Evan Ortynsky
After 40 years as the president and owner of the Key Auto Group in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and 79 years of his family retailing GM products, Evan Ortynsky has decided to retire and plans to spend the next six months deciding what to do next.
The 70-year-old sold his various businesses that included Kia and Toyota in addition to GM to the FFUN Group in Saskatoon. The deal was brokered by KPMG’s Mergers & Acquisitions team in Winnipeg and closed Feb. 6. Ortynsky subsequently announced his retirement on LinkedIn.
Ortynsky and his younger brother Terry grew up in the automotive business, following their father, Nestor, who started a Dodge and Desoto dealership called Central Motors about a half-hour drive from Yorkton in Canora and later became a GM dealer. Nestor retired in 2008 when he celebrated his 50-year milestone with the manufacturer. Evan celebrated his 35th year anniversary as a Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC dealer.
When his father retired, the business was merged with Key Auto Group, which Evan started in 1990 after purchasing Yorkton Toyota and subsequently expanded by purchasing Swan River Chevrolet Buick GMC in 2014, Yorkton Kia in July 2015, and a Cap-it Genuine Truckware franchise in B.C. in November 2016. He sold it in December 2025.
In an interview with Canadian auto dealer, Ortynsky said he and his wife, Brenda, daughter Mikaila and son Joseph, who will continue in the business with the Kia dealership, collectively made the decision. Ortynsky said the family had discussed a succession plan prior to COVID, but said it was becoming progressively harder to buy dealerships when competing with larger groups, especially in the larger centres in Saskatchewan.
“The businesses were really successful and we were really happy and it just felt like it was the right time to retire,” said Ortynsky. “It really was a family decision.”
“What I enjoyed most about the business was the staff and (the) people. Honestly, I just loved developing some of the staff. I had a lot of employees that started with me a few months after I bought the dealership in 1990 and they are still there. To see them and the later ones grow position by position by position (was great). The technician group was just fabulous. We had so many that started out sweeping and washing cars. It was so satisfying. I loved it.”
“We enjoyed the one-on-one customers, too, just talking to them and making sure they were looked after properly,” he added.
While settled in his mind that he did the right thing by retiring, he is looking forward to “a few other different chapters in life” to pursue.
Ortynsky has twice been a finalist for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association Laureate Awards: one was for Retail Operations and the other for Ambassadorship.
He has been heavily involved in many charities, notably in the health space as the former co-chair of the East Central Health Foundation of Saskatchewan and small business advocacy as the former co-chair of the capital campaign for a new home of Parkland College. He plans to continue charitable service.
He plans to continue charitable service. He was awarded the Business Leader of the Year Award by the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce in 2020 and the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce Roger Phillips Builder Award in 2022. He said giving back to the community was important to him.
“We encouraged our staff to be involved and we did it financially as much as we could,” said Ortynsky. “It was part of our DNA.”
Ortynsky said his brother, with whom he worked at their father’s dealership, owns and operates Royal Auto Group, which includes Ford and Honda dealerships in Yorkton. He has a daughter and son-in-law in the business. In 2025, the business celebrated 40 years in operation.
