Clive Doucet (born 1946[2]) is a Canadian writer and politician. He served as the Ottawa City Councillor for Capital Ward from 1997 to 2010 and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Ottawa in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election, finishing third with 15 per cent of the vote. Eight years later, in 2018, he again ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Ottawa, this time finishing second with 22 per cent of the vote.
Clive Doucet | |
|---|---|
 Doucet in 2018 | |
| Ottawa City Councillor | |
| In office 2001–2010 | |
| Preceded by | Inez Berg |
| Succeeded by | David Chernushenko |
| Constituency | Capital Ward |
| Ottawa-Carleton Regional Councillor | |
| In office 1997–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Brian McGarry |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Constituency | Capital Ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1946 London, England |
| Political party | New Democratic Party[1] (c. 2006) Green Party of Canada (since 2019) |
| Spouse | Pat Steenberg |
Early life
editDoucet was born in 1946 in London, England to an Acadian serviceman from Grand Étang[3] and an English war bride. Doucet grew up in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, having moved there at the age of six. He also spent some of his youth in St. John's, Newfoundland. Doucet was raised as a Catholic, and his mother was Protestant. He became a Quaker in 1980. He first came to Ottawa in his teens when his father worked there. Doucet played for the Carleton Ravens football team for one season, and then moved to the University of Toronto. A football injury took him out of that sport and into the sport of rowing. He received a master's degree in urban anthropology from the University of Montreal.[4] In his younger days, he spent a summer working in a rock copper mine in British Columbia and helped build the National Arts Centre as a construction worker. Before entering politics, Doucet was a municipal affairs policy advisor.[5]
Politics
editIn the 1997 regional elections, Doucet ran for Ottawa-Carleton Regional Council in Capital Ward, which includes The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Old Ottawa East, part of Riverview Park, Carleton University, and Heron Park. He was an activist against the proposed Bronson Freeway, which propelled him to victory.
Central to his political platform has been the creation of a light rail rapid transit system across Ottawa manifested to date with the O-Train demonstration project (today's Trillium Line).
On 6 July 2010, Doucet announced his candidacy for Mayor of Ottawa in the 2010 Ottawa municipal election. Doucet joined a record number of 115 candidates running for municipal office in 2010, of which 15 challenged mayoral incumbent Larry O'Brien.[6] Doucet placed third with 15 per cent of the vote.[7]
During the 2018 Ontario election campaign, Doucet volunteered in Ottawa Centre for NDP candidate Joel Harden.[8]
On July 27, 2018, Doucet announced that he would once again be running for Mayor of Ottawa in the 2018 Ottawa municipal election.[9] Doucet placed second behind incumbent mayor Jim Watson who he had also lost to in 2010. He won 22% of the vote.
Doucet announced he will be running for the Green Party of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election in the riding of Cape Breton—Canso, the riding of his secondary residence of Grand Étang, Nova Scotia.[10]
Publications
editThroughout his career, Doucet has been a writer of novels, poetry, plays, and non-fiction, often writing about his Acadian roots. His most recent book, Urban Meltdown: Cities, Climate Change and Politics as Usual, was published by New Society Publishers in 2007.[11] In its review, The Walrus wrote "When Doucet speaks from the firm ground of experience as city councillor, his sharply logical solutions to municipal problems seem both hopeful and achievable."[12]
Fiction
edit- Disneyland Please, novel, 1978, shortlisted for the W.H. Smith First Novel Award
- John Coe's War, novel, 1983
- Gospel According to Mary Magdalene, novel, 1990
- The Priest's Boy, linked short stories, 1992
Non-fiction
edit- My Grandfather's Cape Breton, originally 1980, republished in 2003 – a memoir of summer boyhood visits to his grandfather on the family farm on Cape Breton Island in the 1960s.
- Lost and Found in Acadie (2004), a meditation on Acadian history, the Great Expulsion of 1755 and his visit to the Second Acadian World Congress in Louisiana in 1999.
- Notes from Exile, 1999 – profiles his visit to the 1994 First Acadian World Congress in New Brunswick.
- Acadian Memories, 2005 – collaboration with photographer Francois Gaudet, a coffee table book keepsake of the Third Acadian World Congress held in Ste Anne, Nova Scotia in 2004.
Poetry
edit- Before Star Wars, 1981
- Debris of Planets, 1993
- Looking for Henry, 1999 – an epic poem meditating on the deportation of Acadians in 1755 contrasted to the defeat of the Metis Nation in 1885, and how the victors get to write history.
