Norman Cafik
Encyclopedia
Norman Augustine Cafik, PC
(born December 29, 1928) is a former Canadian
politician.
Born in Toronto
, Ontario
of a Ukrainian-Polish father and a Scottish-Irish mother, Cafik was unsuccessful in his attempts to win a seat in the Canadian House of Commons
in the 1962
and 1963 election
s, but was elected as the Liberal
Member of Parliament
(MP) for the riding
of Ontario
in the 1968 election
.
He attempted to move to provincial politics, running in 1973 for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party
. He lost on the third ballot of the leadership convention
to Robert Nixon
.
In 1977, he was the second person of Ukrainian
descent to be appointed to the Canadian Cabinet when Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
made him Minister of State
for Multiculturalism
. (Michael Starr
was appointed by John George Diefenbaker as the first Ukrainian in Cabinet.) He lost his seat in the House in the 1979 election
that defeated the Trudeau government and returned to private life.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(born December 29, 1928) 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...
politician.
Born in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
of a Ukrainian-Polish father and a Scottish-Irish mother, Cafik was unsuccessful in his attempts to win a seat in the Canadian House of Commons
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...
in the 1962
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
and 1963 election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
s, but was elected as the Liberal
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...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Ontario
Ontario (electoral district)
Ontario was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1997. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from Ontario South riding....
in the 1968 election
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
.
He attempted to move to provincial politics, running in 1973 for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
. He lost on the third ballot of the leadership convention
Ontario Liberal leadership conventions
Ballot-by-ballot results of leadership elections in the Ontario Liberal Party, a political party in the Province of Ontario, Canada.Note: Before 1919, the leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party were chosen by the party's elected Members of the Legislative Assembly...
to Robert Nixon
Robert Nixon
Robert Fletcher Nixon is a retired politician in the province of Ontario, Canada. The son of former Premier of Ontario Harry Nixon, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a 1962 by-election following his father's death...
.
In 1977, he was the second person of Ukrainian
Ukrainian Canadian
A Ukrainian Canadian is a person of Ukrainian descent or origin who was born in or immigrated to Canada. In 2006, there were an estimated 1,209,085 persons residing in Canada of Ukrainian origin, making them Canada's ninth largest ethnic group; and giving Canada the world's third-largest...
descent to be appointed to the Canadian Cabinet when Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
made him Minister of State
Minister of state (Canada)
A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....
for Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. (Michael Starr
Michael Starr
Michael Starr, PC was a Canadian politician and the first Canadian cabinet minister of Ukrainian descent, his parents having immigrated from Ukraine, then a part of the Russian Empire....
was appointed by John George Diefenbaker as the first Ukrainian in Cabinet.) He lost his seat in the House in the 1979 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...
that defeated the Trudeau government and returned to private life.