John Decore

John N. Decore (born Ivan Dikur; April 9, 1909 – November 11, 1994) was a Canadian barrister, lawyer, teacher, and politician from Alberta.

Decore was born Ivan Dikur on a farm west of Andrew, Alberta, in a district called Sniatyn, to Ukrainian immigrant parents Nykola and Hafia (née Kostiuk). Nykola arrived in Canada in 1898 at the age of ten; Nykola was Hafia's second husband. Hafia died when John was only four years old, and he did not get along with his stepmother. He first ran for the House of Commons as a Liberal candidate in the 1949 federal election. He defeated Social Credit incumbent Anthony Hlynka in the riding of Vegreville. He was re-elected in the 1953 election, once again defeating Hlynka. He was appointed an advisor to Lester B. Pearson during Pearson's time as Ambassador of Canada to the United Nations and gave several speeches in the United States, including representing Canada at U.N. Headquarters (then at Lake Success, New York) and speaking on Ukrainian issues at Carnegie Hall with U.S. Senator Lehman.

In Parliament, he was a vocal anti-communist and an activist for Ukrainian rights in both Canada and the Soviet Union. At his urging, Canadian immigration documents began to recognize "Ukrainian" as a nationality, and not merely the name of a regional population within the Soviet Union. He also advocated for allowing the members of the controversial 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) to immigrate to Canada. He considered his "crowning achievement" in politics to be arranging for Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent to open the Ukrainian Pioneer Home monument at Elk Island National Park in 1951. He also arranged for a concert of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus in the Railway Committee Room of Parliament and the creation of a Ukrainian-language service at Voice of Canada. He retired from Parliament in 1957. Decore attempted to return to federal politics in the 1962 election, this time in the Edmonton East electoral district, but he lost to Progressive Conservative (PC) incumbent William Skoreyko. He ran once more in the 1963 federal election in Edmonton—Strathcona, losing to PC incumbent Terry Nugent.

Decore was made a Q.C. in 1964. In 1965, he was appointed Chief Justice of the District Court of Northern Alberta and supervised its merger with the southern district court. He was also involved in the creation of the Court of Queen's Bench for Alberta in 1979. He retired as chief justice in that year and was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1980.

Decore's son Laurence was mayor of Edmonton and leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.