John Rowswell (May 18, 1955 – August 31, 2010) was 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 who served as the
mayor
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 a ...
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 ...
Steve Butland
Steve Butland (born March 26, 1941) is a Canadian politician. He represented the Sault Ste. Marie electoral district in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993 as a member of the New Democratic Party.
Butland was born in Sault Ste. Ma ...
, and in 2006 he was re-elected for his third term with approximately 56.5% of the vote. He was a consulting
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
who operated his own company, Rowswell & Associates Engineers Ltd. He was one of the longest-serving mayors in the city's history; only Joe Fratesi served as mayor of Sault Ste. Marie for longer than Rowswell.
One of his final significant acts as mayor was to issue a formal apology to
French Canadians
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
for the
Sault Ste. Marie language resolution
The Sault Ste. Marie language resolution was a government motion passed on January 29, 1990 by Sault Ste. Marie City Council, the governing body of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, which resolved that Englis ...
Radio-Canada
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
, January 28, 2010.
He died in office on August 31, 2010 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Rowswell had a private
funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
, although a public
wake
Wake or The Wake may refer to:
Culture
*Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies
*Wakes week, an English holiday tradition
* Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
was held at the city's
Essar Centre
The GFL Memorial Gardens, formerly the "Essar Centre", is a 4,928 seat sports and entertainment centre in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It opened on September 29, 2006, replacing the now demolished Sault Memorial Gardens. The new ...
. The city's 2010
Terry Fox Run
The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research
in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope.
The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Shar ...
was also dedicated to Rowswell's memory.
As his death occurred less than two months before the 2010 municipal election, provincial law did not permit a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
to be held to choose his immediate successor. City council opted not to appoint an interim replacement, but instead followed its existing rotation of
acting mayor
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 ...
s that had been arranged to serve as mayor during his medical absences. Councillors Lorena Tridico, Susan Myers and Ozzie Grandinetti each served one month as acting mayor until