- Canal Seasons, 2003
Plays
edit- Hatching Eggs, National Arts Centre, 1976
- A Very Desirable Residence, Penguin Performance Company, 1978
- Chicken Delight, CBC Playhouse (radio), 1978
- May the Best Man Win
- The Chez Lucien is Dead (with Wayne Rostad)
Electoral record
editFederal
edit| 2019 Canadian federal election: Cape Breton—Canso | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Mike Kelloway | 16,694 | 38.88 | -35.51 | none listed | |||
| Conservative | Alfie MacLeod | 14,821 | 34.52 | +20.07 | $99,102.26 | |||
| New Democratic | Laurie Suitor | 6,354 | 14.80 | +6.59 | none listed | |||
| Green | Clive Doucet | 3,321 | 7.73 | +4.77 | $23,886.83 | |||
| People's | Billy Joyce[13] | 925 | 2.15 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Independent | Michelle Dockrill | 685 | 1.60 | - | none listed | |||
| National Citizens Alliance | Darlene Lynn LeBlanc | 140 | 0.33 | - | $0.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 42,940 | 98.62 | $102,831.89 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 601 | 1.38 | +0.75 | |||||
| Turnout | 43,541 | 71.73 | +0.15 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 60,699 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | -27.79 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[14] | ||||||||
Municipal
editMayoral
edit| Mayoral candidate | Vote | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Watson (X) | 188,960 | 71.03 | |
| Clive Doucet | 59,156 | 22.24 | |
| Bruce McConville | 4,360 | 1.64 | |
| Craig MacAulay | 2,272 | 0.85 | |
| Ahmed Bouragba | 1,912 | 0.72 | |
| Joey Drouin | 1,893 | 0.71 | |
| Hamid Alakozai | 1,867 | 0.70 | |
| James T. Sheahan | 1,354 | 0.51 | |
| Michael Pastien | 1,177 | 0.44 | |
| Ryan Lythall | 1,115 | 0.42 | |
| Moises Schachtler | 994 | 0.37 | |
| Bernard Couchman | 964 | 0.36 | |
| Mayor | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Jim Watson | 131,323 | 48.70 |
| Larry O'Brien (X) | 64,862 | 24.06 |
| Clive Doucet | 40,148 | 14.89 |
| Andrew S. Haydon | 18,914 | 7.01 |
| Mike Maguire | 6,618 | 2.45 |
| 15 other candidates | 7,775 | 2.88 |
| Total votes | 269,640 | 100.00 |
| Source: "2010 municipal election results". City of Ottawa. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. | ||
City Councillor
edit| Capital Ward (Ward 17) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Clive Doucet (X) | 6,495 | 48.14% |
| Jay Nordenstrom | 4,602 | 34.11% |
| Ian Boyd | 1,963 | 14.55% |
| Sean Curran | 433 | 3.21% |
| Capital Ward (Ward 17) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Clive Doucet (X) | 5,785 | 80.06% |
| C.R.L. Erickson | 1,024 | 14.17% |
| Mike Salmon | 417 | 5.77% |
| Capital Ward (Ward 17) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Clive Doucet (X) | 6,486 | 69.51 |
| Jim Bickford | 2,845 | 30.49 |
| Capital Ward (Ward 17) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
| Clive Doucet | 2,984 | 36.80 |
| Jim Kennelly | 2,051 | 25.29 |
| Robin Quinn | 1,571 | 19.37 |
| Ed Barter | 1,002 | 12.36 |
| David McNicoll | 501 | 6.18 |
References
edit- ^ "Party: Fear of a polarized council". Ottawa Citizen. 31 January 2006. p. 26. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF).
- ^ clive Doucette, Noted in a book review), Globe and Mail, August 07, 2009
- ^ "Meet your candidates for Ottawa mayor | CBC News".
- ^ Mohammed Adam, "Clive Doucet: Accidental politician", Ottawa Citizen, 13 September 2010
- ^ Cockburn, Neco (1 September 2010). "O'Brien responsible for record number of candidates: Watson". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 1 September 2010. [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Official Results/Résultats officiels". City of Ottawa. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ "Can Ottawa's municipal candidates shed political allegiances?". Ottawa Sun. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Willing, Jon (27 July 2018). "Former councillor Clive Doucet announces run for mayor". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ "Clive Doucet to run for Parliament as a Green in Cape Breton".
- ^ New Society Publishers – Urban Meltdown
- ^ Dutkiewicz, Jan (January 2008). "Book Review: Urban Meltdown – Cities, Climate Change and Politics as Usual". Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ Mack Lamoureux (11 September 2019). "A QAnon YouTuber Is Running for Office in Canada". Vice. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 11 August 2021.