Mayor of Ottawa

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This article is about the office. For a list of mayors of Ottawa and heads of the former regional municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, see List of mayors of Ottawa and Regional Chair of Ottawa–Carleton.

Mayor of Ottawa
Municipal logo
Incumbent
Mark Sutcliffe
since November 15, 2022
City of Ottawa
Office of the Mayor
Style
Member ofOttawa City Council
SeatOttawa City Hall
AppointerDirect election
Term lengthFour years;
renewable
Constituting instrumentMunicipal Act, 2001
City of Ottawa Act
Inaugural holderJohn Scott (historic)
Bob Chiarelli (post-amalgamation)
FormationSeptember 11, 1847 (historic)
January 1, 2001 (current)
SalaryCA$198,702[1]
Websiteottawa.ca/en/city-hall/mayor-and-city-councillors

The mayor of Ottawa is head of the executive branch of the Ottawa City Council. The mayor is elected alongside the city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in office, mayors are styled His/Her Worship.

Mark Sutcliffe has served as the 59th and current mayor of Ottawa since taking office on November 15, 2022, following the 2022 municipal election.

Role and authority[edit]

The position of the mayor of Ottawa is set out in the City of Ottawa Act, a provincial statute which was first introduced in 1999, which outlines the mayor's role as head of council. The duties and powers of the Mayor are outlined in Municipal By-law No. 2022-410.[2] In September 2022, the province passed legislation known as the Strong Mayors, Building More Homes Act, 2022, followed by the Better Municipal Governance Act, 2022, both of which expanded the executive power of the mayor.

As head of the council, the mayor ensures business is carried out efficiently during council meetings. Items can be added by the mayor directly to the city council's agenda without going through a committee. The mayor also holds ex officio membership on all council committees. They chair the Finance and Corporate Services Committee and Debenture Committee.[3] The mayor has the power to recommend the chairs of other city committees as well as the deputy mayor, pending final approval from the city council.[2] With the mayor's consent, another council member may take the mayor's place on committees. The head of the council is also responsible for declaring states of emergency in the city.[2]

Certain powers of the mayor can only be exercised to "advance provincial priorities,"[4] as outlined in the Better Municipal Governance Act, the Strong Mayors Act and through regulation. While city by-law allows the mayor to add items directly to the council's agenda, this power is expanded by the Strong Mayors Act, which asserts that the mayor can do so to advance a provincial priority, irrespective of the council's procedural by-law.[4] The mayor is also granted a veto, which would allow an override of a city council decision if it is not consistent with a provincial priority; however, the council can override the mayor's veto with a two-thirds majority vote.[5] The Better Municipal Governance Act, which was passed shortly after the Strong Mayors Act further expands this power, allowing the mayor to pass a by-law to advance a provincial priority with one-third support on council.[6][7] The provincial priorities are set by the Executive Council of Ontario (provincial cabinet), through issuing regulations.[4]

Deputy mayor[edit]

Ottawa currently has three Deputy Mayors.[8] The role of Deputy Mayor is outlined in the Municipal By-law No. 2023-11 and the Municipal Act, 2001.[9][5] As of 2023, the Ottawa City Council has adopted rules, upon the recommendation of 2022-2026 Council Governance Review, which implemented a rotational system where the position of Deputy Mayor would rotate between three different councillors every six months.[10]

Deputy mayor Term began Term ended Constituency as councillor
Shawn Menard January 1, 2023 June 30, 2023 Capital Ward
Laura Dudas January 1, 2023 June 30, 2023 Orléans West-Innes Ward
George Darouze January 1, 2023 June 30, 2023 Osgoode Ward
Theresa Kavanagh July 1, 2023 December 31, 2023 Bay Ward
Glen Gower July 1, 2023 December 31, 2023 Stittsville Ward
Clarke Kelly July 1, 2023 December 31, 2023 West Carleton-March Ward
Riley Brockington January 1, 2024 Incumbent River Ward
Jessica Bradley January 1, 2024 Incumbent Gloucester-Southgate Ward
David Hill January 1, 2024 Incumbent Barrhaven West Ward

Post-amalgamation mayors of Ottawa[edit]

Main article: List of mayors of Ottawa

Over the course of Ottawa's history, the municipality's borders have greatly expanded through annexations. This most recently occurred in 2001 when several neighbouring communities were amalgamated with Ottawa. The following is a list of mayors of the current post-amalgamation Ottawa.

No. Photo Mayor Terms of office Took office Left office
57 Bob Chiarelli 2 January 1, 2001 December 1, 2006
58 Larry O'Brien 1 December 1, 2006 November 30, 2010
— Michel Bellemare (acting) —[a] May 2, 2009 July 8, 2009
— Doug Thompson (acting) —[a] July 8, 2009 August 6, 2009
56[b] Jim Watson 4 December 1, 2010 November 15, 2022
59 Mark Sutcliffe 1 November 15, 2022 Incumbent

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bellemare and Thompson served as acting mayor during O'Brien's leave of absence, due to criminal charges before the court.
  2. ^ Watson previously served as mayor of the Old City of Ottawa from 1997 to 2000

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pringle, John (July 31, 2022). "Severance packages for retiring mayor, councillors will cost Ottawa taxpayers $500,000". CTV News Ottawa. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Procedure (By-law No. 2022-410)". City of Ottawa. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  3. ^ "Standing committees, commissions, sub-committees and other". Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Mascarin, John; Bilas, Jennifer (September 12, 2022). "Strong Mayors – Shifting the Municipal Governance Model". Aird & Berlis LLP. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25". Ontario.ca. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Ontario passes law boosting 'strong mayor' powers in Toronto, Ottawa | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  7. ^ Benzie, Robert (December 8, 2022). "Doug Ford increases controversial 'strong-mayor' powers for Toronto and Ottawa". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  8. ^ "Mayor and City Councillors". City of Ottawa. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Deputy Mayors (By-law No. 2023-11)". City of Ottawa. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  10. ^ Pringle, Josh (December 4, 2022). "Five things to watch in proposed new rules for 2022-2026 Ottawa council term". CTV News. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
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