Earl Dreeshen (born July 9, 1953) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician, who served as a Member of Parliament with the Conservative Party from 2008 to 2025.

Political career

Dreeshen was initially elected to represent the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

in the

2008 Canadian federal election The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the 39th Canadian Parliament, previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General o ...

, and re-elected with an increased majority in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. Red Deer was split almost in half ahead of the 2015 election, and Dreeshen opted to run in

Red Deer—Mountain View Red Deer—Mountain View is a former federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2025. Red Deer—Mountain View was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redist ...

—essentially the southern half of his old riding. On January 21, 2025, he announced he would stand down at the

2025 Canadian federal election The 2025 Canadian federal election was held on April 28, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. Governor General Mary Simon issued the writs of election on March 23, 2025, afte ...

Abortion

Dreeshen opposes abortion. Dreeshen supported a motion to examine whether a fetus is a human being, which was defeated in the House of Commons in a vote of 203 to 91. Dreeshen voted in support of Bill C-233 - An Act to amend the ''Criminal Code'' (

sex-selective abortion Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. As the practice overwhelmingly targets female fetuses, sex-selective abortion often specifically refers to female-selective abortion. ...

), which making it a criminal offence for a medical practitioner to knowingly perform an abortion solely on the grounds of the child's genetic sex.

Conversion therapy

On June 22, 2021, Dreeshen was one of 63 MPs to vote against Bill C-6, An Act to amend the ''Criminal Code'' (

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

), which was passed by majority vote, making certain aspects of conversion therapy a crime, including "causing a child to undergo conversion therapy."

Personal life

Prior to becoming an MP he was a farmer and a physics and math teacher. He and his wife still manage their family farm. His son Devin Dreeshen is the MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, the current Alberta Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors (as of September 7, 2024), and a former Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

Electoral record

References

External links

Earl Dreeshen
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreeshen, Earl 1953 births Conservative Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta People from Red Deer, Alberta Farmers from Alberta People from Red Deer County 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada