Bob Chiarelli
Encyclopedia
Robert "Bob" Chiarelli is a Canadian
politician. He served in the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 1997, and was subsequently re-elected to the legislature in 2010 after serving as regional chair and mayor of Ottawa from 1997 to 2006. In August 2010, he joined the provincial cabinet
as Minister of Infrastructure
.
. His parents were wealthy entrepreneurs owning a number of stores in the neighbourhood. Robert was the youngest of their seven children. Chiarelli was an ice hockey
player in high school and attended Clarkson University
in Potsdam
, New York, on a hockey scholarship. At Clarkson he joined Theta Chi Fraternity. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration
degree, and then returned to Ottawa to attend the University of Ottawa
law school. He began his legal practice in 1969, specializing in corporate law.
Prior to entering politics in 1980, Chiarelli was a lawyer and businessman in the Ottawa area. He served for seven years on the National Capital Commission
before running for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
in the 1987 provincial election
.
, which had previously been regarded as a safe Progressive Conservative
seat. He was not included in the cabinet
of David Peterson
, though he served as the parliamentary assistant to the Chair of the Management Board in 1987-88. Chiarelli was re-elected in the provincial elections of 1990
and 1995
, though by narrower margins against his Progressive Conservative
opponents. Chiarelli endorsed Dalton McGuinty
's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996.
He resigned his seat in 1997, after his wife Carol died of cancer on December 27, 1996, leaving behind three children. His second cousin, Rick Chiarelli
, unsuccessfully attempted to succeed him in the 1999 provincial election
.
. For the next three years, he advocated eliminating the region's "two-tiered" government, and amalgamating the regional municipalities into a single city. The provincial government of Mike Harris
did this in 2000, and Chiarelli declared himself a candidate to become the first mayor of the amalgamated city of Ottawa.
Chiarelli was elected as the first mayor of the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa on November 13, 2000, and was re-elected on November 10, 2003 (see 2003 Ottawa election
for full results).
In the 2006 election
, he ran for re-election against two main opponents: former Kanata councillor Alex Munter
, and businessman Larry O'Brien. Terry Kilrea
, runner-up to Chiarelli in 2003, campaigned through the summer but withdrew when it seemed left-wing candidate Alex Munter
had taken the lead. Kilrea decided to support Chiarelli for the remainder of the campaign.
Chiarelli's main project was the expansion of the city's light-rail system: a north-south line would run from Barrhaven
to downtown Ottawa starting in 2009. His opponents in the election alleged that the project had been undertaken without sufficient consultation or communication with the public. The project was cancelled shortly after his departure of City Hall.
Chiarelli also had plans to improve the east end of the city. He introduced a 10-point revitalization plan that would include attracting more jobs and businesses east of the Rideau River
in order to improve its economic development
. He also planned to build new roads to improve connections between Orleans
and the south end of the city. Also he promised to expand the existing bike trail system with additional trails connecting suburban and rural areas of Ottawa.
In a survey conducted by UniMarketing during the week of October 13, 2006, Chiarelli placed second with an 11-point percentage deficit on Munter but had a three-point advantage over O'Brien among the most likely to vote. In the election, he finished in third position with just over 15% of the vote and lost the mayoral position to O'Brien.
|align="right"|16,343
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Derek Insley
|align="right"|9,951
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Paul Weinzweig
|align="right"|4,403
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Lynn McPherson
|align="right"|1,689
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|}
|(x)Bob Chiarelli
|align="right"|13,908
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Brian Mackey
|align="right"|9,068
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Allan Edwards
|align="right"|8,391
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|David Boyd
|align="right"|1,044
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Ian Whyte
|align="right"|1,011
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|}
|(x)Bob Chiarelli
|align="right"|14,516
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Greg Joy
|align="right"|12,898
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Karim Ismaili
|align="right"|3,718
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Stephen Johns
|align="right"|448
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Andy Sammon
|align="right"|241
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Stan Lamothe
|align="right"|96
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|}
|-
|Bob Chiarelli
|align="right"|12,353
|align="right"|43.45%
|align="right"|-7.1
|-
|Beth Graham
|align="right"|11,086
|align="right"|38.99%
|align="right"|+7.3
|-
|Pam Fitzgerald
|align="right"|2,404
|align="right"|8.45%
|align="right"|-1.3
|-
|Mark Mackenzie
|align="right"|2,359
|align="right"|8.30%
|align="right"|+2.0
|-
|John Turmel
|align="right"|230
|align="right"|0.81%
|align="right"|*
|-
|}
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician. He served in the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 1997, and was subsequently re-elected to the legislature in 2010 after serving as regional chair and mayor of Ottawa from 1997 to 2006. In August 2010, he joined the provincial cabinet
Executive Council of Ontario
The Executive Council of Ontario plays an important role in theGovernment of Ontario, in accordance with the Westminster system....
