Sam Uskiw

Who is Sam Uskiw?

Samuel Uskiw was a politician and political fundraiser in Manitoba, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1966 to 1986, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Edward Schreyer and Howard Pawley. Subsequently, he left the New Democrats and became a fundraiser for their leading rival, the Progressive Conservative Party.

After completing his education, Uskiw worked in Winnipeg briefly before moving to Ontario where he worked on a farm in Ingersoll and then worked for the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway. He returned to Manitoba in 1953, working as a potato farmer and meat cutter as well as selling insurance before entering political life, and served as a Junior President of the Manitoba Farmers Union in 1961-1962. He was also a school trustee from 1959 to 1965. In 1964, Uskiw married Olga Bilyk.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1966, replacing Edward Schreyer in the rural riding of Brokenhead.