Don Mazankowski | |
|---|---|
| 4thDeputy Prime Minister of Canada | |
| In office June 30, 1986 – June 25, 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney |
| Preceded by | Erik Nielsen |
| Succeeded by | Jean Charest |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office April 21, 1991 – June 24, 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney |
| Preceded by | Michael Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Gilles Loiselle |
| Member of Parliament forVegreville | |
| In office June 25, 1968 – October 25, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Fane |
| Succeeded by | Leon Benoit |
| More... | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Frank Mazankowski (1935-07-27)July 27, 1935 Viking, Alberta, Canada |
| Died | October 27, 2020(2020-10-27) (aged 85) |
| Party | Progressive Conservative |
| Residence(s) | Calgary,Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | Businessman, consultant |
Donald Frank MazankowskiPC CC AOE (July 27, 1935 – October 27, 2020) was a Canadian politician who served as acabinet minister underprime ministersJoe Clark andBrian Mulroney, including asdeputy prime minister under Mulroney.
After retiring from politics in 1993, Mazankowski was a consultant with the law firm ofGowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. He also served as a director or trustee for several companies, includingWeyerhaeuser Co.,ATCO Ltd.,Shaw Communications Inc., andPower Corporation of Canada.
Mazankowski was born inViking, Alberta, on July 27, 1935.[1] His parents, Frank and Dora (Lonowski), were ofPolish descent and had come to Canada from the United States in 1921.[2] After he completed high school, Mazankowski moved toChicago, where he worked as a dispatcher in a trucking business. He later returned to Alberta and started his owngas station inInnisfree. Together with his brother Ray, he opened a car dealership on the outskirts ofVegreville.[2]
Mazankowski's first taste of politics came during his five-year tenure as a trustee of a localseparate school. This inspired him to seek theProgressive Conservative Party nomination in his local riding ofVegreville, which he won in 1968.[2] During thefederal election that year, he was elected to theHouse of Commons of Canada as theMember of Parliament (MP) for Vegreville.[1]
During the short-lived Clark government, Mazankowski served asMinister of Transport.[3] When the Tories returned to power under Mulroney in the1984 election, Mazankowski again became Minister of Transport.[4] In 1986, he was promoted toDeputy Prime Minister andGovernment House Leader.[5] Mazankowski became one of the most widely known public faces of the Tory government. He played an especially important role as an advocate for theCanada–United States Free Trade Agreement and theNorth American Free Trade Agreement.[6][7]
A bill to restore the death penalty was defeated by theHouse of Commons on June 30, 1987, in a 148–127 vote. (The thenLiberal government led byPierre Trudeau had abolished the death penalty in Canada in 1976.) While Prime Minister Mulroney,Minister of JusticeRay Hnatyshyn, andMinister of External Affairs Clark opposed the bill, Mazankowski and most PC MPs supported it.[8][9][10][11] He becameFinance Minister during acabinet reshuffle in April 1991, replacingMichael Wilson.[12]
Mazankowski retired from politics on June 7, 1993.[13] WhenKim Campbell succeeded Mulroney as PC leader and prime minister two weeks later, Mazankowski was replaced as Finance Minister byGilles Loiselle. Mazankowski did not run in the1993 election that saw his party reduced to two seats in the House of Commons. He returned to the private sector and served on the boards of several organizations, including theUniversity of Alberta. Mazankowski declined an offer of aSenate seat made by Mulroney in his final days as prime minister.[13]
In August 2001,Ralph Klein, thePremier of Alberta at the time, established the Premier's Advisory Council on Health, with Mazankowski as chair. He put the Council of twelve men in charge of reviewing Alberta's health care system and offering recommendations for health reform.[14] The Council releasedits report on January 8, 2002, and the Alberta government accepted all of the recommendations.[15][16] The report focused on market-consumerism with emphasis onconsumer choice and market competition.[17]
Mazankowski played an important role in the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and theCanadian Alliance in 2003,[18] and he was a strong supporter of the newConservative Party of Canada.[19] Mazankowski died on October 27, 2020, at the age of 85.[20][21]
In 1992, Mazankowski was one of a few prominent Canadians who were given thehonorificstyle of "Right Honourable" without having held any of the offices that would entitle them to it automatically.[22]
In 2000, Mazankowski was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada, and he was promoted to Companion in 2013.[23] He was inducted to theAlberta Order of Excellence in 2003.[24]
There is a Donald Mazankowskifonds atLibrary and Archives Canada.[25]
Alberta: Health first: Building a better public health care system
| 24th Canadian Ministry (1984–1993) – Cabinet ofBrian Mulroney | ||
| Cabinet posts (6) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Erik Nielsen | Deputy Prime Minister of Canada 1986–1993 | Jean Charest |
| Michael Wilson | Minister of Finance 1991–1993 | Gilles Loiselle |
| Ray Hnatyshyn | President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada 1986–1991 | Joe Clark |
| John Wise | Minister of Agriculture 1988–1991 | Bill McKnight |
| Robert de Cotret | President of the Treasury Board 1987–1988 | Pat Carney |
| Lloyd Axworthy | Minister of Transport 1984–1986 second time | John Crosbie |
| Special Parliamentary Responsibilities | ||
| Predecessor | Title | Successor |
| Ray Hnatyshyn | Leader of the Government in the House of Commons 1986–1989 | Doug Lewis |
| 21st Canadian Ministry (1979–1980) – Cabinet ofJoe Clark | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Otto Lang | Minister of Transport 1979–1980 first time | Jean-Luc Pépin |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
