Shawn Menard

Shawn Menard
Ottawa City Councillor
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 1, 2018
Preceded byDavid Chernushenko
ConstituencyCapital Ward
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board Trustee
In office
December 1, 2014 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byRob Campbell
Succeeded byLyra Evans
ConstituencyZone 9
Personal details
Born (1982-04-14) April 14, 1982 (age 42)
Ottawa[1]
SpouseJohanna Hove
Children2
ResidenceOld Ottawa South
Alma materCarleton University

Shawn Michael Menard (born April 14, 1982)[2] is a Canadian politician. He was elected to Ottawa City Council representing Capital Ward in the 2018 Ottawa municipal election.

Menard grew up in Ottawa, the son of a single mother. He graduated from Sir Robert Borden High School, and studied criminology and public administration at Carleton University. At Carleton, Menard was the president of the Rideau River Residence Association and later the president of the Carleton University Students' Association. He graduated from Carleton with a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration.[3]

After university, Menard worked as a strategic analyst for the Department of Justice and then as manager of government relations for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. He was also involved in neighbourhood politics, serving as president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association and established an umbrella group of community associations called "Our Ottawa".

Menard was elected as a public school trustee for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in the 2014 municipal elections with no opposition. He represented Zone 9, which covers both Capital and Rideau-Vanier Wards.

Menard had planned on running for re-election as a school trustee for the 2018 election, but entered the race for city council when fellow-progressive Emilie Taman opted to not run.[4] Many had also wanted Menard to run for mayor.[5]

Menard ran on a progressive platform of reducing fares for public transportation, barring planning committee members from taking developer donations, and eliminating single use plastics. Often a critic of mayor Jim Watson Menard endorsed Watson's rival Clive Doucet in the 2018 mayoral race.[6] Menard was elected winning 28% of the vote, defeating his nearest rival Christine McAllister by fewer than 400 votes and incumbent David Chernushenko by just under 600 votes. Menard claimed the win as a "referendum on development" in the area, while Chernushenko blamed his defeat on being out organized by an "NDP campaign".[7]

Menard ran for a second term on Ottawa City Council in the 2022 Ottawa Municipal Election, he was endorsed by mayoral candidate and previous Somerset Ward councillor Catherine McKenney.[8] Menard was re-elected with 11,358 votes.

  1. ^ "www.shawnemenard.ca". Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  2. ^ Ottawa Citizen, April 21, 1982, pg 46, "Birth and Death Announcements"
  3. ^ "www.shawnemenard.ca". Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  4. ^ "Ottawa Citizen: Shawn Menard stands tall in Capital Ward". Ottawa Citizen. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  5. ^ "Ottawa Citizen: Shawn Menard stands tall in Capital Ward". Ottawa Citizen. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  6. ^ "Ottawa Votes: What you need to know about the candidates in Capital ward". Ottawa Citizen. 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  7. ^ "Capital ward win 'a referendum on development,' Shawn Menard says". CBC. 2018-10-22. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  8. ^ "I've had people asking me to run for Mayor from all parts of #Ottawa this term. I love serving Capital Ward while I know the potential of this city. @cmckenney has committed to bringing that change. We need to unite support behind them. My plan is to run again in Capital Ward". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-07-11.