Allan L. Higdon is a former

Ottawa City Council The Ottawa City Council (french: Conseil municipal d'Ottawa) is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents war ...

lor and acting

mayor of Ottawa In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. He served on council from 1994 through 2000. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, Higdon immigrated to Canada with his family in 1957 and settled in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. He received a BA from Queen's University in English and History, a

B.Ed A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, and also became an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT). After graduation, Higdon worked with the

Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) is a not-for-profit technical society of professionals in the Canadian minerals, metals, materials and energy industries. CIM's members are convened from industry, academia and go ...

on a curriculum development project at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). He subsequently lived in Toronto and southeast Asia, later moving to Ottawa. Higdon began his Ottawa career teaching at Ottawa Technical High School but quickly became involved in politics and started work on Parliament Hill in January 1982 for a Member of Parliament. Employed by the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

from January 1984, he worked in the

1984 Canadian federal election The 1984 Canadian federal election was held on September 4, 1984, to elect members to the House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada. In one of the largest landslide victories in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative ...

as a member of the Progressive Conservative National Campaign Committee. Following the campaign, he served three years as Executive Assistant to a Cabinet minister. Higdon then became a self-employed consultant specializing in social and demographic research and communications. From 1988 to 1994 he was employed as a Senior Analyst for the Department of Communications. Active in local politics in the

1994 Ottawa municipal election The 1994 Ottawa municipal election was held on November 14, 1994, in Ottawa, Canada. The number of wards in the city had been reduced from 15 to 10 for this election. Mayor Jacquelin Holzman was re-elected in a three-way contest with councillors J ...

, Higdon was elected to the

representing the

Alta Vista-Canterbury Ward Alta Vista Ward (Ward 18) is a city ward in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada represented on Ottawa City Council. Alta Vista Ward was created prior to the 1966 election when Gloucester Ward was split in half due to population growth in the Alta ...

. He was re-elected in the

1997 Ottawa municipal election The 1997 Ottawa municipal election was held on November 10, 1997, in Ottawa, Canada. Capital Ward councillor Jim Watson was easily elected mayor over two lesser known candidates. Mayor Jacquelin Holzman did not run for re-election. This would be ...

by acclamation and appointed Deputy Mayor of Ottawa for the term 1997–2000. After mayor Jim Watson's resignation in July 2000, Higdon was unanimously elected by Council as Acting Mayor of Ottawa until completion of his term of office in December. Higdon was defeated in the

2000 Ottawa municipal election The 2000 Ottawa municipal election was a municipal election that was held on November 13, 2000, in Ottawa. The elections were held for mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and a number of school trustees. These elections would mark the first for t ...

by regional councillor Peter Hume, following the amalgamation of the city and regional government. Following his defeat, Higdon began work for the Government of Ontario - first as a member of the Social Benefits Tribunal, later the Alcohol and Gaming Commission and finally with the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

Personal life

Higdon has been active in the community in many volunteer capacities having been a member of the Board of the Riverside Hospital, the Central Canada Exhibition, the Great Canadian Theatre Company, the Confederation Centre for the Arts (Charlottetown, PEI) and a Trustee of the Ottawa Public Library, among others. He has also sung in several choirs. Mr. Higdon is married with two grown children.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Higdon, Allan 1947 births Living people Irish emigrants to Canada Mayors of Ottawa Ottawa city councillors Queen's University at Kingston alumni University of Toronto alumni Politicians from Dublin (city)