Mark Sutcliffe (born July 14, 1968) is a Canadian politician who has been the 59th mayor of Ottawa since 2022.[2] Before entering politics, he hosted Ottawa Today on 1310News radio. Sutcliffe is the first Chinese Canadian and person from a visible minority group to serve as mayor of Ottawa.[3]
Mark Sutcliffe | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sutcliffe in 2022 | |
| 59th Mayor of Ottawa | |
| Assumed office November 15, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Watson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 14, 1968 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse |
Ginny Sutcliffe (m. 2008) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
|
| Residence | Wellington Village[1] |
| Alma mater | Carleton University (attended) |
| Occupation |
|
| Website | marksutcliffe |
Early life
editMark Sutcliffe was born at the Riverside Hospital on July 14, 1968, the son of John Michael Sutcliffe and Florence Ng-Yelim.[4][5] Sutcliffe's maternal grandfather, Xavier, was born to a Chinese family in Mauritius in 1902. Sutcliffe's maternal grandmother, Yolande, was French, and the two moved to Shanghai. The family moved to Canada during the Chinese Civil War. John Sutcliffe was also an immigrant, coming from Yorkshire in England. John and Florence met while working at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.[3]
Sutcliffe grew up in McKellar Park in the city's west end. He graduated from St. Pius X High School, and then studied political science[3] at Carleton University for one year before dropping out to take a job at the CHEZ 106 radio station.[1] At the same time, he started working as a news reader at CFRA, and then became a news reporter for the Ottawa Business News, and was the first play-by-play announcer for the Ottawa Lynx baseball team. He then founded the Ottawa Business Journal, where he met his wife, Ginny.[3]
Political career
editSutcliffe was elected mayor of Ottawa in the 2022 municipal election.[6] Described as a centrist, Sutcliffe defeated Catherine McKenney, a progressive councillor supported by many New Democratic Party and some Liberal figures.[7] Sutcliffe was supported by many sitting Liberal and Conservative politicians.[8][7]
He is the first Chinese Canadian mayor of Ottawa, as well as its first mayor from a visible minority group.[3] Despite this, Sutcliffe acknowledges that he has benefitted in his career from racial privilege, being born "visibly White" without "any Asian features."[9]
Controversies
editOpposition to Capital Pride solidarity with Palestine
editSutcliffe protested the Capital Pride 2024 solidarity statement with Palestine[10] which recognizing the "ongoing Gaza Genocide," advocating for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, in addition to condemning the October 7 attacks on Israel and rising anti-semitism and Islamophobia.[11] Sutcliffe wrote, "this decision by the board, days before the start of Pride, has unfortunately created an atmosphere where many now do not feel welcome to participate;" he also claimed that the solidarity statement makes "members of our community feeling excluded."[11] Capital Pride co-chair Francesco MacAllister-Caruso responded to the criticisms of the solidarity statement saying "Our movement is based on equity, justice and inclusion for everyone. And that involves us having to foster difficult but important conversations on these topics.".[11][12] As a result, Sutcliffe said that he would boycott all events officially organized by Capital Pride until they changed their political positions.[11]
Electoral record
edit| Candidate | Popular vote | Expenditures | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||
| Mark Sutcliffe | 161,679 | 51.37 | – | $537,834.79 | ||||||||
| Catherine McKenney | 119,241 | 37.88 | – | $542,847.97 | ||||||||
| Bob Chiarelli | 15,998 | 5.08 | – | $96,844.84 | ||||||||
| Nour Kadri | 7,496 | 2.38 | – | $71,062.45 | ||||||||
| Mike Maguire | 2,775 | 0.88 | – | $5,500.00 | ||||||||
| Graham MacDonald | 1,629 | 0.52 | – | $5,334.50 | ||||||||
| Brandon Bay | 1,512 | 0.48 | – | $9,478.02 | ||||||||
| Param Singh | 1,176 | 0.37 | – | $13,650.40 | ||||||||
| Celine Debassige | 867 | 0.28 | – | none listed | ||||||||
| Ade Olumide | 636 | 0.20 | – | $1,966.25 | ||||||||
| Gregory Jreg Guevara | 584 | 0.19 | – | $2,349.61 | ||||||||
| Bernard Couchman | 471 | 0.15 | -0.21 | none listed | ||||||||
| Jacob Solomon | 432 | 0.14 | – | none listed | ||||||||
| Zed Chebib | 264 | 0.08 | – | none listed | ||||||||
| Total valid votes | 314,760 | 99.53 | ||||||||||
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined votes | 1,500 | 0.47 | -0.92 | |||||||||
| Turnout | 316,260 | 43.79 | +1.24 | |||||||||
| Eligible voters | 722,227 | |||||||||||
| Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.) and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates. | ||||||||||||
| Sources: City of Ottawa[13][14] | ||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b Steele, Alistair (October 12, 2022). "Mark Sutcliffe running a different kind of race". CBC News. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Deachman, Bruce (October 25, 2022). "Deachman: Ottawa makes a bet on the inexperienced, but safe Mark Sutcliffe". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Duffy, Andrew (October 20, 2022) [13 October 2022]. "Running Man: The politics, marathons and luck of Mark Sutcliffe". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Bishop, Heather (March 13, 1982). "Carriers fly to Florida Friday". Ottawa Citizen. p. 33. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Sutcliffe". Ottawa Citizen. July 16, 1968. p. 26. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Pringle, Josh (October 25, 2022) [October 24, 2022]. "Mark Sutcliffe elected mayor of Ottawa". CTV News. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ a b Platt, Brian (October 25, 2022). "Sutcliffe Wins Ottawa Race After Campaign That Divided Liberals". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Nerenberg, Karl (October 20, 2022). "Mayoral race in Ottawa splits federal Liberals". rabble.ca. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ Fage, Derek (October 20, 2022). "Let's Chat with Derek Fage - Mark Sutcliffe - Rogers TV". YouTube. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "Capital Pride Statement in Solidarity with Palestine". Capital Pride. August 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Tunney, Joseph (August 16, 2024). "Mayor, 2 hospitals to skip Capital Pride events over pro-Palestinian stance". CBC News.
- ^ "CHEO, Ottawa Hospital pull out of Capital Pride parade". Ottawa Citizen. August 16, 2024.
- ^ "2022 Official election results". City of Ottawa. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ^ "Financial statements for the 2022 Municipal Elections". City of Ottawa. Retrieved August 11, 2023.