Greg Ottenbreit (born November 18, 1963) 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 ...

former politician. He was first 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 ...

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

in the 2007 election, and remained in office until retiring in 2024. He is a member of the

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative ...

. He was a cabinet minister under premiers

Brad Wall Bradley John Wall (born November 24, 1965) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan from November 21, 2007, until February 2, 2018. He is the fourth longest-tenured premier in the province's history. W ...

and

Scott Moe Scott Moe (born July 31, 1973) is a Canadian politician serving as the 15th and current premier of Saskatchewan since February 2, 2018. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the riding of Rosthern-Shellbrook, first el ...

between 2014 and 2020.

Political career

Ottenbreit was first elected MLA for Yorkton in the 2007 election, when the Saskatchewan Party won government under the leadership of Brad Wall. Before Ottenbreit's win, the Yorkton seat had been held by the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

since 1991. Ottenbreit was re-elected in Yorkton three times in 2011, 2016, and 2020. Ottenbreit was first named to Wall's cabinet in 2014 when he became the Minister of Rural and Remote Health. Prior to the appointment, he had served as government whip. Ottenbreit remained in the role when Scott Moe succeeded Wall as Premier in 2018. By 2019, Ottenbreit was questioned by the Opposition as to whether his anti-abortion views were preventing the government from approving universal coverage for medical abortion drugs, with most provinces having adopted coverage. That summer, Ottenbreit was shuffled from rural and remote health to become the new Minister of Highways and Infrastructure; Moe, who stated that he shared Ottenbreit's anti-abortion position, said that the controversy was not the reason for the shuffle. After the 2020 election, Ottenbreit was dropped from cabinet. On May 29, 2023, Ottenbreit announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2024 election, but would remain in office for the remainder of his term. In October 2024, he was succeeded as Yorkton MLA by David Chan.

Controversies

In 2011, Ottenbreit argued against resource revenue-sharing with

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

in the province, suggesting that First Nations people who get "handouts" spend the money on drugs and alcohol; Ottenbreit apologized for the comments. The comments drew calls for Ottenbreit's resignation from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. In a 2019 speech, Ottenbreit urged an anti-abortion group to continue their "battle" and stated that he would "continue to do what I can in my professional capacity" to help; at the time, Ottenbreit was the minister in charge of rural and remote health. Premier Scott Moe stated that the comments crossed a "small line" and said that government ministers "will choose our words more carefully." Ottenbreit had previously attended anti-abortion March for Life rallies in Ottawa and Regina. During the emergence of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Saskatchewan Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fev ...

in March 2020, Ottenbreit was criticized for sharing a social media post suggesting that people 'pray and repent' to stop the pandemic. Ottenbreit added a comment saying, "I guess it worked a few thousand years ago ... couldn't hurt." He later deleted the post. In October 2020, Ottenbreit shared a Thanksgiving message from Texas Pastor Ed Newton, an American preacher who has shared anti-LGBT views and whose church labels homosexuality as an addiction. Ottenbreit had earlier shared messages from pastor

John Hagee John Charles Hagee (born April 12, 1940) is an American pastor and televangelist. He founded John Hagee Ministries, which telecasts to the United States and Canada. He is also the founder and chairman of the Christian Zionist organization Chr ...

, a social conservative who had referred to the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and claimed

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

was fulfilling God's will. Ottenbreit said he found Hagee's documentary about "Blood Moons", which claims that lunar eclipses coinciding with Jewish holidays will trigger a war in Israel and usher in the return of Jesus Christ, to be "very interesting".

Personal life

Before being elected to the Legislature, Ottenbreit owned and operated Ottenbreit Waste Systems along with his brother Grant. On January 27, 2017, it was revealed that Ottenbreit had been diagnosed with cancer. Ottenbreit had in 2000 lost a son to cancer; after their son's death, Ottenbreit and his family hosted an ongoing childhood cancer research fundraiser in Yorkton.

Electoral results

Cabinet positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ottenbreit, Greg 1963 births Living people Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan People from Yorkton Politicians from Regina, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Party MLAs 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan