John Ostashek (May 10, 1936 – June 10, 2007) was a

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the

Yukon Party The Yukon Party (french: Parti du Yukon) is a conservative political party in Yukon, Canada. It is the successor to the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party. Formation With Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative federal go ...

in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

for the first time. Ostashek declined to use the title

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

adopted by his predecessor,

Tony Penikett Antony David John "Tony" Penikett (born November 14, 1945) is a mediator and negotiator and former politician in Yukon, Canada, who served as the third premier of Yukon from 1985 to 1992. Early life and political activity Born in Sussex, Engl ...

and preferred to be called ''Government Leader''. Ostashek's

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...

, which was kept in power with the support of right leaning independent MLAs, was a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

one which instituted welfare reform and a reduction of public services. Soon after coming into power, his government signed

land claims A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

agreements with four First Nations communities in the Yukon which had been negotiated by the previous government. Ostashek's Yukon Party lost the 1996 election to the Yukon NDP though he retained his seat and became

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. In the 2000 election however his Yukon Party was again defeated, this time by the Liberals with Ostashek losing his own seat. He subsequently resigned as Yukon Party leader and retired from politics. He died on June 10, 2007 from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, after having been medevaced from Whitehorse the week before.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostashek, John Premiers of Yukon Yukon Party MLAs 1936 births 2007 deaths Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Politicians from Whitehorse Members of the Executive Council of Yukon Yukon political party leaders