Lawrence Robert O'Brien (born July 19, 1949) is a
Canadian
Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...
businessman and former politician. O'Brien served as the 58th
mayor of Ottawa from 2006 until 2010. O'Brien was the founder and former Chair and CEO of Calian Technologies Ltd.
O'Brien attended
Elmdale Public School and
Fisher Park High School, and graduated from
Merivale High School in 1968. He studied at
Algonquin College
Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college has three campuses, all in Ontario: a primary campus in Ottawa, and secondary campuses in Perth and ...
and graduated with a diploma in Technology in 1972. After graduating, O'Brien worked in the high technology sector, where he met
Terry Matthews
Sir Terence Hedley Matthews (born 6 June 1943) is a Welsh-Canadian business magnate, serial high-tech entrepreneur, and Wales' first billionaire. He was the richest man in Wales until 2012, when he was surpassed by Sir Michael Moritz.
He ha ...
and
Michael Cowpland. He then joined Microsystems International Ltd. In 1975 he worked for the
Communications Research Centre
The Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC; ) is a Canadian government scientific laboratory for research and development in wireless technologies, with a particular focus on the efficient use of radio frequency spectrum. Its mission is as fo ...
and
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
Communications. O'Brien then launched his first company, Insta-Call Ltd., which went bankrupt in 1979. From then to 1982, he was the general manager of reliability-testing firm Reltek Inc. in
Kanata, subsequently leaving to open
Calian Technologies Ltd., a staffing (outsourcing) and engineering service provider.
O'Brien left Calian as CEO and chairman in 2006 when he was elected
mayor of Ottawa. He remained a director of the firm until stepping down in 2012. He ran for re-election in the
Ottawa mayoral election in 2010 but was defeated by then former mayor
Jim Watson.
O'Brien married Debbie Green in 1983. They had two sons, Michael and Matthew. In 1995, O'Brien and Green divorced. In 2008, O'Brien married real estate agent Colleen McBride.
2006 Ottawa mayoral race
In July 2006, O'Brien announced he would be running for the office of mayor of Ottawa in the
2006 municipal election, calling himself a centrist candidate.
One of the central points of his platform was a review of Ottawa's
O-Train
The O-Train is a light rail system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system consists of three lines, all of which are fully Grade separation, grade-separated. As of March 2025, one line is currently being extended an ...
light rail expansion plans, with a plan to delay or even eliminate the full contract. He was critical of what he saw as secrecy of some of the elements of the project, as well as the effects the construction would have in areas such as the Albert and Slater street corridors, and the removal of some of the existing express bus services. In September 2006, O'Brien wrote a letter to the federal President of the
Treasury Board,
John Baird, requesting a formal review of the project. Baird then withheld the $200 million federal funding for the expansion plans until after the 2006 election in November.
During a candidates' debate on September 13, O'Brien stated that one solution to the problem of
homeless
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
youth sleeping under a bridge was to replace them with a tourist kiosk. He also said homelessness could be solved through a "business-like look." These statements led to criticism from other candidates for mayor, including
Alex Munter and Jane Scharf.
O'Brien promised to freeze municipal taxes over the next four years and make the city's finances more fiscally responsible. However, it was expected that the budget would rise close to $95 million over the next year, sparking debate as to which public services would experience a rise in user-fees and which services would be cancelled. O'Brien also promised tougher policy on safety issues such as violent crime and drug issues, and promised to increase the number of
police officers
A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...
. O'Brien's other campaign commitments on law and order included his promise to eliminate the city's free crack pipe program. He also proposed introducing a by-law preventing people from sleeping in public places based on the Montreal by-law introduced in September 2006.
O'Brien said that he was in favour of the planned expansion of the
Ottawa Congress Centre, which was halted by the City of Ottawa and the
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
Government. The Congress Centre project was fully funded in the first three months of his term as Mayor.
He proposed making Ottawa a green leader in
waste-to-energy
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) refers to a series of processes designed to convert waste materials into usable forms of energy, typically electricity or heat. As a form of energy recovery, WtE plays a crucial role in both wa ...
production by generating 5% of the city's electricity from waste and diverting 100% of the city's non-recycled waste from landfills; for example,
Carp Road landfill
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...
site, which
Waste Management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...
had planned to double in size, would be replaced by three waste-to-energy facilities.
Before officially entering the mayoral race, O'Brien was polling in third place with little support. However, when Terry Kilrea dropped out of the race in order to pursue a council spot, most of Kilrea's supporters began to support O'Brien. He climbed to second place in the polls, ahead of incumbent
Bob Chiarelli, then moved to first place ahead of challenger Alex Munter in an
Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...
poll a few days before the election. In the municipal election on November 13, 2006, O'Brien won 47% of the vote and became mayor-elect of Ottawa with a margin of 30,000 votes ahead of Munter. He subsequently stepped down as CEO and chairman of Calian while remaining a director for the company.
