1991 Ottawa municipal election

The city of Ottawa, Canada held municipal elections on November 12, 1991.

1991 Ottawa mayoral election

← 1988 November 12, 1991 1994 →
 
Candidate Jacquelin Holzman Nancy Smith Marc Laviolette
Popular vote 38,725 35,525 21,101
Percentage 39.61% 36.34% 21.58%

Results by ward

Mayor before election

Marc Laviolette

Elected mayor

Jacquelin Holzman

Right wing Britannia Ward councillor Jacquelin Holzman defeated left wing St. George's councillor Nancy Smith and mayor Marc Laviolette. Holzman defeated Smith by just 3,022 votes. She ran on a platform to "keep a lid on city taxes".[1]

Despite the eventual closeness of the result, and the polarization of the candidates, pundits lamented that the electorate was not interested in the election, as the candidates had not inspired the voters who were more concerned with "national issues like the constitution and the economy".[2]

After the election, Liberal MP Mac Harb (who supported Holzman) admitted to "quietly encourag[ing]" Laviolette to enter the race to split the vote, because he "couldn't stomach (the thought of) Smith's left wing social agenda" winning.[3]

Mayor

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Candidate Votes %
Jacquelin Holzman 38,725 39.61
Nancy Smith 35,525 36.34
Marc Laviolette (X) 21,101 21.58
Michael Bartholomew 2,417 2.47

Results by ward

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Holzman's victory was propelled by winning the city's suburban wards, with her best ward being Richmond, which she had represented on council. Smith won the city's four urban wards, doing her best in St. George's, which she had represented on council. Laviolette won the city's two Francophone-influenced eastern wards.[4]

Ward Bartholomew Holzman Laviolette Smith
By-Rideau (1) 145 1,558 3,731 2,763
St. George's (2) 102 1,367 1,036 3,401
Overbrook-Forbes (3) 156 1,076 2,736 1,425
Wellington (4) 109 1,292 758 2,431
Capital (5) 268 2,235 611 3,934
Dalhousie (6) 235 1,810 1,201 2,329
Elmdale (7) 143 2,906 1,339 2,835
Carlington-Westboro (Queensboro) (8) 180 2,519 1,276 2,159
Richmond (9) 119 5,469 787 2,433
Britannia (10) 175 2,411 1,023 2,054
Carleton (11) 170 3,574 910 1,836
Canterbury (12) 175 2,894 2,022 1,973
Alta Vista (13) 181 3,860 1,664 2,835
Billings (14) 112 2,432 1,002 1,136
River (15) 147 3,322 1,005 1,981

