Peter Trynchy
Encyclopedia
Peter Trynchy is a former businessman, farmer and long serving municipal and provincial level politician from Alberta
, Canada
. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
from 1971 until 2001. During his time in public office, Trynchy served many cabinet portfolios in the Alberta provincial government.
, Alberta
. He grew up on a farm and was educated locally. Trynchy began his early political career serving for six years a town councilor for Mayerthorpe
, Alberta
. He was also active in numerous local organizations such as the Mayerthorpe Masonic Lodge, K-40 Kinsmen Club and the member of the Royal Canadian Legion. He was active in the local business community serving as former President Mayerthorpe Chamber of Commerce.
. He won the new electoral district of Whitecourt defeating three other candidates to pick up the district for the Progressive Conservatives
. He won his second term in office in the 1975 Alberta general election
defeating two other candidates and increasing his plurality.
Trynchy won his third term in office with a small drop in his popular vote in the 1979 Alberta general election
. In 1981 as Minister of Recreation and Parks, Trynchy gave an initial $100,000 grant plus $20,000 per year maintenance budget to the town of Hanna
in central Alberta to develop park facilities at Fox Lake north of the town site. The Fox Lake Park was officially opened by Trynchy and Chinook MLA Henry Kroeger
on July 26, 1984.
Trynchy was re-elected to his fourth term in the 1982 Alberta general election
. He won the second largest plurality of his political career defeating four other candidates. He would stand for a fifth term in office in the 1986 Alberta general election
. His plurality saw a minor decline but he still won his district comfortably defeating three other candidates. His bid for a sixth term resulted in his closest election since coming to office in 1971. He won just a little over half the popular vote in the 1989 Alberta general election
. The race saw a strong challenge by Liberal
candidate Jurgen Preugschas. But Trynchy was still returned with a safe margin.
. The election of 1993
would see Trynchy win the second highest popular vote of his career. The race saw strong challenge by Preugschas who had doubled his popular vote from four years earlier. Three other candidates rounded out the field finishing well behind the two front runners. Trynchy was easily returned to his seventh term in office.
A year later, while serving in the Ralph Klein government as Minister of Transportation and Utilities Trynchy was investigated by the Alberta Ethics Commissioner Robert Clark
over possible violations of the Conflict of Interest Act. The allegations were brought to the attention of the Ethics Commissioner by Calgary North West
MLA Frank Bruseker
. Clark investigated him for tendering a contract to resurface Alberta Highway 22 to Sandstar Corporation at the same time the company paved his driveway at his private residence. The opposition Liberal caucus brought the subject up in question period on October 25, 1994 and used the subject repeatedly in question period until November 7, 1994. Fort McMurray
MLA Adam Germain
was the first member to bring up a question regarding Sandstar paving his driveway on November 1, 1994. Clark found that the payment for the driveway on the Trynchy residence was only made after the opposition made the contract and driveway paving public. Questions were raised by the Clark as to whether Trynchy had intended to accept the paving as a gift for awarding the contract. He concluded after a lengthy investigation that there was no evidence Trynchy had attempted to influence the tender process and was cleared in the investigation.
He would be involved in another controversy in April 1996 after granting a $150,000 to a seniors centre just before a by-election held in the Redwater
electoral district. The local newspaper ran a photo of Trynchy and Vegreville-Viking
MLA Ed Stelmach
handing over the money a week before the election. The opposition accused the Progressive Conservatives of vote buying. The opposition Liberals would end up holding that seat in the by-election.
. He would win his final election with his largest plurality and popular vote of his political career. He retired from public politics at the dissolution of the Legislature in 2001. In total he spent 30 consecutive years in the legislature.
electoral district who wish to continue their technical and trades education.
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 served as 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...
from 1971 until 2001. During his time in public office, Trynchy served many cabinet portfolios in the Alberta provincial government.
Early life
Peter Trynchy was born on August 22, 1931 in the small town of Rochfort BridgeRochfort Bridge, Alberta
Rochfort Bridge is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Lac Ste. Anne County. It is located approximately northwest of Edmonton and east of Mayerthorpe....
, 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 grew up on a farm and was educated locally. Trynchy began his early political career serving for six years a town councilor for Mayerthorpe
Mayerthorpe, Alberta
Mayerthorpe is a town in the census division 13, central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 and Cowboy Trail , north-west from Edmonton.-History:...
, 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 also active in numerous local organizations such as the Mayerthorpe Masonic Lodge, K-40 Kinsmen Club and the member of the Royal Canadian Legion. He was active in the local business community serving as former President Mayerthorpe Chamber of Commerce.
Provincial politics
Trynchy moved his political career up to the provincial level when he was elected to the Alberta Legislature in the 1971 Alberta general electionAlberta general election, 1971
The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. He won the new electoral district of Whitecourt defeating three other candidates to pick up the district for the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
. He won his second term in office in the 1975 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1975
The Alberta general election of 1975 was the eighteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 25, 1975 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
defeating two other candidates and increasing his plurality.
