Lorne A. Reznowski (January 5, 1929 – November 9, 2011) was a Canadian professor of English at theUniversity of Manitoba and leader of theSocial Credit Party of Canada.^[1][2]

He was the son ofUkrainian-Canadians Lorne William Reznowski and Anna Angela Brokowska. Reznowski received a BA degree fromLoyola College in Montreal in 1949 and then worked as alongshoreman on the Pacific coast. He graduated with aLicentiate in Sacred Theology from theCatholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1957.^[2]

He then studied at theUniversity of Ottawa where he earned MA and PhD degrees in English Literature.^[2]

He returned to Winnipeg in 1966 to teach at St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba and taught there until his retirement in 1993.^[2]

He was active in the Social Credit Party since the age of 12 when he made radio broadcasts for the party.^[2]

A one-time national secretary of the Social Credit Party, Reznowski once worked for former Socred leaderRobert N. Thompson^[3] and was a "doctrinal purist"^[3] when it came tosocial credit monetary theory. He was the party's candidate inProvencher for the1968 Canadian federal election, receiving 8.2% of the popular vote.^[4]

Reznowski ran for the party leadership at its1978 convention and was elected leader. He resigned four months after losing an October 16, 1978by-election inSaint Boniface,Manitoba, in which he finished in fourth place with only 1,204 votes out of 43,572 valid votes (2.76%).^[5][6]

Reznowski cited the need for him to finish his doctoral thesis in medieval literature in order to retain his teaching position for his resignation. However, he also said that the party wanted afrancophone leader and that it would have a better chance of retaining its nine seats in theHouse of Commons of Canada, all of which were in Quebec, with a leader from that province. It had been hoped that Reznowski's leadership would help revive the party in its former base ofWestern Canada.^[5]

Reznowski was described as a "doctrinal purist" who advocated the originalsocial credit monetary theory ofC.H. Douglas.^[5] He promised that a Social Credit government would cut retail sales tax by 25 per cent and argued for moral responsibility in society with the family as its basic union. He also expressed his opposition to homosexuality, abortion, birth control and working mothers and his support for capital punishment.^[7] Reznowki also argued thatPrime MinisterPierre Trudeau was soft oncommunism and that there was an imminent threat of a takeover of Canada by theSoviet Union.^[7] As national party leader Reznowski criticizedBill Bennett, leader of theBritish Columbia Social Credit Party andPremier of British Columbia for rejecting social credit doctrine quipping thatOgopogo would be a better name for Bennett's party.^[8]

• Social Credit Party of Canada leaders
• Academic staff of the University of Manitoba
• 1929 births
• 2011 deaths
• Canadian anti-communists
• Canadian anti-abortion activists
• Canadian people of Ukrainian descent
• Politicians from Winnipeg
• Candidates in the 1968 Canadian federal election
• Manitoba candidates for Member of Parliament
• Social Credit Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons

• Articles with short description
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