as Minister of Infrastructure
Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (Ontario)
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal was responsible for public infrastructure in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was not only responsible for funding individual capital projects, but for drafting the capital budget in place of the Ministry of Finance...
.
Early life
Chiarelli was raised in the Little Italy area of Ottawa near Preston StreetPreston Street (Ottawa)
Preston Street is a street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, running between Wellington Street and Carling Avenue. It is the main commercial district in Little Italy, home to numerous small business and Italian restaurants, and is synonymous with "Little Italy" to many Ottawa residents when referring to...
. His parents were wealthy entrepreneurs owning a number of stores in the neighbourhood. Robert was the youngest of their seven children. Chiarelli was an ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player in high school and attended Clarkson University
Clarkson University
-The Clarkson School:The Clarkson School, a special division of Clarkson University, was founded in 1978 as a unique educational opportunity. The School offers students an early entrance opportunity into college, replacing the typical senior year of high school with a year of college...
in Potsdam
Potsdam (village), New York
Potsdam is a village located in the Town of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York, USA. The population was 9,425 at the 2000 census.The Village of Potsdam is in the eastern part of the town and is northeast of Canton, the county seat....
, New York, on a hockey scholarship. At Clarkson he joined Theta Chi Fraternity. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration
The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...
degree, and then returned to Ottawa to attend the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
law school. He began his legal practice in 1969, specializing in corporate law.
Prior to entering politics in 1980, Chiarelli was a lawyer and businessman in the Ottawa area. He served for seven years on the National Capital Commission
National Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission , is a Canadian Crown corporation that administers the federally owned lands and buildings in Canada's National Capital Region, including Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec.The NCC was created in 1959, replacing the Federal District Commission , which had been...
before running for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
in the 1987 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1987
The Ontario general election of 1987 was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada.The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by David Peterson, was returned to power with a large majority...
.
His career at Queen's Park
Chiarelli ran as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Ontario and was easily elected in Ottawa WestOttawa West
Ottawa West was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1935 to 1997 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1908 to 1926 and from 1955 to 1999. It covered the western part of the Ottawa area.-Federal...
, which had previously been regarded as a safe Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
seat. He was not included in the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
of David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
, though he served as the parliamentary assistant to the Chair of the Management Board in 1987-88. Chiarelli was re-elected in the provincial elections of 1990
Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
and 1995
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
, though by narrower margins against his Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
opponents. Chiarelli endorsed Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party in 1996.
He resigned his seat in 1997, after his wife Carol died of cancer on December 27, 1996, leaving behind three children. His second cousin, Rick Chiarelli
Rick Chiarelli
Richard "Rick" Chiarelli is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently an Ottawa City Councillor, and the second cousin of former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli. He represents the College Ward covering part of Nepean and Ottawa's west end.-Early years:...
, unsuccessfully attempted to succeed him in the 1999 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
.
Municipal politics
In 1997, Robert Chiarelli was elected as Regional Chair of Ottawa-CarletonRegional Chair of Ottawa-Carleton
The Regional Chair of Ottawa-Carleton was the head of the regional council which controlled the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton since its formation in 1968....
. For the next three years, he advocated eliminating the region's "two-tiered" government, and amalgamating the regional municipalities into a single city. The provincial government of Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
did this in 2000, and Chiarelli declared himself a candidate to become the first mayor of the amalgamated city of Ottawa.
Chiarelli was elected as the first mayor of the newly amalgamated city of Ottawa on November 13, 2000, and was re-elected on November 10, 2003 (see 2003 Ottawa election
Ottawa municipal election, 2003
The Ottawa municipal election of 2003 was held in Ottawa, Canada, to elect the city's mayor, City Council, and school trustees for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The vote was held on November 10, 2003...
for full results).