Trynchy won his third term in office with a small drop in his popular vote in the 1979 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1979
The Alberta general election of 1979 was the nineteenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 14, 1979 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. In 1981 as Minister of Recreation and Parks, Trynchy gave an initial $100,000 grant plus $20,000 per year maintenance budget to the town of Hanna
Hanna, Alberta
Hanna is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada.The town's main industries are agriculture, oil production, tourism, and coal mining. It is the centre of a large trading area called Short Grass County and is the home of approximately 200 businesses...
in central Alberta to develop park facilities at Fox Lake north of the town site. The Fox Lake Park was officially opened by Trynchy and Chinook MLA Henry Kroeger
Henry Kroeger
Henry Kroeger was a provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1975 until his death in 1987...
on July 26, 1984.
Trynchy was re-elected to his fourth term in the 1982 Alberta general election
Alberta general election, 1982
The Alberta general election of 1982 was the twentieth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 2, 1982 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....
. He won the second largest plurality of his political career defeating four other candidates. He would stand for a fifth term in office 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....
. His plurality saw a minor decline but he still won his district comfortably defeating three other candidates. His bid for a sixth term resulted in his closest election since coming to office in 1971. He won just a little over half the popular vote in the 1989 Alberta general 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....
. The race saw a strong challenge by 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...
candidate Jurgen Preugschas. But Trynchy was still returned with a safe margin.
Controversial years
The Whitecourt electoral district was abolished due to redistribution in 1993. Trynchy ran in the new electoral district district of Whitecourt-Ste. AnneWhitecourt-Ste. Anne
Whitecourt-Ste. Anne is an Alberta provincial electoral district, located in central Alberta. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting...
. The election of 1993
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...
would see Trynchy win the second highest popular vote of his career. The race saw strong challenge by Preugschas who had doubled his popular vote from four years earlier. Three other candidates rounded out the field finishing well behind the two front runners. Trynchy was easily returned to his seventh term in office.
A year later, while serving in the Ralph Klein government as Minister of Transportation and Utilities Trynchy was investigated by the Alberta Ethics Commissioner Robert Clark
Robert Curtis Clark
Robert "Bob" Curtis Clark is a former teacher, civil servant and provincial level politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1960 to 1981. During his career he served as Leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party and Leader of the Official Opposition...
over possible violations of the Conflict of Interest Act. The allegations were brought to the attention of the Ethics Commissioner by Calgary North West
Calgary North West
Calgary North West is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.-Boundary history:- Members of the Legislative Assembly :-1979 general election:-1982 general election:-1986 general election:...
MLA Frank Bruseker
Frank Bruseker
Frank Bruseker is a former provincial level politician and current union leader from Alberta, Canada.-Political career:Bruseker was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1989 Alberta general election. He defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Stan Cassin to pick up the Calgary...
. Clark investigated him for tendering a contract to resurface Alberta Highway 22 to Sandstar Corporation at the same time the company paved his driveway at his private residence. The opposition Liberal caucus brought the subject up in question period on October 25, 1994 and used the subject repeatedly in question period until November 7, 1994. Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray (provincial electoral district)
Fort McMurray was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, from 1986 until 2004, when it was included in the new district of Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo.-MLAs:The district elected the following members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta:...
MLA Adam Germain
Adam Germain
Adam Germain is a former provincial level politician, lawyer and current Court of Queen's Bench Justice from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 1997.-Political career:...
was the first member to bring up a question regarding Sandstar paving his driveway on November 1, 1994. Clark found that the payment for the driveway on the Trynchy residence was only made after the opposition made the contract and driveway paving public. Questions were raised by the Clark as to whether Trynchy had intended to accept the paving as a gift for awarding the contract. He concluded after a lengthy investigation that there was no evidence Trynchy had attempted to influence the tender process and was cleared in the investigation.
He would be involved in another controversy in April 1996 after granting a $150,000 to a seniors centre just before a by-election held in the Redwater
Redwater (provincial electoral district)
Redwater was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada from 1940 until 1971 and again from 1993 until 2004.-MLAs:The district elected the following members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta:-1957 liquor plebiscite:...
electoral district. The local newspaper ran a photo of Trynchy and Vegreville-Viking
Vegreville-Viking
Vegreville—Viking was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada from 1993 until 2004.-MLAs:The riding was represented by Ed Stelmach of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta for its entire existence.-Election results:...
MLA Ed Stelmach
Ed Stelmach
Edward Michael "Ed" Stelmach, MLA is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and speaks fluent Ukrainian. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a...
handing over the money a week before the election. The opposition accused the Progressive Conservatives of vote buying. The opposition Liberals would end up holding that seat in the by-election.
Final term
Trynchy would stand for his eighth and final term in office in the 1997 Alberta general electionAlberta 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....
. He would win his final election with his largest plurality and popular vote of his political career. He retired from public politics at the dissolution of the Legislature in 2001. In total he spent 30 consecutive years in the legislature.
Late life and legacy
In honor of Peter Trynchy the Mayerthorpe Area Community Foundation founded a scholarship and made it available to students living in the boundaries of the Whitecourt-Ste. AnneWhitecourt-Ste. Anne
Whitecourt-Ste. Anne is an Alberta provincial electoral district, located in central Alberta. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting...
electoral district who wish to continue their technical and trades education.