Mayoral term (2006–2010)
Municipal budgets
2007 budget
During the week of December 18, the City of Ottawa reported that it could face a 105-million dollar
shortfall on the 2007
budget
A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
, equivalent to an 11% tax increase. During the Ottawa mayoral campaign, O'Brien had promised a no-tax hike policy; however, due to a larger shortfall than anticipated, he said that he could not guarantee no tax increases.
During the 2007 budget discussions from January 8 to 12, 2007, O'Brien voted against a passed motion that would have required city staff to implement two draft budgets, including one with a tax freeze and another with a tax increase within the rate of
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
. After several budget meetings, O'Brien criticized several councillors for supporting a tax increase within the rate of inflation and for not taking the procedures seriously. Councillors later replied that O'Brien's comments do not improve the relations between the mayor and the City Council. On February 26, 2007, news sources reported that the City, while recuperating surplus and reserve funds and raising various user fees, would not increase property taxes that year.
2008 budget
In August 2007, the City was facing a significant budget shortfall of over $80 million for the year 2008. Despite his previous support for a tax freeze, O'Brien proposed a 2% tax-levy until 2010 for infrastructure projects, which would give an additional $180 million in revenues to the City. He also presented a motion by which he would acquire more municipal responsibilities, such as city contracts and hiring, in an attempt to improve control of city expenses, which had increased rapidly since the 2001 amalgamation, and later presented a financial plan including measures proposed to make the city more cost-effective by finding administrative cost savings and by selling Hydro Ottawa. City staff mentioned that a tax freeze would have resulted in the closing of several community centres, 9 public libraries, fire stations, daycare centers, skating arenas and swimming pools as well as major cuts to transit service and a significant transit fare increase.
The budget was approved unanimously by the Council and resulted in a 4.9% tax increase, including 1.4% for the
police force budget, 2% for the infrastructure levy and 1.5% for capital and operation costs. The budget also included a 7.5%
OC Transpo
OC Transpo is the primary Transit district, public transport agency for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operating bus rapid transit, light rail, conventional transit bus, bus routes, and door-to-door paratransit in the nation's capital regi ...
fare increase until 2010, user fee increases such as rents and parking spaces, and cost cuts. O'Brien and much of the Council had stated prior to the budget talks that cuts to essential services such as community centers, libraries and transit were unacceptable.
2009 budget
For the 2009 budget, the City faced a $35 million budget shortfall. Proposals to combat the shortfall included a 4.9% tax increase and cuts to as many as 230 jobs, 700 daycare spaces, $4 million in arts program, and transit service. Following budget discussions, the budget was passed on December 9 on an omnibus motion from councillor
Rick Chiarelli. The budget resulted in a 4.9% tax increase and the deferral of some spending items, without the proposed arts and transit cuts. O'Brien had criticized the budget, calling it a "travesty" and saying, "What I saw this afternoon was simply disgusting. They acted out of fear, not leadership". The budget process occurred at the same time a 52-day transit strike at OC Transpo began.
Transformation campaign
On April 18, 2007, O'Brien launched a 1,000-day transformation campaign in which he reviewed how the city's services were made, along with how the decisions were made at City Hall. "Transformation" was the fourth part of his "T-plan," which also included taxes, transit and trash. He also planned several meetings in the following weeks outside City Hall. His strategy was met with concern by several councilors, organizations, and other prominent political figures, with former mayor
Marion Dewar insisting on a degree of public consultation.
Snow removal debate
During the
2007–08 winter season, the city received 437 centimetres of snow, making it the second snowiest winter on record. The heavy snowfall caused a major budget shortfall for snow removal operations, with some cost estimates as high as $23 million. Following snow storms which caused one metre of snow in one week in early March, O'Brien proposed a one-time tax levy of $50 per household in order to balance the budget. As it opted for eliminating the deficit by using provincial infrastructure funding announced in the 2008 budget and money from the sale of Telecom Ottawa, the proposal was met with heavy opposition from many citizens and councillors, and it was defeated during a City Council meeting on March 26, 2008 .
Transit
Light-rail expansion debate
In his first week in office, O'Brien changed his position concerning the
O-Train
The O-Train is a light rail system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system consists of three lines, all of which are fully Grade separation, grade-separated. As of March 2025, one line is currently being extended an ...
project due to an
Ottawa Sun
The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In April 2 ...
report that, were the project cancelled, there could be lawsuits from
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
totaling up to $1 billion. O'Brien said that he preferred to cancel only the downtown section, not the entire. On December 6, Ottawa Council voted 12–11 in favour of expanding the O-Train, except the section that would travel through downtown, while adding an
environmental assessment
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...
that would study the possibility of building
tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
s beneath
Albert and
Slater streets. O'Brien added that the money saved on the north-south line would be invested on developing the
Transitway in suburban areas. On December 13, he withdrew his support for the revised plan because the $400 million funding by both the provincial and federal governments would not be returned before the contract deadline of December 15. O'Brien added that the City's signing the contract would be a risk. A new vote was held on December 14 in which the Council voted to cancel the project by a margin of 13–11, with O'Brien and
Rainer Bloess, who had been absent in the previous vote, casting the additional votes against the project.
