Paul Yuzyk

Paul Yuzyk (24 June 1913 – 9 July 1986) was a Canadian historian and Senator remembered as the "father of multiculturalism."[1] He was appointed to the Canadian Senate on 4 February 1963 on the recommendation of John Diefenbaker. He sat as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus until his death.

He was an associate professor of Slavic studies and professor of history at the University of Manitoba and a professor of Russian and Soviet history at the University of Ottawa. He was the author of several books including The Ukrainians in Manitoba: A Social History (1953), Ukrainian Canadians: Their Place and Role in Canadian Life (1967), and For a Better Canada (1974). He was co-editor, with William Darcovich, of the book A Statistical Compendium on the Ukrainians in Canada 1891-1976 (1980).

Yuzyk is remembered for being an early advocate of the concept of multiculturalism, which he first broached in a senate speech on March 3, 1963.[2] In the speech he criticized the Lester Pearson government for consecrating "Biculturalism" in the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which Yuzyk said ignored the reality that Canada was in fact a "multicultural" society.[1]