1991 Ottawa mayoral election ← 1988 November 12, 1991 1994 →
Candidate Jacquelin Holzman Nancy Smith Marc Laviolette Popular vote 38,725 35,525 21,101 Percentage 39.61% 36.34% 21.58%
Results by ward
Mayor before election Marc Laviolette
Elected mayor Jacquelin Holzman
The city of Ottawa, Canada held municipal elections on November 12, 1991.
Right wing Britannia Ward councillor Jacquelin Holzman defeated left wing St. George's councillor Nancy Smith and mayor Marc Laviolette. Holzman defeated Smith by just 3,022 votes. She ran on a platform to "keep a lid on city taxes".[ 1]
Despite the eventual closeness of the result, and the polarization of the candidates, pundits lamented that the electorate was not interested in the election, as the candidates had not inspired the voters who were more concerned with "national issues like the constitution and the economy".[ 2]
After the election, Liberal MP Mac Harb (who supported Holzman) admitted to "quietly encourag[ing]" Laviolette to enter the race to split the vote, because he "couldn't stomach (the thought of) Smith's left wing social agenda" winning.[ 3]
Mayor Candidate Votes % Jacquelin Holzman 38,725 39.61 Nancy Smith 35,525 36.34 Marc Laviolette (X) 21,101 21.58 Michael Bartholomew 2,417 2.47
Results by ward Holzman's victory was propelled by winning the city's suburban wards, with her best ward being Richmond, which she had represented on council. Smith won the city's four urban wards, doing her best in St. George's, which she had represented on council. Laviolette won the city's two Francophone-influenced eastern wards.[ 4]
Ward Bartholomew Holzman Laviolette Smith By-Rideau (1) 145 1,558 3,731 2,763 St. George's (2) 102 1,367 1,036 3,401 Overbrook-Forbes (3) 156 1,076 2,736 1,425 Wellington (4) 109 1,292 758 2,431 Capital (5) 268 2,235 611 3,934 Dalhousie (6) 235 1,810 1,201 2,329 Elmdale (7) 143 2,906 1,339 2,835 Carlington-Westboro (Queensboro) (8) 180 2,519 1,276 2,159 Richmond (9) 119 5,469 787 2,433 Britannia (10) 175 2,411 1,023 2,054 Carleton (11) 170 3,574 910 1,836 Canterbury (12) 175 2,894 2,022 1,973 Alta Vista (13) 181 3,860 1,664 2,835 Billings (14) 112 2,432 1,002 1,136 River (15) 147 3,322 1,005 1,981
City council Map of Ottawa's Wards used in this election 1. By-Rideau Ward 2. St. George's Ward 3. Overbrook-Forbes Ward 4. Wellington Ward 5. Capital Ward 6. Dalhousie Ward 7. Elmdale Ward 8. Carlington-Westboro Ward 9. Richmond Ward 10. Britannia Ward 11. Carleton Ward 12. Canterbury Ward 13. Alta Vista Ward 14. Billings Ward 15. Riverside Ward . Alta Vista Ward Candidate Votes % Peter Hume 4,660 55.80 Stephen Amesse 2,827 33.85 Rebecca Liff 865 10.36
Britannia Ward Candidate Votes % Jill Brown 1,859 33.13 Gregory Ross 1,558 27.77 Geoffrey Sharpe 831 14.81 Jim Jones (X) 665 11.85 Clarence S. Dungey 273 4.87 Randy McCooeye 214 3.81 Andy Sammon 211 3.76
By-Rideau Ward Candidate Votes % Richard Cannings 3,657 45.41 Pierre Bourque (X) 2,461 30.56 Maurice Pagé 1,717 21.32 Richard Beaudry 218 2.71
