He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1957 to 1969.
[1] The son of Peter Tanchak and Mary Mihaychuk, Tanchak was educated at the University of Manitoba, and worked as a general merchant and turkey farmer before entering political life.
[2] He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in a by-election on November 14, 1957,[1] defeating Progressive Conservative challenger Frank Casper by nearly 200 votes in the southeastern riding of Emerson.
In the 1969 election, he lost to Girard[1] by 463 votes[3] as Liberal support plummeted in the province.
During his time in office, he worked to establish chicken and turkey producer boards in the province.