City council

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Map of Ottawa's Wards used in this election
1. By-Rideau Ward
2. St. George's Ward
3. Overbrook-Forbes Ward
4. Wellington Ward
5. Capital Ward
6. Dalhousie Ward
7. Elmdale Ward
8. Carlington-Westboro Ward
9. Richmond Ward
10. Britannia Ward
11. Carleton Ward
12. Canterbury Ward
13. Alta Vista Ward
14. Billings Ward
15. Riverside Ward.
Alta Vista Ward
Candidate Votes %
Peter Hume 4,660 55.80
Stephen Amesse 2,827 33.85
Rebecca Liff 865 10.36
Billings Ward
Candidate Votes %
Joan O'Neill (X) Acclaimed
Britannia Ward
Candidate Votes %
Jill Brown 1,859 33.13
Gregory Ross 1,558 27.77
Geoffrey Sharpe 831 14.81
Jim Jones (X) 665 11.85
Clarence S. Dungey 273 4.87
Randy McCooeye 214 3.81
Andy Sammon 211 3.76
By-Rideau Ward
Candidate Votes %
Richard Cannings 3,657 45.41
Pierre Bourque (X) 2,461 30.56
Maurice Pagé 1,717 21.32
Richard Beaudry 218 2.71
Capital Ward
Candidate Votes %
Jim Watson 4,123 58.40
Lynn Smyth (X) 1,817 25.74
Michael Lynch 638 9.04
Frank De Jong 482 6.83
Canterbury Ward
Candidate Votes %
Jack MacKinnon 1,530 22.37
Ed Concordia 1,435 20.98
Mireille Landry-Kennedy 1,132 16.55
Ernie Lauzon 1,041 15.22
Douglas Sears 943 13.78
Carl Langroix 340 4.97
Elaine Lindsay 288 4.21
Garry J. Fischer 132 1.93
Carleton Ward
Candidate Votes %
Tim Kehoe (X) 3,442 54.93
Jim Bonner 2,824 45.07
Carlington-Westboro Ward
Candidate Votes %
Mark Maloney (X) 5,011 81.85
Lynda Flowers 1,111 18.15
Dalhousie Ward
Candidate Votes %
Peter Harris 2,807 48.89
Elisabeth Arnold 2,602 45.32
Andy Haydon, Jr. 333 5.80
Elmdale Ward
Candidate Votes %
Joan Wong 3,383 47.60
Jamie Fisher (X) 3,194 44.94
Steve Rimek 530 7.46
Overbrook-Forbes Ward
Candidate Votes %
Jacques Legendre 1,945 36.56
George Kelly (X) 1,758 33.05
Eve Elliott 918 17.26
Michael Green 699 13.14
Richmond Ward
Candidate Votes %
Alex Cullen 3,268 37.91
Ron Kolbus 2,922 33.90
Daniel Stringer 2,430 28.19
Riverside Ward
Candidate Votes %
George Brown (X) 4,140 67.88
John Ross 1,959 32.12
St. George's Ward
Candidate Votes %
Nancy Mitchell 2,499 42.86
Gordon Brownlee 938 16.09
Ed Barter 921 15.79
Geoff Nimmo 780 13.38
Maurice Dumoulin 543 9.31
Paul Kerston 114 1.96
George Ibrahim 36 0.62
Wellington Ward
Candidate Votes %
Diane Holmes (X) 3,579 78.09
Keith Shirreffs 709 15.47
M. Ross Taylor 295 6.44
Zone 1 (Vanier, Rockcliffe Park, By-Rideau, St. George's, Overbrook-Forbes)
3 to be elected
(98% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Jane Dobell (X) 5,175
Cynthia Bled (X) 4,294
Harriet Lang (X) 3,927
Debbie Morey 2,546
Donna Silver 2,047
Jeannine Denis-Ladouceur 1,733
Zone 2 (Capital, Wellington)
2 to be elected
Vote %
Anne Scotton (X) 5,928 44.33
Brian McGarry (X) 5,737 42.90
Rick Alexanderson 1,708 12.77
Zone 3 (Dalhousie, Riverside, Elmdale)
4 to be elected
(98% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Marian Lothian (X) 6,720
Mary Lou Fleming (X) 5,891
Elda M. Allen (X) 5,843
Ted Best (X) 3,806
Walter Robinson 3,644
William J. Taylor 3,253
Bill Pugsley 3,253
John Dodson 2,402
Zone 4 (Britannia, Richmond)
2 to be elected
(95% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Margaret Lange (X) 4,977
Bill Gowling (X) 3,376
Sandra Bertrand 2,976
Sandra R. Goldstein 2,351
Irma Cohen 1,752
Christopher Assad 688
Ed Halla 408
Zone 5 (Carleton, Carlington-Westboro)
3 to be elected
Vote %
Brian Mackey (X) 5,235 27.15
Kathy Yach (X) 4,161 21.58
Linda Hunter (X) 4,018 20.83
Shawn Marmer 3,126 16.21
John M. Wright 2,742 14.22
Zone 6 (Alta Vista, Billings, Canterbury)
4 to be elected
(99% of polls reporting)
Vote %
Margaret Woodley 6,607
John Sutherland (X) 6,216
Marjorie Loughrey (X) 6,210
Russ Jackson (X) 6,115
Sue Mack 5,047
Roy Bushfield (X) 4,453
Wayne Mannion 1,271
Henry Assad 1,111

References

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  • Ottawa Citizen, November 13, 1991
  1. ^ Ottawa Citizen, Nov 13, 1991, pg A1, "It's Mayor Holzman"
  2. ^ "Race stuck in neutral". Ottawa Citizen. November 9, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  3. ^ "Split vote kept left wing from winning, Harb boasts". Ottawa Citizen. November 30, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Election 1991; Mayor; Summary (Available, Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch, Ottawa Room)