Canadian politician (1958?2024)
Diane Elizabeth Deans
(nee
Flaherty
; September 16, 1958 ? May 14, 2024) was a Canadian politician. A member of
Ottawa City Council
, she represented
Gloucester-Southgate Ward
, and its predecessor Southgate Ward in the city's southeast from 1994 to 2022. She was known for her demanding of public accountability and transparency on city-wide issues.
[6]
Early life
[
edit
]
Deans was born in
Caledon, Ontario
, the daughter of Paul and Mary Rosanne Flaherty on September 16, 1958, and grew up in Caledon.
[4]
A graduate of the
University of Guelph
, she worked for the
National Union of Students
as the prairie fieldworker,
[4]
before its merger with the
Canadian Federation of Students
. In 1981, she moved to Ottawa and became the executive director of the Canadian Federation of Students,
[4]
[6]
and then became a staffer on
Parliament Hill
,
[7]
working as a researcher and media advisor. In 1990, she became a homemaker.
[8]
Career
[
edit
]
Deans announced in July 1994 that she was going to run for Ottawa City Council in the
1994 Ottawa municipal election
in Ward 3 (later named Southgate Ward), in the city's south end. At the time she was the vice-chair of the
Ottawa Board of Education
Lighthouse program, and represented
Hunt Club Park
on the Southeast Ottawa Environmental Association traffic study. In her announcement, she stated "safety, transportation and fiscal responsibility" were her main issues. The ward's incumbent,
Joan O'Neill
was not running again, as she had sought the mayoralty.
[9]
The campaign featured a controversy when a would-be opponent registered their candidacy under the similarly-named "Dana Dean". Dana Dean was not the individual's real name, and Deans accused a different opponent for orchestrating the stunt in order to split the vote. "Dana Dean" decided to not run in the election.
[10]
On election day, Deans won her race, defeating her nearest rival, Gale McAuley by over 1,100 votes.
[11]
Following her win, she was expected to be among the left wing on council.
[12]
After taking her seat, she was appointed to the city's community services and operations committee.
[13]
She later became the chair of the committee.
On her first term on council, Deans established a local safety council, a business parks association, and a library advocacy committee. She ran for re-election in the
1997 Ottawa municipal election
running on a platform of "streamlining local government", building a library in the south end, focusing of community safety issues, maintaining essential services, and the preservation of public green spaces. She was ultimately re-elected without opposition.
[14]
Prior to Ottawa and its surrounding municipalities being amalgamated in 2001, the
2000 municipal elections
were fought to elect the council for the new expanded city. Deans' Southgate Ward would see the addition of part of the City of
Gloucester
added to it, becoming
Gloucester-Southgate Ward
. The incumbent for that part of Gloucester on its city council was George Barrett, who ran against Deans in the new ward. Deans was most concerned about the city's debt during the election, and also supported a greater police presence in the ward. What set her apart from the other candidates was her continued support for the construction of a library in the ward.
[15]
Deans went on to beat Barrett by over 2000 votes.
[16]
In the
2003 Ottawa election
, she defeated former Gloucester city councillor Harold Keenan by over 2000 votes. Deans declared her victory as a "mandate to continue to push for better services in the south end of Ottawa". This included a new library and a stronger police presence in the area. Keenan had opposed building a library in the city's south end.
[17]
Deans sought the federal
Liberal
nomination in the riding of
Ottawa South
ahead of the
2004 Canadian federal election
, but lost to
David McGuinty
, the brother of Ontario's then-Premier,
Dalton McGuinty
.
[18]
At a city council meeting, Deans was caught on
CBC
camera working on a campaign speech for the nomination. As a result, city staffed banned television cameras from being behind the council table. Her decision to run was also controversial, as mayor
Bob Chiarelli
thought she should resign her council seat first.
[19]
Long one of Deans' main concerns had been the creation of a new branch for the
Ottawa Public Library
in her rapidly growing ward.
[20]
In 2006, the
Greenboro District Library
was finally opened.
[21]
Deans was seen as a possible candidate to challenge Chiarelli for the mayoralty in the
2006 Ottawa election
,
[22]
but chose to run for re-election in Gloucester-Southgate Ward. On election day, Deans was easily re-elected, winning her fifth term as a city councillor, defeating social worker Douglas Besharah and
Carleton University
student David Alloggia by over 7,500 votes. She indicated the most important issues in the election for her ward was community safety, keeping taxes as low as possible and providing necessary services.
[23]
One of the main issues of the campaign was the extension of Ottawa's north-south light rail line, which Deans supported, but her opponents called a "folly". Deans cited the construction of the Greenboro Library as one of her accomplishments during the previous term.
[24]
In March 2007, Diane Deans announced that she had been approached by members of the
Ontario Liberal Party
urging her to seek the party's nomination for the riding of
Ottawa Centre
in
that year's provincial election
. She received the support of the outgoing MPP
Richard Patten
.
[25]
On June 4, 2007, she lost the provincial nomination to
Yasir Naqvi
.
[26]
Deans won a sixth term of office in the
2010 election
[27]
She defeated former project manager Lilly Obina by nearly 2000 votes. Following the election, Deans stated her priorities were to ensure property taxes were kept low for homeowners. One of the main issues of the campaign was the construction of a women's shelter in the ward, which many residents opposed. Deans had been criticized for "failing to properly interpret city zoning and site bylaws" in regards to its construction.
[28]
After living there for 15 years, Deans had to move away from the ward due to "a family health situation" prior to the
2014 Ottawa municipal election
. Despite this, she ran for re-election, but was criticized by her rivals for the move. Crime and safety was one of the main issues of the election, though Deans insisted that the ward was a "very safe community".
[29]
Deans was challenged again by Obina, but this time beat her by nearly 4,000 votes, and won her seventh consecutive term, as a result.
[30]
Deans was the Chairperson of the City's Community and Protective Services Committee of the City of Ottawa,
[31]
until becoming the first woman to lead the city's Police Services Board in 2018.
[32]
[33]
She also sat on the Transportation Committee, the Finance and Economic Development Committee, Member Services Committee, and the Ottawa Community Lands Development Corporation.
[34]
She was co-chair of the Seniors' Roundtable.
[35]
Deans ran again in the
2018 election
for her final term. Her main opponent was businessman Robert Swaita, owner of KS on the Keys restaurant.
[36]
Once again crime was a major issue in the campaign.
[37]
During the campaign, Deans' main priority was community safety, and supported reinstating the
community policing
model. On election day, she won 56 per cent of the vote to Swaita's 31 per cent.
[38]
Deans was often a critic of mayor
Jim Watson
during his tenure as mayor from 2010 to 2022, and criticized the secrecy behind the construction of the
Confederation Line
light rail project. City council removed her as head of the Police Services Board in 2022 when she and the board hired
Matt Torigian
to replace
Peter Sloly
during the infamous
Canada convoy protest
without informing the mayor or council.
[39]
She never got over her ousting, which she considered a betrayal.
[32]
Deans had planned to run for mayor in the
2022 Ottawa municipal election
, but opted to retire from politics instead.
[40]
Her assistant,
Jessica Bradley
ran in her seat, and won.
[6]
On council, Deans was seen as being left-of-centre.
[41]
Personal life and death
[
edit
]
Deans was married to former
New Democratic Party
Member of Parliament
Ian Deans
for 22 years.
[7]
[42]
In September 2019, Deans was diagnosed with
ovarian cancer
.
[43]
She had entered
palliative care
by early May 2024,
[44]
and died on May 14, at the age of 65.
[6]
Following her death, city council voted to rename the Greenboro Community Centre after her.
[45]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
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"
'Passion, tenacity, and fearless spirit': Former city councillor Diane Deans enters palliative care"
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Archived
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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Archived
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- ^
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.
- ^
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- ^
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.
- ^
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- ^
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.
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)
on July 20, 2004
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Incumbent Diane Deans to push for more services"
.
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. November 11, 2003
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"South: McGuinty win decisive"
.
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. March 7, 2004
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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"City Hall's invisible servants"
.
Canada.com
. Retrieved
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.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
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"
.
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. November 14, 2006
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. November 6, 2006
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. April 2, 2006
. Retrieved
May 20,
2024
.
- ^
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.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
City of Ottawa ? Councillor Diane Deans
Archived
December 9, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
ottawa.ca. Retrieved April 2011
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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. Ottawa Citizen. October 15, 2014.
- ^
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'Lucky seven' for Diane Deans: Voters re-elect Gloucester-Southgate incumbent | Metro News"
.
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
a
b
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Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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- ^
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- ^
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.
- ^
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- ^
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"
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Archived
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. Retrieved
May 18,
2024
.
- ^
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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.
Archived
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- ^
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. CBC. September 24, 2019.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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. CTV. May 2, 2024.
Archived
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.
- ^
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. CTV News. May 16, 2024.
Archived
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. Retrieved
May 17,
2024
.
External links
[
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]