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Alex T. Atamanenko
Alex T. Atamanenko
Member of Parliament; for British Columbia Southern Interior
	In office; January 23, 2006 – August 4, 2015
Preceded by	Jim Gouk
Succeeded by	Riding Abolished
Personal details
Born	January 24, 1945 (age 79); New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse	Ann Atamanenko
Residence	Castlegar
Education	University of British Columbia ; University of Toronto
Profession	Teacher

Alex T. Atamanenko (born January 24, 1945) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons in 2006, winning the riding of British Columbia Southern Interior for the New Democratic Party in the 2006 federal election, and served in parliament until his retirement at the 2015 federal election. He is also a retired school teacher.

Biography

Atamanenko was born in New Westminster, and was educated at the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. Atamanenko has a bachelor's degree in physical education, a teaching diploma, and a Master of Arts degree in Russian. Atamanenko is a member of the British Columbia Retired Teachers Association. He taught Russian, French and English at a number of schools across Canada and the United States. He also has experience in recreation and physical education with a number of organizations, including the Boys' Clubs of Vancouver, the Canadian Forces Base in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, and for the Coquitlam and New Westminster recreation departments, where he was part-time leader and co-ordinator, as well as for the government of the Yukon as a co-ordinator for the Canada Games (1976–1977) and a recreation consultant (1977–1979). He was also a freelance translator, and is a karate instructor with the Castlegar Karate Club. Other community activities include involvement with the Canadian Youth Hostelling Association in Whitehorse and serving on the Coaching Council of Canada during the 1970s.

He contested the riding of Southern Interior, as it was called then, in the federal election of 2004; he lost narrowly to the incumbent Conservative MP, Jim Gouk.

Atamanenko contested the riding again in the 2006 federal election, which became open when Gouk left federal politics. His candidacy received a significant boost after the Conservative candidate, Derek Zeisman, was disowned by the party after being caught trying to smuggle alcohol across the U.S.–Canada border. Atamanenko won by over 13,000 votes. He was re-elected in the 2008 and 2011 elections, in the latter case gaining 50.9% of valid ballots cast in his riding.

Atamanenko paid homage to NDP leader Jack Layton after his bout with cancer, saying "Jack was the epitome of a trustworthy, honourable politician who inspired many Canadians, regardless of their political allegiance. He cared deeply about our country, and he really gave his life to it. Jack appealed to the best in people. He gave so many young people, who are rightly critical of many aspects of our electoral system, something to believe in, something to hope for in what he was trying to achieve and the vision he shared with so many in our party."^[1]

Electoral record

2011 Canadian federal election: British Columbia Southern Interior
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Alex Atamanenko	25,176	50.9	+3.4
	Conservative	Stephen Hill	19,276	38.9	+3.1
	Green	Bryan Hunt	3,173	6.4	-3.2
	Liberal	Shannon (Shan) Lavell	1,872	3.8	-3.1
Total valid votes/Expense limit			49,674	100.0

2008 Canadian federal election: British Columbia Southern Interior
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Alex Atamanenko	22,693	47.5	-1.5	$66,606
	Conservative	Rob Zandee	17,122	35.9	+16.6	$76,704
	Green	Andy Morel	4,573	9.6	-1.7	$8,439
	Liberal	Brenda Jagpal	3,292	6.9	-13.3	$28,430
	Marxist–Leninist	Brian Sproule	80	0.2	-0.1	--
Total valid votes/Expense limit			47,915	100.0	$92,328
Total rejected ballots			155	0.3	-0.2
Turnout			47,915	63.89

2006 Canadian federal election: British Columbia Southern Interior
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Alex Atamanenko	22,742	49.0	+13.9	$72,595
	Liberal	Bill Profili	9,383	20.2	+2.2	$40,534
	Conservative	Derek Zeisman	8,948	19.3	-17.3	$53,470
	Green	Scott Leyland	5,258	11.3	+3.4	$14,334
	Marxist–Leninist	Brian Sproule	123	0.3	+0.2	$0
Total valid votes			46454	100.0
Total rejected ballots			236	0.5
Turnout			46,690	66.4
	NDP gain from Conservative		Swing	+15.6

2004 Canadian federal election: Southern Interior
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Jim Gouk	16,940	36.6	*	$55,553
	New Democratic	Alex Atamanenko	16,260	35.1	+25.3	$22,019
	Liberal	Doug Stanley	8,310	18.0	-9.4	$74,051
	Green	Scott Leyland	3,663	7.9	+1.4	$16,098
	Independent	Robert Schuster	591	1.3	*	$9,264
	Marijuana	Karine Cyr	391	0.8	*
	Canadian Action	Farlie Paynter	87	0.2	*	$454
	Marxist–Leninist	Brian Sproule	39	0.1	*
Total valid votes			46,281	100.0
Total rejected ballots			163	0.4
Turnout			46,444	60.0