MCpl (ret.) Jody Mitic () CD (born January 3, 1977) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and retired soldier. He served as an

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, representing Innes Ward in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

's east end, from

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

until

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Background

Mitic was born in Kitchener,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Mitic served in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

as a sniper. He lost both of his legs in a

landmine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

incident while fighting in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

in 2007. During his recovery, Mitic worked through some of his psychological issues with a computer program named Ellie, which tracks facial expressions and speech patterns to diagnose

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

and depression. As part of his physical rehabilitation, Mitic successfully recovered and ran in an Achilles Canada 5-km run with

prosthetic leg In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

s. In 2013, he and his brother Cory competed on ''

The Amazing Race Canada 1 ''The Amazing Race Canada 1'' is the first season of '' The Amazing Race Canada'', a reality game show based on the American series ''The Amazing Race''. It features nine teams of two with pre-existing relationships who raced around Canada and is ...

'', finishing in 2nd place. Following his appearance on ''

The Amazing Race Canada ''The Amazing Race Canada'' is a Canadian adventure reality game show based on the international ''Amazing Race'' franchise. Following the premise of other versions of the format, the show follows teams of two as they race across Canada and aro ...

'', Mitic became a motivational speaker and an advocate for wounded veterans and people with disabilities. In 2016, he appeared on the

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer pa ...

podcast episode 15 to talk about his book, ''Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper''.

Politics

Mitic was elected following the departure of long-time city councillor

Rainer Bloess Rainer Bloess was a member of Ottawa City Council. He represents Innes Ward (Ward 2), covering some of the city's eastern suburbs. Bloess was originally a member of the city council of Gloucester, being first elected to that council in 1994 ...

. He won with close to one third of the vote, about 1,800 votes ahead of his nearest competitor, Laura Dudas. During the 2017 Conservative Party leadership contest, Mitic contributed to former Minister of Veterans Affairs Erin O'Toole's campaign. Mitic announced on March 31, 2018, that he would not be running for re-election, citing wanting to spend more time with his family, and both mental and physical health issues. After months of absenteeism, Ottawa City Council voted June 13, 2018 to authorize an indefinite leave of absence for him, as the body had done in 2013 to facilitate Councillor

Stephen Blais Stephen Blais (born July 20, 1980) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Orléans since February 27, 2020, as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party Before being elected to the Legislative ...

' recovery from a heart attack.

Personal Life

He is separated from his former wife, Alannah Gilmore. He has two daughters with his ex-wife. Gilmore had been one of the medics who treated him after his injury in Afghanistan. Mitic wrote a book about his experience in Afghanistan in a memoir titled '' Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper''.

Election results

References

External links

Campaign BiographyCity Council Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitic, Jody 1977 births Living people Canadian Army soldiers Canadian military snipers Canadian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Canadian amputees Ottawa city councillors Writers from Ottawa Writers from Kitchener, Ontario Canadian people of Serbian descent Canadian politicians with disabilities 21st-century Canadian memoirists Canadian male non-fiction writers