2006 election
In the 2006 election
Ottawa municipal election, 2006
The 2006 Ottawa municipal election was held on November 13, 2006, in Ottawa, Canada, to elect the mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and the Ottawa-Carleton Public and Catholic School Boards. The election was one of many races across the province of Ontario...
, he ran for re-election against two main opponents: former Kanata councillor Alex Munter
Alex Munter
Alexander Mathias Munter is a former politician and journalist in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario....
, and businessman Larry O'Brien. Terry Kilrea
Terry Kilrea
Terry Kilrea is an aspiring politician from Ottawa.-2003 election:Kilrea ran for mayor of Ottawa in the 2003 municipal election on a platform that included opposition to light rail expansion, opposition to official bilingualism, abolition of the ban on smoking in public places, and an increase of...
, runner-up to Chiarelli in 2003, campaigned through the summer but withdrew when it seemed left-wing candidate Alex Munter
Alex Munter
Alexander Mathias Munter is a former politician and journalist in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario....
had taken the lead. Kilrea decided to support Chiarelli for the remainder of the campaign.
Chiarelli's main project was the expansion of the city's light-rail system: a north-south line would run from Barrhaven
Barrhaven, Ontario
Barrhaven is a rapidly growing suburban neighbourhood in the southwest of the urban area of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, about southwest of downtown Ottawa. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2006 Census was...
to downtown Ottawa starting in 2009. His opponents in the election alleged that the project had been undertaken without sufficient consultation or communication with the public. The project was cancelled shortly after his departure of City Hall.
Chiarelli also had plans to improve the east end of the city. He introduced a 10-point revitalization plan that would include attracting more jobs and businesses east of the Rideau River
Rideau River
thumb|Rapids on the Rideau River opposite [[Carleton University]].The Rideau River is a Southern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is 146 km...
in order to improve its economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
. He also planned to build new roads to improve connections between Orleans
Orléans, Ontario
Orleans , also written Orléans, is a suburban area within the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern part of the city along the Ottawa River, about from downtown Ottawa. The Canada 2006 Census gave Orleans a population of 95,491. It became a ward of the City of Ottawa in 2001...
and the south end of the city. Also he promised to expand the existing bike trail system with additional trails connecting suburban and rural areas of Ottawa.
In a survey conducted by UniMarketing during the week of October 13, 2006, Chiarelli placed second with an 11-point percentage deficit on Munter but had a three-point advantage over O'Brien among the most likely to vote. In the election, he finished in third position with just over 15% of the vote and lost the mayoral position to O'Brien.
Return to provincial politics
On January 31, 2010, Chiarelli was acclaimed as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate in the by-election to succeed Jim Watson in Ottawa West–Nepean. He won the by-election, which was held on March 4.Electoral record
|Bob Chiarelli|align="right"|16,343
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Derek Insley
|align="right"|9,951
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Paul Weinzweig
|align="right"|4,403
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Lynn McPherson
|align="right"|1,689
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|}
|(x)Bob Chiarelli
|align="right"|13,908
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Brian Mackey
|align="right"|9,068
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Allan Edwards
Allan Edwards
Allan 'Butch' Edwards is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Richmond, Collingwood and Footscray in the VFL during the late 1970s and early 1980s....
|align="right"|8,391
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|David Boyd
|align="right"|1,044
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Ian Whyte
|align="right"|1,011
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|}
|(x)Bob Chiarelli
|align="right"|14,516
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Greg Joy
|align="right"|12,898
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Karim Ismaili
|align="right"|3,718
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Stephen Johns
|align="right"|448
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|Andy Sammon
|align="right"|241
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|Stan Lamothe
|align="right"|96
|align="right"|
|align="right"|
|-
|}
|-
|Bob Chiarelli
|align="right"|12,353
|align="right"|43.45%
|align="right"|-7.1
|-
|Beth Graham
|align="right"|11,086
|align="right"|38.99%
|align="right"|+7.3
|-
|Pam Fitzgerald
|align="right"|2,404
|align="right"|8.45%
|align="right"|-1.3
|-
|Mark Mackenzie
|align="right"|2,359
|align="right"|8.30%
|align="right"|+2.0
|-
|John Turmel
|align="right"|230
|align="right"|0.81%
|align="right"|*
|-
|}