Capital Ward Candidate Votes % Jim Watson 4,123 58.40 Lynn Smyth (X) 1,817 25.74 Michael Lynch 638 9.04 Frank De Jong 482 6.83
Canterbury Ward Candidate Votes % Jack MacKinnon 1,530 22.37 Ed Concordia 1,435 20.98 Mireille Landry-Kennedy 1,132 16.55 Ernie Lauzon 1,041 15.22 Douglas Sears 943 13.78 Carl Langroix 340 4.97 Elaine Lindsay 288 4.21 Garry J. Fischer 132 1.93
Carleton Ward Candidate Votes % Tim Kehoe (X) 3,442 54.93 Jim Bonner 2,824 45.07
Elmdale Ward Candidate Votes % Joan Wong 3,383 47.60 Jamie Fisher (X) 3,194 44.94 Steve Rimek 530 7.46
Overbrook-Forbes Ward Candidate Votes % Jacques Legendre 1,945 36.56 George Kelly (X) 1,758 33.05 Eve Elliott 918 17.26 Michael Green 699 13.14
Richmond Ward Candidate Votes % Alex Cullen 3,268 37.91 Ron Kolbus 2,922 33.90 Daniel Stringer 2,430 28.19
Riverside Ward Candidate Votes % George Brown (X) 4,140 67.88 John Ross 1,959 32.12
St. George's Ward Candidate Votes % Nancy Mitchell 2,499 42.86 Gordon Brownlee 938 16.09 Ed Barter 921 15.79 Geoff Nimmo 780 13.38 Maurice Dumoulin 543 9.31 Paul Kerston 114 1.96 George Ibrahim 36 0.62
Zone 1 (Vanier , Rockcliffe Park , By-Rideau, St. George's, Overbrook-Forbes) 3 to be elected (98% of polls reporting) Vote % Jane Dobell (X) 5,175 Cynthia Bled (X) 4,294 Harriet Lang (X) 3,927 Debbie Morey 2,546 Donna Silver 2,047 Jeannine Denis-Ladouceur 1,733
Zone 2 (Capital, Wellington) 2 to be elected Vote % Anne Scotton (X) 5,928 44.33 Brian McGarry (X) 5,737 42.90 Rick Alexanderson 1,708 12.77
Zone 3 (Dalhousie, Riverside, Elmdale) 4 to be elected (98% of polls reporting) Vote % Marian Lothian (X) 6,720 Mary Lou Fleming (X) 5,891 Elda M. Allen (X) 5,843 Ted Best (X) 3,806 Walter Robinson 3,644 William J. Taylor 3,253 Bill Pugsley 3,253 John Dodson 2,402
Zone 4 (Britannia, Richmond) 2 to be elected (95% of polls reporting) Vote % Margaret Lange (X) 4,977 Bill Gowling (X) 3,376 Sandra Bertrand 2,976 Sandra R. Goldstein 2,351 Irma Cohen 1,752 Christopher Assad 688 Ed Halla 408
Zone 5 (Carleton, Carlington-Westboro) 3 to be elected Vote % Brian Mackey (X) 5,235 27.15 Kathy Yach (X) 4,161 21.58 Linda Hunter (X) 4,018 20.83 Shawn Marmer 3,126 16.21 John M. Wright 2,742 14.22
Zone 6 (Alta Vista, Billings, Canterbury) 4 to be elected (99% of polls reporting) Vote % Margaret Woodley 6,607 John Sutherland (X) 6,216 Marjorie Loughrey (X) 6,210 Russ Jackson (X) 6,115 Sue Mack 5,047 Roy Bushfield (X) 4,453 Wayne Mannion 1,271 Henry Assad 1,111
References Ottawa Citizen, November 13, 1991 ^ Ottawa Citizen , Nov 13, 1991, pg A1, "It's Mayor Holzman" ^ "Race stuck in neutral". Ottawa Citizen . November 9, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved June 24, 2023 . ^ "Split vote kept left wing from winning, Harb boasts". Ottawa Citizen . November 30, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved June 24, 2023 . ^ Election 1991; Mayor; Summary (Available, Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch, Ottawa Room) Bytown 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 Ottawa Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton