A Ukrainian Starr

By Volodymyr Kish

A hundred years ago on November 14, 1910, Michael Starchewsky was born to Ukrainian immigrant parents in the little mining town of Copper Cliff in Northern Ontario.  Most of you, no doubt, will not recognize that name, yet he is undoubtedly one of the most successful politicians the Ukrainian community in Canada has ever produced.  He is better known under the name of Michael Starr, and at the peak of his political career he was the country’s Minister of Labour under the Progressive Conservative Diefenbaker government during 1957 to 1963. 

His political career though, started much earlier than that.  After living for some time in both Toronto and Montreal, the Starchewsky Family eventually settled in Oshawa where Michael finished high school and got a job as a clerk in a local metal products factory.  He was interested in politics from an early age and became active during local election campaigns acting as a translator and interpreter for candidates seeking the vote within Oshawa’s large and growing Ukrainian community.  In 1938, at the urging and with the financial support of his manager at the factory where he worked, Michael ran for the post of City Alderman.  He did not succeed that first time, but eventually he did get elected as Alderman in 1944.  His energy, ideas and activism were quickly recognized and in 1949 he was elected Mayor of the City of Oshawa.

As Mayor, he spearheaded an ambitious program of infrastructure improvement that resulted in the building of a new city hall, police station, fire headquarters and a central library.  In 1952, he ran for federal Parliament in a by-election as a Progressive Conservative candidate and got elected for the first time as an MP.  In Parliament, he soon became recognized as the unofficial spokesman for Canada’s increasingly influential “ethnic” community.

In 1957, the Progressive Conservative Party under John Diefenbaker won the Federal Elections and Michael Starr was appointed Minister of Labour, the first Canadian of Ukrainian origin to achieve a cabinet post. During his tenure, he was responsible for a number of landmark initiatives including the Winter Works Program, the introduction of the first minimum wage legislation and perhaps his most lasting major achievement – the creation of the vocational or community college system throughout Canada.

Following the defeat of the Diefenbaker government and subsequent leadership change in the Progressive Conservative Party to Robert Stanfield, Michael served as House Leader until the new party head gained a seat in Parliament.  In all, Michael Starr got re-elected six times as MP until he was narrowly defeated in 1968 by Ed Broadbent.

From 1968 to 1972, he served as Citizenship Court Judge and in 1973, Premier William Davis of Ontario appointed him Chair of the Workmen’s Compensation Board, a post he held for seven years.

Throughout his life, Michael remained active in the Ukrainian community. He served for a time as the head of the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church Parish Council in Oshawa and was one of the founders and first president of the local Ukrainian Professional & Businessmen’s Club.

Earlier this year, the Durham Region Branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress decided that it would initiate a proper celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the birth of this truly great Ukrainian Canadian.  I have the pleasure of being the chair of the organizational committee that includes not only representatives of the local Ukrainian community but also local politicians at the municipal, provincial and federal level, as well as representatives of the many organizations that Michael Starr was involved in.  A week long-series of events are currently being planned culminating in a gala fund raising banquet on Friday, November 19, the proceeds of which will go towards the creation of a Michael Starr Scholarship at the two local post secondary educational institutions, University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College.

I would be grateful for the support of Ukrainians and Ukrainian organizations throughout Ontario and all of Canada as a proper recognition of the accomplishments of this genuine Ukrainian Canadian hero.  Donations to the scholarship fund and requests for further information should be addressed to the Michael Starr Anniversary Committee, c/o 57 Simcoe St. S, Suite 2B, Oshawa, ON L1H 4B4 or by e-mail to michaelstarr100@gmail.com.