Jim Watson

James Alexander Watson (born July 30, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served as the 56th mayor of Ottawa from 2010 to 2022. Previously, he served as an Ottawa city councillor from 1991 to 1997, and as mayor from 1997 to 2000. Watson subsequently represented the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2010. He served in the Cabinet of Premier Dalton McGuinty in the portfolios of Consumer and Business Services (2003–2005), Health Promotion (2005–2007), and Municipal Affairs and Housing (2007–2010). He resigned in January 2010 to run for mayor in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election. He was re-elected mayor in 2014 and in 2018. On March 20, 2021, Watson became the longest serving mayor in the city's history, surpassing Stanley Lewis who held office from 1936 to 1948. Early life Watson was born on July 30, 1961, in Montreal, Quebec as the second child to Frances (née Murdoch) and Beverley "Bev" Watson. He grew up in Lachute, but his family moved a few times during his childhood for his father's work, taking him to Beaconsfield, Thornhill, and Sarnia. He graduated from high school from Northern Collegiate in Sarnia. Watson later moved to Ottawa to attend Carleton University and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from the Faculty of Public Affairs. He first got involved in the political sphere during his second year of studies in 1982, when he served as the President of the Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA). Watson began his career working in journalism for a few local newspapers, and later entered the federal public service, where he rose to the position of Director of Communications for the Speaker of the House of Commons. Municipal politics in Ottawa