Michael Qaqish

Michael Qaqish
Ottawa City Councillor
In office
December 1, 2014 – December 1, 2018
Preceded bySteve Desroches
Succeeded byCarol Anne Meehan
ConstituencyGloucester-South Nepean Ward
Personal details
BornDecember 1985
Toronto, Ontario

Michael Qaqish (/ˈkækɪʃ/ KAK-ish;[1] born December 1985[2]) was the Ottawa City Councillor for Gloucester-South Nepean Ward. He was elected for the first time in the 2014 Ottawa municipal election. He was defeated by Carol Anne Meehan in the 2018 Ottawa municipal elections.[3]

Qaqish was born in Toronto and lived in Jordan before moving to Ottawa to earn a degree in psychology from Carleton University.[4] Qaqish's background is in journalism. Prior to being elected, he was a contributor to CTV, 580 CFRA, The Hill Times and CHIN Radio. He was the founding president of the Kiwanis Club of Barrhaven.[5] He lives in the Chapman Mills neighbourhood of Barrhaven.

From 2008 to 2012, Qaqish worked as an assistant to Gloucester-South Nepean councillor Steve Desroches, and then worked for Capital Ward councillor David Chernushenko. Before that, Qaqish worked for a number of Liberal Party politicians such as now mayor Jim Watson when he was an MPP, MP Derek Lee and MP Ruby Dhalla.

After the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Qaqish indicated to the Hill Times that he was encouraged by senior Conservatives to seek the party's nomination in Nepean, but declined on the grounds that he had only been recently elected to Ottawa City Council.[6]

  1. ^ "Ottawa Election - Michael Qaqish | CTV News". 20 September 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Michael Qaqish brings young blood to city council". 2 December 2014.
  3. ^ "2018 Election Results | City of Ottawa".
  4. ^ "Meet the candidates: Michael Qaqish". www.ottawacommunitynews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-30.
  5. ^ "Michael Qaqish | City of Ottawa". Archived from the original on 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  6. ^ Rana, Abbas (2015-02-15). "High-profile Conservatives consider run in Nepean, but Harder accuses Poilievre of meddling". Hill Times. Retrieved 2021-03-07.