Transportation Task Force
On January 19, 2007, O'Brien created a new Transportation Task Force committee, led by former
Liberal Cabinet Minister
David Collenette, which was commissioned to review the city's transit issues and issue recommendations.
New transit plan
On November 28, 2007, while facing a $280 million lawsuit from Siemens, the contractor for the original north-south project, the City Council approved a new transit plan worth just under $2 billion. The transit plan included completion of the current Transitway, expansion of light rail service to
Riverside South, a new transit corridor for
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
, and a new downtown tunnel; an
environmental assessment
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...
study would determine whether the tunnel would be used for light-rail or buses. It has not yet been determined how this plan will be funded. A first phase with light-rail from Tunney's Pasture to Blair Station via a downtown tunnel was approved in November 2008. A future section near Westboro requires more studies due to concerns by the
National Capital Commission and area residents on using light-rail on the
Kichi Zibi Mikan
The Kichi Zībī Mīkan, ( ) formerly the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, and previously the Ottawa River Parkway, is a four-lane scenic parkway along the Ottawa River in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs from Carling Avenue near Connaught Avenu ...
.
OC Transpo strike
On December 10, 2008, OC Transpo drivers and mechanics started a 52-day strike. The strike ended on January 31, 2009, after federal Labour Minister
Rona Ambrose
Ronalee Ambrose Veitch ( , Name at birth, née Chapchuk; born March 15, 1969) is a former Canadian politician who served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Official Opposition and Interim leader (Canada), interim Leade ...
announced her intention to introduce back-to-work-legislation following several breakdowns of talks between the
Amalgamated Transit Union
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a labor organization in the United States and Canada that represents employees in the public transit industry. Established in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, the u ...
, the City of Ottawa, and a federal mediator. The strike happened during the
2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute
The 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute, during the 40th Canadian Parliament, was triggered by the expressed intention of the opposition parties (who together held a majority of seats in the House of Commons) to defeat the Conservative ...
, which may have prolonged the strike without risk of federally mandated resolution. The parties agreed to send the dispute issues, such as sick days, work-rest rules and other benefits, to binding arbitration.
Controversies
In his first week of office, O'Brien came under attack for supporting a raise in his salary from $140,000 to $172,000, despite O'Brien's campaign platform of strict fiscal prudence. After controversy, O'Brien reversed his position on the matter and declined the pay raise two days later.
On February 10, 2007, the ''
Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...
'' reported sworn allegations from Terry Kilrea, who had dropped out of the mayoral race on August 30, 2006, that O'Brien had met with Kilrea twice and offered him a financial inducement of up to $30,000 and a political appointment on the condition that Kilrea withdraw from the race and support O'Brien. O'Brien had been under investigation for
bribery
Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...
by the
OPP since March 27, 2008, in connection with the allegations. The ''Ottawa Citizen'' reported that Terry Kilrea sent correspondence to the federal
Minister of the Environment John Baird, concerning a possible appointment if Kilrea dropped out of the mayoral race.
On December 10, 2007, the OPP charged O'Brien for two offenses under the Criminal Code of Canada. O'Brien temporarily stepped down during the trial; councillor
Michel Bellemare served as acting mayor for two months. O'Brien contested the charges in court and on August 5, 2009, both charges against him were dismissed by Justice Douglas Cunningham, associate chief justice of Ontario’s Superior Court.
2010 Ottawa mayoral race
In March 2010, O'Brien stated reluctance to run in Ottawa's 2010 mayoral election, citing that he accomplished most of his mayoral objectives in his first term.
However, on June 30, 2010, he officially announced his intention to run for mayor in the 2010 election.
O'Brien officially launched his campaign on September 8, 2010. O'Brien's campaign slogan was "Action over Politics", a deliberate contrast of O'Brien to main rival Jim Watson's extensive political career. O'Brien's campaign also announced that they would forgo the traditional lawn-signs in the campaign for a more "modern" approach. Another campaign theme for the O'Brien re-election bid was that the mayor has only one vote (on city council) while citizens have two (one for mayor and one for their local councillor). The Ottawa Sun reported that O'Brien noted that in order to implement his agenda, he needs "councillors who think like him around the
ounciltable"
O'Brien was largely critical of the Council for tax increases during his tenure as mayor. O'Brien's platform stated that he wanted to "give the Mayor, rather than staff, the authority to bring forward the city’s budget plan for debate." O'Brien continued to set "zero" as a target for annual property tax increases.
O'Brien finished second to Watson in the election, garnering 24.06% of the vote.
References
External links
Campaign websitePersonal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Larry
1949 births
21st-century mayors of places in Ontario
Algonquin College alumni
Canadian technology chief executives
Canadian people of Irish descent
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Living people
Mayors of Ottawa
Businesspeople from Ottawa
Canadian technology company founders