Devin Dreeshen

Devin Dreeshen (born 1987/1988) is a Canadian politician elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake in the 30th Alberta Legislature. He was first elected in a by-election in July 2018. On April 30, 2019, he was appointed to the Executive Council of Alberta as the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Honourable Devin Dreeshen MLA
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Alberta
Incumbent
Assumed office April 30, 2019
Premier	Jason Kenney
Preceded by	Oneil Carlier
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake
Incumbent
Assumed office July 12, 2018
Preceded by	Don MacIntyre
Personal details
Born	1987/1988 (age 32–33)[1] Innisfail, Alberta, Canada
Political party	United Conservative Party
Other political affiliations	Conservative Party of Canada
Relations	Earl Dreeshen (father)
Residence	Pine Lake, Alberta
Alma mater	University of Alberta

Political career

Devin Dreeshen at election night event in New York City. November 8, 2016

Dreeshen was a policy advisor to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz from 2008 to 2015. Between February and November 2016 he worked on Donald Trump's presidential campaign.[2] He won the United Conservative nomination for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake in 2018, and won the ensuing by-election.

Cargill meat processing plant COVID-19 outbreak

On April 13, 2020, the union representing employees of the Cargill meat processing plant called for the plant to be shut down due to 38 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among plant workers.[3] On April 16, Rachel Notley called on Dreeshen and the provincial government to shut down the plant to create a safe working place[4]; Dreeshen responded, calling her statement "misinformation and fear-mongering."[5] During a virtual town hall meeting on April 18, Dreeshen assured plant employees that the Cargill plant has taken all necessary measures to mitigate risk to its staff.[6] By April 20, 484 cases had been linked to the Cargill plant outbreak, at which point the plant closed for two weeks.[7] On May 11, after the plant had reopened, NDP labour critic Christina Gray called on Dreeshen to close the plant again, but the plant remained open.[8] Three deaths were linked with the outbreak at the Cargill plant, and at more than 1500 confirmed cases, it was the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada.[9]

Personal life

Born in Innisfail, Alberta,[10] Pine Lake. He is the son of Canadian MP, Earl Dreeshen.[11]

2019 Alberta general election: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake
The 2019 general election will be held on April 16.
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Conservative	Devin Dreeshen	19,030	74.5%	-7.17%
	New Democratic	Robyn O'Brien	3,453	13.5%	+4.04%
	Alberta Party	Danielle Klooster	2,337	9.2%	+1.76%
	Freedom Conservative	Chad Miller	359	1.4%
	Alberta Advantage	Brian Vanderkley	164
	Independent	Ed Wychopen	106	0.4%
	Reform	Lauren Thorsteinson	79	0.3%
Total valid votes
Rejected, spoiled, and declined
Turnout
Registered electors

Alberta provincial by-election, July 12, 2018: Innisfail-Sylvan Lake upon the resignation of Don MacIntyre on February 2, 2018
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	United Conservative	Devin Dreeshen	8,029	81.67	+10.99
	New Democratic	Nicole Mooney	915	9.31	-13.83
	Alberta Party	Abigail Douglass	731	7.44	+1.25
	Liberal	Nicolaas Jansen	93	0.95	—
	Independent	David Inscho	63	0.64	—
Total valid votes			9,831
Rejected, spoiled, and declined			37
Turnout			9,868	31.22	-24.27
Eligible voters			31,604
	United Conservative notional hold		Swing		+12.41
Source(s) Elections Alberta. "Election results". Retrieved August 13, 2018.

Alberta Provincial Government of Jason Kenney
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Oneil Carlier	Minister of Agriculture and Forestry April 30, 2019–	Incumbent

References

2. Krugel, Lauren (2018-07-13). "Alberta's Jason Kenney sees advantage to new member's history with Donald Trump". Global News. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
3. Bell, David (April 13, 2020). "Union says 38 confirmed COVID-19 cases at Cargill meat plant cause for closure".
4. "https://twitter.com/rachelnotley/status/1250888518043197440". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-08-14. External link in |title= (help)
5. "https://twitter.com/devindvote/status/1250904877280059393". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-08-14. External link in |title= (help)
6. "Cargill employees take part in virtual town hall meeting with officials". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
7. "'A difficult decision': Cargill meat-packing plant pausing production". thestar.com. 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
8. Blanke, Jason. "Alberta NDP Again Demands Cargill Plant to Shut Down". DrumhellerOnline.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
9. Rieger, Sarah (May 11, 2020). "3rd death linked to Canada's largest COVID-19 outbreak at Alberta slaughterhouse". Retrieved August 13, 2020.
11. McDermott, Vincent (2018-07-13). "United Conservatives win Alberta byelections". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2018-07-13.