Andy Fillmore

Andy Fillmore (born April 25, 1966) is an American-born Canadian politician who has been the mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality since November 5, 2024. He previously served as a Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament for the riding of Halifax from 2015 until 2024.

Early life and education

Born in Bloomington, Indiana to Atlantic Canadian parents studying abroad in the United States, Fillmore returned to the family's native Nova Scotia at the age of four. In Halifax he attended Tower Road School, Halifax Grammar School, Gorsebrook Junior High, and Queen Elizabeth High School. He began his post-secondary studies in engineering at Acadia University but transferred to the Technical University of Nova Scotia (since merged into Dalhousie University) where he completed an undergraduate architecture degree in 1990, followed by a graduate degree in urban and rural planning in 1992. He was awarded a graduate degree in Design Studies (specialty in Urban Design) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1995.

Career

An urban planner and urban designer by profession, Fillmore began his career in Boston, Massachusetts working on the Big Dig project as an intern urban designer from 1992-1994. He then joined the architecture and planning firm Arrowstreet Inc. In 2001 he moved to Maine where he was the Town Planner in Cumberland, Maine, and then in 2003 founded the architectural design and town planning firm Interurban Planning & Design. In 2005, he returned home to Halifax, Nova Scotia to serve as the first-ever Manager of Urban Design for the City of Halifax, leading the implementation of the "HRM by Design" Downtown Halifax Plan. He then briefly served as Director of the Dalhousie University School of Planning from July 2012 to February 2013, when he left to become vice president, Planning & Development of the Waterfront Development Corporation Limited, a crown corporation charged with revitalizing prominent post-industrial waterfronts in Nova Scotia, until his election in October 2015.

As Member of Parliament for Halifax, Fillmore held a number of additional responsibilities in the House of Commons and in the Government of Canada. Beginning in January 2017, Fillmore was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions, Karina Gould. Beginning September 2018, Fillmore was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, Pablo Rodriguez. Following his reelection to the House of Commons for the 43rd Canadian Parliament in the October 2019 federal election, Fillmore was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Canada's Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Catherine McKenna. Following his reelection to the House of Commons for the 44th Canadian Parliament in October 2021, Fillmore was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Francois-Philippe Champagne. During his nine years as a Parliamentarian Fillmore also sat on a number of House of Commons standing committees. These included chairing the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, and membership on the Procedures and House Affairs Committee (PROC); membership on the Canadian Heritage Committee (CHPC), Membership on the Veterans Affairs Committee (ACVA), membership on the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Committee (TRAN); membership on the Industry and Technology Committee (INDU), and; membership on the National Defence Committee (NDDN).

On July 3, 2024, he announced his candidacy for mayor of Halifax in the 2024 municipal election, and resigned his position as the Member of Parliament for Halifax on August 31, 2024. He was elected mayor on October 19 with 42.4 per cent of the vote, defeating three-term councillor Waye Mason.

Electoral record

References

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fillmore, Andy
1966 births
Living people
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Canadian urban planners
Dalhousie University alumni
Academic staff of Dalhousie University
Politicians from Bloomington, Indiana
Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni
21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada
American emigrants to Canada
Politicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Mayors of Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
21st-century mayors of places in Nova Scotia