Tobias Tissen

Tobias Tissen (born 1993 or 1994) is a Canadian pastor who is noted for his repeated failures to comply with COVID-19 public health laws, and for preaching to his congregation to disobey them. He works for the Christian Church of God (Restoration) in Hanover, Manitoba.

In 2022, he was convicted for his repeated breaches of COVID-19 laws and fined.

Early life Tissen was born on .

Adult life Tissen works as a pastor at the plain dress Christian Church of God (Restoration) church During the COVID-19 pandemic, he advocated against public health regulations, and was noted for rejecting COVID-19 vaccines and opposing mask mandates. He urged his congregation to reject public health measures on both civil liberties and religious grounds. Tissen responded to the police action by comparing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with the Gestapo. At the time, Tissen and leaders of other rural churches were engaged in an unsuccessful legal bid to block provincial COVID-19 legislation, using legal arguments incorporating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The churches were represented by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. Tissen arranged a fundraising campaign to encourage his supporters to contribute to the $74,561 of fines that both he and church has accumulated during the pandemic. During 2021, prior to the fundraiser, the church raised $307,538 and spent $249,277 the same year.