politician and current 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...

 representing the constituency of Banff-Cochrane

Banff-Cochrane

Banff-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. This riding is home to the popular tourist destination Banff National Park, environmental issues tend to dominate here....

 as a 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...

.

Early life

Ms. Tarchuk has a long history of community involvement. Prior to provincial politics she chaired and sat on several local health and education boards, and served as an executive member of the Alberta School Boards Association, director of Jubilee Insurance and a board member of the Alberta Educational Technology and Research Foundation.

Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, Ms Tarchuk received her bachelor of arts degree majoring in political science at the University of Guelph.

Political career

Tarchuk was first elected on March 11, 1997, and is serving her fourth term as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Banff-Cochrane.

During this time she has chaired several key committees related to economic development, finance, taxation, sustainable development and health and has served as Minister of Children and Youth Services and Minister of Children's Services.

Currently Ms Tarchuk is Chair of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund.

She is also on the board of Alberta Research and Innovation Authority, an Alberta Innovates advisory body that provides strategic advice and recommendations to the Government of Alberta on research opportunities, emerging technologies and policy direction to enhance innovation.

In addition she is a member of the Cabinet Policy Committee on Education, the Standing Committee on Education and the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.

Personal life

As a resident of the Bow Valley for over 30 years, her personal interests include skiing, hiking, reading and the many local cultural opportunities.
Tarchuk and her husband Byron live in Banff and have two grown children.

Election results

2008 Alberta general election results ( Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. This riding is home to the popular tourist destination Banff National Park, environmental issues tend to dominate here....  )			font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 37.3%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Progressive Conservative	Janis Tarchuk	4,727	49.3%	Liberal 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...	Patricia Robertson	2,753	28.7%	Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990...	Dan Cunin	1,353	14.1%	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...	Anne Wilson	575	6.0%	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Zrinko R. Ameri	172	1.8%
2004 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 2004 The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....  results ( Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. This riding is home to the popular tourist destination Banff National Park, environmental issues tend to dominate here....  )			font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 38.0%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Progressive Conservative	Janis Tarchuk	4,238	52.8%	Liberal 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...	Ian McDougall	1,648	20.5%	Alberta Alliance	Bob Argent	477	5.9%	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...	Melissa Cambridge	467	5.8%	Green Green Party of Alberta The Green Party of Alberta, also known as the Alberta Greens, was a provincial political party in the province of Alberta, Canada.The Alberta Greens were formed in 1986 and received official party status on April 6, 1990...	Chris Foote	1,204	15.0%
2001 Alberta general election Alberta general election, 2001 The Alberta general election of 2001 was the twenty-fifth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....  results ( Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. This riding is home to the popular tourist destination Banff National Park, environmental issues tend to dominate here....  )			font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 49.5%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Progressive Conservative	Janis Tarchuk	9,418	70.2%	Liberal 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...	Norman Kent	2,147	16.0%	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...	Cathy Harrop	1,311	9.8%	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Cory Morgan	538	4.0%
1997 Alberta general 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....  results ( Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane Banff-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. This riding is home to the popular tourist destination Banff National Park, environmental issues tend to dominate here....  )			font style="font-size: 90%;">Turnout 49.7%
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Progressive Conservative	Janis Tarchuk	7,180	61.1%	Liberal 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...	Judy Stewart	3,151	26.8%	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...	Jeff Eamon	754	6.4%	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....	Scott Mudford	661	5.7%