1978 Ottawa municipal election explained
| Election Name: | 1978 Ottawa mayoral election |
| Flag Image: | File:Flag of Ottawa (1902–1987).svg |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1976 Ottawa municipal election |
| Previous Year: | 1976 |
| Next Election: | 1980 Ottawa municipal election |
| Next Year: | 1980 |
| Election Date: | November 13, 1978 |
| Image1: | File:Mariondewar2.PNG |
| Candidate1: | Marion Dewar |
| Popular Vote1: | 51,791 |
| Percentage1: | 54.24% |
| Candidate2: | Pat Nicol |
| Popular Vote2: | 32,033 |
| Percentage2: | 33.55% |
| Mayor |
| Before Election: | Lorry Greenberg |
| After Election: | Marion Dewar |
The city of Ottawa, Canada held municipal elections on November 13, 1978.
Controller Marion Dewar becomes the second woman and first New Democratic Party (and to date, only) affiliated person to become mayor of Ottawa. She defeated former alderman Pat Nicol. This would mark the last elections for Ottawa's Board of Control.
Mayor
Dewar won all of the city's 11 wards. Her strongest ward was Capital, where she won 62.8% of the vote. Her worst ward was Elmdale-Victoria, where she won 48.9%. Elmdale-Victoria was the only ward where she did not get a majority of the vote. Elmdale-Victoria was Nicol's home ward, but Dewar still beat her there by 545 votes.[1]
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| 51,791 | 54.24 |
| 32,033 | 33.55 |
| Bernard Pelot | 8,439 | 8.84 |
| Alphonse Frederick Lapointe | 1,858 | 1.95 |
| Eddie Turgeon | 730 | 0.76 |
| Ian Orenstein | 597 | 0.63 | |
(4 elected)
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Don Reid (X) | 50,171 | 17.11 |
| Brian Bourns | 36,363 | 12.40 |
| William Law | 33,220 | 11.33 |
| Ralph Sutherland (X) | 29,716 | 10.13 |
| Roy Bushfield | 26,314 | 8.97 |
| Gerry Trudel | 24,382 | 8.31 |
| 22,718 | 7.75 |
| Doug Payne | 18,464 | 6.30 |
| David Dehler | 11,245 | 3.83 |
| Cyril Goulet | 11,015 | 3.72 |
| Richard Calagoure | 10,912 | 3.72 |
| Sam MacLean | 8,994 | 3.07 |
| Joseph Louis Paradis | 7,476 | 2.55 |
| George Theckeddath | 2,251 | 0.77 | |
| Gloucester Ward |
|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Joe Quinn (X) | 4,429 | 38.72 |
| 3,832 | 33.50 |
| Gordon Lennox | 3,177 | 27.78 | |
| Rideau Ward |
|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Rhéal Robert (X) | 5,312 | 53.62 |
| Bruce Grant | 4,298 | 43.39 |
| Ed Howard | 296 | 2.99 | |
| Capital Ward |
|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Michele MacKinnon | 4,107 | 45.76 |
| Thom Bennett | 2,661 | 29.65 |
| Dave Hagerman | 1,735 | 19.33 |
| Doug Coupar | 356 | 2.97 |
| Michael John Houlton | 116 | 1.29 | |
| Dalhousie Ward |
|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Rolf Hasenack (X) | 2,688 | 62.83 |
| Phil Aston | 648 | 15.15 |
| Gary Larkin | 543 | 12.69 |
| John Campbell | 399 | 9.33 | |
| Elmdale-Victoria Ward |
|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Chris Chilton | 1,930 | 24.53 |
| Roland Wall (X) | 1,763 | 22.40 |
| Byron Hyde | 1,661 | 21.11 |
| Richard Albert | 1,296 | 16.47 |
| Kathleen Tuskey | 1,219 | 15.49 | |
| Wellington Ward |
|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Joe Cassey (X) | 2,057 | 44.88 |
| Brian Atkinson | 1,545 | 33.71 |
| Gary Beach | 981 | 21.41 | |
Six to be elected in each zone
| Eastern Zone | Vote |
|---|
| Jane Dobell (X) | 16,371 |
| Don Francis (X) | 13,239 |
| Helen Slater (X) | 10,743 |
| Ted Best (X) | 10,696 |
| John Samuel (X) | 8,803 |
| Michael McKenna | 8,491 |
| Herbert Armstrong | 8,019 |
| Marion Atwell | 7,764 |
| Norman MacDonald | 7,381 |
| Marnie Bennett | 6,700 |
| Peg Mathews | 6,421 |
| Rosemary McNarin | 6,015 |
| Allan Simpson | 5,543 |
| Gary Hough | 2,723 |
| Terry Carlson | 2,675 | |
| Western Zone | Vote |
|---|
| Robert Beatty (X) | 14,064 |
| Mary Gilmour (X) | 13,948 |
| Nick van Duyvendyk (X) | 12,626 |
| Sinclair Abell (X) | 12,614 |
| William Harback (X) | 8,624 |
| Sandra R. Goldstein | 7,856 |
| Wayne Wilson | 7,810 |
| John Wright | 7,794 |
| John Callan | 6,816 |
| Frank Edwards | 6,506 |
| Denis Cooney | 5,261 |
| Richard Bounsall | 4,996 |
| Cal Kempffer | 4,839 |
| John Gorry | 3,996 | |
4 to be elected
| Separate school supporters | Vote |
|---|
| Jacques Beauchamp (X) | 17,271 |
| Robert Bélanger | 16,873 |
| Dalton McGuinty, Sr. (X) | 16,244 |
| Lucien Bradet (X) | 15,140 |
| Jacques Faucher (X) | 12,850 |
| Thomas F. Kent | 11,407 | |
1 to be elected
References
- Ottawa Citizen, November 14, 1978
- News: How candidates fared. November 15, 1978. 65. Ottawa Citizen. December 30, 2020.
Notes and References
- Official results, Ottawa room, Ottawa Public Library
