Mike Starr of Oshawa : A Political Biography

Mike Starr had a remarkable career in Canadian politics. In June 1957, he was appointed Minister of Labour in John Diefenbaker's cabinet and created a sensation, especially among Canadian ethnocultural groups. He made political history as the First Ukrainian Canadian appointed to federal cabinet. As Minister of Labour, Starr was faced with numerous national problems, including seasonal unemployment, regional disparities, union negotiations and emerging militant nationalism in Quebec. When the Diefenbaker government was defeated in the 1963 federal election, Starr returned to his earlier role as Member of Parliament. With the changing Canadian political environment, he was defeated by a tiny margin in the 1968 federal election. Starr continued his distinguished career of public service from 1968 to 1980. He promoted the increasing involvement of ethnocultural groups in Canada political life. In recent decades, it has become a political norm to have members of various ethnocultural and visible minority groups elected to the House of Commons, and appointed to Cabinet and other senior government positions. For breaking this barrier, Mike Starr was indeed a pioneer in Canadian politics. This book is published in English. - La carri re de Mike Starr en politique canadienne a sans contredit t remarquable. En juin 1957, il a t nomm ministre du Travail dans le cabinet de John Diefenbaker, faisant sensation aupr s des groupes ethnoculturels canadiens, notamment. Il a marqu l'histoire politique titre de premier Canadien d'ascendance ukrainienne acc der au Cabinet f d ral. En tant que ministre du Travail, Starr a eu composer avec de nombreuses probl matiques nationales, dont le ch mage saisonnier, les disparit s r gionales, les n gociations syndicales et un nationalisme militant qu b cois mergeant. Lorsque le gouvernement Diefenbaker a t d fait aux lections f d rales de 1963, Starr est redevenu d put f d ral. Or, aux lections f d rales de 1968, il a t d fait de peu en raison du milieu politique canadien changeant. Starr a poursuivi une carri re la fonction publique de 1968 1980. Il y a promu la participation accrue des groupes ethnoculturels la vie politique canadienne. Ainsi, depuis quelques d cennies, s'est d velopp e la tradition politique d' lire la Chambre des Communes des membres issus de groupes ethnoculturels et de minorit s visibles, puis de les nommer au Cabinet ainsi qu' des postes cadres gouvernementaux, et ce, tous les paliers de gouvernement. En raison de sa contribution, Mike Starr m rite le titre de pionnier en politique canadienne. Ce livre est publi en anglais.