Diane Therrien (born 1985 or 1986) is a Canadian politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Peterborough from 2018 to 2022. She was elected in the 2018 Ontario municipal elections. Prior to her mayoral election, she was a city councillor for Ward 3 (Town Ward) from 2014 to 2018.
Diane Therrien | |
|---|---|
| 62nd Mayor of Peterborough | |
| In office December 1, 2018 – November 15, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Daryl Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Leal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1984 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | |
Prior to her political career, Therrien worked for Ontario's Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and for the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network.
Early life and education
editTherrien was born in Mississauga and started studying history and peace studies at McMaster University when she was 17 years old.[1] After getting a bachelor's degree from McMaster University, she obtained her master's degree Trent University, where she studied Canadian Indigenous issues.[1]
Career
editAfter graduation, Therrien worked at the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in Toronto, and for three years as a facilitator of community education at the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network.[1]
Prior to her mayoral election, she was a city councillor for Ward 3 (Town Ward) from 2014 to 2018.[2]
Therrien was elected as mayor of Peterborough in the 2018 Ontario municipal elections.[3] Therrien is the third woman to be mayor of the city.
On August 13, 2019, Peterborough City Council unanimously passed a by-law to eliminate camping in City Parks.[4] Therrien announced that she would not allow the police to enforce the bylaws as written.[5] 1,751 members of the local community signed a petition requesting the removal of Tent City, a homeless encampment.[6] The total expense for police patrols of the area in 2019 was more than $86,000.[7] On February 14, 2022, Therrien asked Deputy Mayor Andrew Beamer to serve as acting mayor while she took a leave of absence for health reasons.[8]
In 2021, Therrien announced she would not run for re-election. She had been rumoured to run for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the 2022 Ontario general election, but decided to not run.[9] In 2022, Therrien was involved in a minor controversy after using the phrase "fuck off, you fuckwads," in response to supporters of QAnon conspiracy theorist Romana Didulo attempting to detain members of the city's police force.[10][11][12][13]
Her mayoral term ended in November 2022.
References
edit- ^ a b c Rellinger, Paul (November 26, 2014). "PETERBIO | Diane Therrien". MyKawartha.com. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- ^ Rellinger, Paul (November 13, 2018). "A confident Diane Therrien eager to begin her new role as mayor of Peterborough". Kawartha Now. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Thomas, Jesse (November 27, 2018). "Peterborough's new mayor Diane Therrien, council sworn in". Global News. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Anastasakis, Niki; Davis, Greg (August 13, 2019). "Peterborough city council passes bylaws to curb tenting at municipal parks". Global News.
- ^ Kovach, Joelle (August 13, 2019). "Despite new bylaw, Peterborough not evicting homeless campers, mayor says". The Peterborough Examiner.
- ^ Kovach, Joelle (August 7, 2019). "Petition calls for City of Peterborough to take down tent city".
- ^ Kovach, Joelle (October 22, 2019). "Final tab to patrol tent city in Peterborough: $86K". The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ Davis, Greg (February 14, 2022). "Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien takes leave of absence to address personal health". Global News. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien won't seek a second term in 2022". Kawartha Now. November 12, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ Lamoureux, Mack (June 17, 2021). "QAnons Are Harassing People at the Whim of a Woman They Say Is Canada's Queen". Vice News. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Anglesey, Anders (August 12, 2022). "QAnon 'Queen of Canada' Orders Followers to Arrest Police Officers". Newsweek. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien drops F-bomb tweet on Romana Didulo followers". Global News. August 17, 2022. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ Neufeld, Abby (August 17, 2022). "Ontario mayor fires back at conspiracy theorists who tried to arrest police officers". CTV News. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
External links
edit- City of Peterborough City Council and Mayor
- Official site, copy archived August 11, 2020
- Diane Therrien - Twitter