Peter Burtniak

Who was Peter Burtniak?

Peter Burtniak was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Edward Schreyer..

The son of Fred Burtniak and Pearl Kalinchuk, Burtniak was educated in the Manitoba school system, and worked as a farm implement dealer and farmer. During World War II, he served in the Fort Garry Horse Active Reserve Army Corps. He was President of the Fork River Branch of the Manitoba Pool Elevators for twenty years, and served as Provincial Director of the Manitoba Farmers Union from 1952 to 1956. He was also a board member of the Manitoba Federation of Agriculture from 1954 to 1956.

He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the provincial election of 1958 as a candidate of the CCF in Ethelbert Plains, but lost to Liberal-Progressive incumbent Michael Hryhorczuk by 981 votes. He ran for the same riding in the 1959 election, this time losing to Hryhorczuk by 266 votes.

Burtniak backed Edward Schreyer for the provincial NDP leadership in 1969, and gave the nomination speech for Schreyer at the party's leadership convention. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1969 election, defeating former Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Stewart McLean by 41 votes in Dauphin. He NDP formed a minority government after this election, and Burtniak was appointed Minister of Tourism and Recreation on July 15, 1969. He was also given responsibility for the Manitoba Telephone System on August 4, 1970, and was given the second portfolio of Minister of Cultural Affairs on November 4, 1970. After a cabinet shuffle on December 1, 1971, he was named Minister of Highways, retaining responsibility for the MTS.