Ron Osika

Ronald Osika

MLA for Melville
In office 1995–2003
Preceded by	Evan Carlson
Succeeded by	riding merged into Melville-Saltcoats
Leader of the Opposition
In office 1995–1996
Preceded by
Succeeded by	Ken Krawetz
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
In office 1999–2001
Preceded by	Glenn Hagel
Succeeded by	Myron Kowalsky
Personal details
Born	1939 Hafford, Saskatchewan
Political party	Liberal (1995-2001) NDP (since 2003)

Ronald (Ron) Osika (born 1939) is a Saskatchewan politician.

He was born in Hafford, Saskatchewan and educated in The Battlefords. A former officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Osika's first foray into politics was an unsuccessful bid for a Reform Party nomination in 1992.

He was first elected from Melville as Liberal MLA in the Saskatchewan legislature in the 1995 provincial election that saw the Liberals go from a single seat to 11 to form the official opposition. Osika served as interim Leader of the Opposition in November 1995 after was forced to resign as leader by her caucus. He remained leader until November 1996 when Jim Melenchuk was chosen as Haverstock's permanent replacement. The 1999 provincial election reduced Roy Romanow's NDP to a minority government while also reducing the Liberals to third party status with four MLAs. The Liberals agreed to enter into a coalition government and Osika became Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1999 until February 2001 when he joined Calvert's Cabinet as Municipal Affairs minister. In October 2001, the Liberal Party elected David Karwacki as its new leader. He ordered the Liberal MLAs to leave the coalition government but Osika and Melenchuk refused and became Independents signing a new coalition agreement with Calvert in late 2001. In early 2002, Osika became Government Relations Minister and at various times had additional responsibilities for aboriginal affairs, SaskWater, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority and the Saskatchewan Property Management Corporation. He ran for re-election as an NDP candidate in the 2003 provincial election but was defeated in the riding of Melville-Saltcoats.