Robert J. Hamilton

Robert J. Hamilton was the 40th mayor of Barrie, Ontario.

Hamilton was elected in November, 2003 defeating incumbent Jim Perri. Prior to entering municipal politics he ran for the House of Commons as a candidate of the Canadian Alliance in the 2000 federal election.

Hamilton is the owner of two bar establishments in Barrie: The Roxx as well as The Queens', both located in the downtown core.

Hamilton's focus as mayor was economic development, with a specific objective of attracting higher paying jobs to the city as an alternative for the city's many commuters (local residents who travel daily to Toronto, Ontario for higher-paying jobs). His most notable success in this regard was the decision by the Bank of Montreal to relocate it's Canadian Operations Centre to Barrie.

Hamilton also reached out to the film and television production industry, and Barrie was selected as the location for the ongoing production of YTV's "Monster Warriors" television program. Hamilton made a brief cameo appearance in the program's debut episode.

Hamilton was defeated by Dave Aspden in the 2006 municipal election, and was succeeded by Aspden in early December. Aspden's campaign took a populist approach, focusing on Hamilton's (failed) efforts to stop the "Park Place" retail area in the city's south end and ongoing construction delays related to the redevelopment of Lakeshore Drive. Hamilton, ran on his strong record of attracting new jobs to the city, but was unable to counter the perception among some voters that he was beholden to a "Downtown Elite".