George Pankiw

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George Pankiw of Unity, Saskatchewan is the father of controversial former Saskatchewan Member of Parliament Jim Pankiw. He is a minor political figure in his own right.

Prior to the 1997 federal election, George Pankiw sought the federal nomination for the Reform Party of Canada in Battlefords-Lloydminster, a relatively safe Reform riding. After a heated nomination battle, Pankiw was defeated by Gerry Ritz, who has gone on to represent the district without interruption as of the start of the 2006 federal election campaign. Pankiw's son Jim was elected in the 1997 election under the Reform banner in the Saskatoon-Humboldt riding.

The Pankiws and Ritz are generally regarded as being on very unfriendly terms as a result. Jim Pankiw was later expelled from Reform's successor, the Canadian Alliance after he joined the Democratic Representative Caucus. Ritz was probably the CA MP most vehemently in favour of the DRC members' expulsion. Furthermore, Jim Pankiw stood out as being the only DRC member to be refused re-admission to the CA after the DRC's dissolution. This development was largely attributed to Ritz's intervention. Ritz also helped ensure that Jim Pankiw was also refused admission to the Conservative Party of Canada even though the CPC was the product of a merger between the CA and the DRC's ally in the House, the Progressive Conservatives.

In the 2006 election, Jim Pankiw is again seeking election to the House, running directly against Ritz in Battlefords-Lloydminster. Jim, who still lives near Saskatoon, has cited "family connections" to the Battlefords-Lloydminster riding as his justification for running there, although some people suspect that by "family connections", the younger Pankiw is really referring to the grudge he holds against Ritz for defeating George Pankiw for the coveted Reform nomination back in 1997.