Janice Sarich

Janice Sarich (April 26, 1958 – February 26, 2021) was a Canadian provincial-level politician. She served as member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (MLA) from 2008 until 2015, representing the electoral constituency of Edmonton-Decore and sitting as a Progressive Conservative.

Janice Sarich
Sarich in 2018
MLA for Edmonton-Decore
In office 2008–2015
Preceded by	Bill Bonko
Succeeded by	Chris Nielsen
Personal details
Born	(1958-04-26)April 26, 1958 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Died	February 26, 2021(2021-02-26) (aged 62)
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Steve Sarich[1]
Residence(s)	Edmonton, Alberta
Alma mater	University of Alberta
Occupation	Executive Business Strategist and small business owner

Early life and career

Sarich was born in Edmonton in 1958.^[2][3] She was a fourth-generation Ukrainian Canadian.^[3] She obtained a Master of Education (Educational Administration) degree and a Bachelor of Physical Education (Administration) both from the University of Alberta. She held Project Management and Project Leadership certificates from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), and from the Institute of Corporate Directors she held certificates in the ICD-Rotman (NFP) Governance Essentials Program and the ICD-Rotman Boardroom Financial Essentials. Prior to entering public life, Sarich was a small business owner and President of a business consulting company for over 20 years providing expertise in the areas of strategic planning, policy, and governance in the private and public sectors.

Political career

Sarich's first bid into electoral politics was in 2001, when she ran for a seat in Ward 2 on the Edmonton Catholic School District's board of trustees.^[4] She defeated Ward 2 incumbent trustee Ronald Zapisocki by 602 votes to win the seat. During her first term, Sarich earned a reputation as a tight fiscal conservative, at times calling on the board to have its budget audited after reporting a 10 million dollar deficit.^[5][6] In her bid for re-election in 2004, Sarich polled the most votes out of all 14 candidates in the Catholic district race and outpolled her Ward 2 opponent Jim Urlacher by a margin of almost 2 to 1. She did not seek re-election in 2007, allowing her to run for a seat in the Alberta Legislature.

In the 2008 provincial election, Sarich received 46% of the vote and defeated Liberal incumbent Bill Bonko by 682 votes to win the constituency of Edmonton-Decore. Following the election, Sarich was appointed to Cabinet by Premier Ed Stelmach to the position of Parliamentary Assistant to the Education Minister, Dave Hancock and served in this role until 2011. Highlights while serving as Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Education included mandated to support the Minister in the evaluation of education infrastructure, chair and release the task force report "Building Financial Capacity for School Board Trustees and Superintendents", and to serve on the committee and contribute to the report "Inspiring Education-A Dialogue with Albertans."

In the 2012 Alberta general election Sarich received 42% of the vote firmly defeating the Wildrose, NDP and Liberal opponents.^[7] In the 2015 Alberta general election Sarich was defeated by NDP candidate Chris Nielsen, garnering 18% of the vote compared to Nielsen's 68%.^[8]

Community involvement

Sarich's community volunteer contributions included: a business mentor with interVivos, Board of Director and Chair, Speakers' Bureau with the Alberta Association of Former MLAs, and served as an advisory committee member to the Junior League of Edmonton and Catholic Social Services. Sarich served on Public Interest Alberta's Democracy Task Force, which examined potential areas of democratic reform in Alberta, and was one of the contributors to the publication "Democratic Renewal In Alberta Discussion Paper", and the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights Symposium report, "A More Democratic Alberta: How Do We Get There?". While elected as a School Board Trustee, Sarich volunteered with Junior Achievement Northern Alberta & NWT to share her business knowledge and experience with junior high students. For more than ten years she served on numerous boards, committees, and published articles in the corporate health and wellness industry.

Later life

Sarich endorsed Jason Kenney in the latter's successful run for leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 2017.^[9] She was subsequently appointed a public member of MacEwan University's Board of Governors in August 2019.^[10]

Sarich died on the night of February 26, 2021. She was 62, and had been diagnosed with cancer three weeks before her death.^[2][11] A tribute was made by Premier Kenney.^[12]

Election results

2008 general election

2008 Alberta general election results[13]			Turnout 32.96%		Swing
Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%	Party	Personal
	Progressive Conservative	Janice Sarich	4,577	45.71%	15.30%
	Liberal	Bill Bonko Sr.	3,895	38.89%	-5.95%
	New Democratic	Sidney Sadik	1,301	12.99%	-2.43%
	Green	Trey Capenhurst	241	2.41%	*
Total			10,014
Rejected, spoiled, and declined			66
Eligible electors / Turnout			30,584	%
	Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		10.63%

2012 general election

v t e 2012 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Decore
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Janice Sarich	5,722	42.36%	-3.34%
	Wildrose Alliance	Chris Bataluk	2,911	21.55%	–
	New Democratic	Ali Haymour	2,721	20.15%	7.15%
	Liberal	Ed Ammar	2,153	15.94%	-22.96%
Total			13,507	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			99	62	4
Eligible electors / turnout			28,766	47.31%	12.91%
	Progressive Conservative hold		Swing		7.00%
Source(s) Source: "32 - Edmonton-Decore, 2012 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Chief Electoral Officer (2012). The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2011 Provincial Enumeration and Monday, April 23, 2012 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-eighth Legislative Assembly (PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

2015 general election

v t e 2015 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Decore
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Chris Nielsen	10,531	67.91%	47.76%
	Progressive Conservative	Janice Sarich	2,847	18.36%	-24.00%
	Wildrose	Dean Miller	1,289	8.31%	-13.24%
	Liberal	Bradley Whalen	691	4.46%	-11.48%
	Green	Trey Capnerhurst	150	0.97%	–
Total			15,508	–	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			47	37	21
Eligible electors / turnout			32,518	47.90%	0.59%
	New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative		Swing		14.37%
Source(s) Source: "32 - Edmonton-Decore, 2015 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Chief Electoral Officer (2016). 2015 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta.