Jim Watson

:"This article is about the politician; for other people with this name, see Jim Watson (disambiguation)"

Infobox_Politician
name = James Alexander Watson
caption =
birth_date = 1961
birth_place =Montreal
office = 56th Mayor of Ottawa
term_start =December 1, 1997
term_end = August 1, 2000
predecessor = Jacquelin Holzman
successor = Allan Higdon (interim)
party = Ontario Liberal Party
religion =
constituency =
majority =
spouse = Single

James Alexander Watson is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a former Ottawa city councillor (1991-1997) and mayor (1997-2000), and currently represents the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He is a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, and was appointed by Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty as Minister of Consumer and Business Services on October 23, 2003. He became Ontario's first Minister of Health Promotion on June 29, 2005. After the 2007 election, he became Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Mr. Watson attended Carleton University and graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the School of Journalism and Communications. He entered the federal public service and rose to the position of director of communications for the Speaker of the House of Commons.

He was elected city and regional councillor in 1991 and re-elected in 1994. In 1996, he supported Dalton McGuinty's bid to lead the Ontario Liberal party ("Ottawa Citizen", 2 December 1996). In 1997, Watson was elected Mayor of Ottawa with 83 per cent of the popular vote. He resigned as mayor in 2000 to become president and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission.

In 2003, Mr. Watson left public service to pursue a career in journalism as of "The New RO @ Noon". He was also a regular contributor to the Ottawa radio station CFRA and the "Ottawa Citizen".

Mr. Watson has served on the board or as honorary chair of several community organizations including the Riverside Hospital, the National Arts Centre, the Central Canada Exhibition Association, the Christmas Exchange of Ottawa and the Forum for Young Canadians. He served as chair of the United Way's 2002 campaign, which raised a record $21 million. He has also received "Maclean's" Magazine's 100 Young Canadians to Watch; Carleton University Honours Award; the City of Ottawa's highest civic honour, the Key to the City; and in 2002, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.

In the 2003 provincial election, Watson defeated Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario incumbent Garry Guzzo to become the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the Ottawa West-Nepean riding. He was appointed to Dalton McGuinty's first cabinet, and is generally regarded as being on the fiscally conservative wing of the Liberal Party.

External links

* [http://www.jimwatsonmpp.ca MPP site]
* [http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page741.aspx Bio from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing]