Decore, Laurence

Decore, Laurence [Дікур, Лаврентій; Dikur, Lavrentij], b 28 June 1940 in Vegreville, Alberta, d 6 November 1999 in Edmonton. Lawyer and politician; son of John Decore. Decore served as first chairman of the Alberta Cultural Heritage Council (1973–5); president of Edmonton’s Ukrainian Professional and Business Club (1973); president of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation (1979–81); and chairman of the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism (1980–3). From 1974 to 1983 he was an alderman in Edmonton. In 1983 he was elected mayor of Edmonton, receiving the largest plurality ever accorded a mayoralty candidate in that city. Decore was re-elected as mayor in 1986 with an increased majority. He served until 1988, when he became leader of the Alberta Liberal party. The party revived significantly under his stewardship, and the caucus grew to 32 members (and official opposition status) after the 1993 provincial elections. Notwithstanding this marked improvement, the Liberals’ performance fell short of expectations and Decore resigned as party leader in 1994. In 1983 he was awarded the Order of Canada for his work on behalf of multiculturalism since the early 1970s, and in 1996 he received the Michael Luchkovich Award.

Andrij Makuch

[This article was updated in 2010.]