Yurko was born in 1926 in Hairy Hill, Alberta of Romanian and Ukrainian descent.
He served two years in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II,[1] then graduated with distinction as a chemical engineer from the University of Alberta.
He was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta in the Strathcona East riding by-election on February 10, 1969, following the resignation of Premier Ernest Manning.
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the Edmonton Gold Bar riding in 1971 and re-elected in 1975.
In 1979 he was elected to the House of Commons[2] for the Edmonton East riding as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and he held the seat until 1984, when he ran as an Independent for the same riding, but lost to William Lesick.