Catherine McKenney | |
|---|---|
 McKenney in 2022 | |
| Ottawa City Councillor | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – November 15, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Diane Holmes |
| Succeeded by | Ariel Troster |
| Constituency | Somerset Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 3, 1961[1][2] Fort-Coulonge, Quebec, Canada[1] |
| Spouse | Catharine Vandelinde[3] (m. circa 2005)[4] |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Centretown West[5] |
| Alma mater | University of Ottawa (BSocSc, 1993) |
| Website | https://www.mckenney2022.ca/ at the Wayback Machine (archived 2023-01-26) |
Catherine McKenney (born June 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served on Ottawa City Council from 2014 to 2022, representing Somerset Ward. McKenney did not seek re-election as councillor in the 2022 Ottawa election, instead running for Mayor of Ottawa and finishing second. Before running for office, they worked as an advisor and political staffer.
McKenney was born in Fort-Coulonge, Quebec, the child of a forester and stay-at-home parent. The family would then move to Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, where McKenney went to elementary school. In grade 9, McKenney moved to Pembroke, Ontario when their dad got a job at Algonquin College. McKenney had two children in their early 20s, working in fast food and as a photographer's assistant to support them. McKenney moved to Ottawa at the age of 26, where they completed a Bachelor of Social Science at the University of Ottawa in 1993.[5][6]
After graduating, McKenney lived in Kanata and had a job reading news articles on television for people who are blind.[4]
Prior to holding elected office, McKenney worked as a staffer in the offices of city councillors Diane Holmes and Alex Munter, and federal members of Parliament Ed Broadbent and Paul Dewar.[7] They supported Jim Watson in the 2014 mayoral election.[8]
McKenney was first elected in the 2014 municipal election to represent Somerset Ward, which consists of Centretown, Centretown West, and the downtown core. During the 2022 Canada convoy protests, McKenney criticized inaction by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and the Ottawa Police Service.[9] McKenney virtually joined an Ottawa City Council meeting from the streets of the occupation.[10] In December 2021, McKenney announced that they would be running for mayor in the 2022 Ottawa municipal election.[11]
In January 2023, McKenney co-founded CitySHAPES non-profit organization to address "climate change, active transportation, transit, affordable housing and ending chronic homelessness."[12]
McKenney is queer and is the first non-male openly-LGBT person to serve on Ottawa's city council.[13] They are non-binary and use they/them pronouns.[14] They have three children.[8]
|
Main article: 2022 Ottawa municipal election |
| 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[15][16] | ||||||||||||
|
Main article: 2018 Ottawa municipal election |
| Somerset Ward (Ward 14)[17] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Catherine McKenney | 7,754 | 76.66% |
| Jerry Kovacs | 1,461 | 14.44% |
| Arthur David | 701 | 6.93% |
| Merdod Zopyrus | 199 | 1.97% |
|
Main article: 2014 Ottawa municipal election |
| Somerset Ward (Ward 14)[18] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Catherine McKenney | 3,997 | 40.13% |
| Jeff Morrison | 1,681 | 16.88% |
| Martin Canning | 1,631 | 16.38% |
| Conor Meade | 807 | 8.10% |
| Edward Conway | 576 | 5.78% |
| Thomas McVeigh | 434 | 4.36% |
| Lili V. Weemen | 292 | 3.94% |
| Denis Schryburt | 223 | 2.24% |
| Sandro Provenzano | 99 | 0.99% |
| Curtis Tom | 77 | 0.77% |
| Silviu Riley | 43 | 0.43% |