Carol Anne Meehan (born December 17, 1956) is a former Ottawa City Councillor and former

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

CJOH CJOH-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, serving the National Capital Region as part of the CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Television in Canada, Canadian Engl ...

Biography

She is a graduate of

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...

(now Toronto Metropolitan University) and began her career at CHRO in

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke ( ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River (Ontario), Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley, northwest of Ottawa. Though containing the administrative headquarters of Renfre ...

, the city where she grew up. She also worked in Sudbury, Edmonton and Calgary. In 1989, she began co-anchoring the CJOH Ottawa evening news, then known as Newsline, alongside

Max Keeping Winston Maxwell "Max" Keeping (1 April 1942 – 1 October 2015), was a Canadian broadcaster. He was vice-president of news and public affairs at CJOH-DT, the CTV station in Ottawa, Ontario. Keeping was anchor of the local evening news broadca ...

. She was laid off on November 17, 2015, by station owner

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...

. Following her departure from CJOH she joined 1310 News as a talk-show host. She left 1310 News in November 2017. In January 2012, her missing husband was found dead in Brudenell, Ontario. She lives on the

Rideau River The Rideau River (, ) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writing by Samuel de Champl ...

near

Manotick Manotick ( ) is a community in Rideau-Jock Ward in the rural south part of the City of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a commuter town, suburb of the city, located on the Rideau River, immediately south of the suburbs Barrhaven, Ontario, B ...

with her two children.

Political career

Meehan won a seat on

Ottawa City Council Ottawa City Council () is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents wards throughout the city. Council member ...

Gloucester-South Nepean Ward Riverside South-Findlay Creek Ward or Ward 22 is a city ward located in Ottawa, Ontario. Situated in the south end of the city, the ward includes the communities of Riverside South and Findlay Creek in the former city of Gloucester. History Loca ...

in the 2018 municipal election, defeating incumbent councillor Michael Qaqish by over 500 votes. She received endorsements from prominent local conservatives including councillor Jan Harder, former councillor

Steve Desroches Steve Desroches (born 1969) is a politician in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is a member of Ottawa City Council, representing Riverside South-Findlay Creek Ward since 2022. He was previously a member of Ottawa City Council from 2006 to 2014, repre ...

and senator Marjory LeBreton. When she was a teenager, she was a "young

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

". In October 2018, shortly after her election, Meehan received media attention for an online confrontation with a constituent. The constituent was raising concerns about

OC Transpo OC Transpo is the primary Transit district, public transport agency for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operating bus rapid transit, light rail, conventional transit bus, bus routes, and door-to-door paratransit in the nation's capital regi ...

bus service in the ward. Meehan responded to the constituent "I would love to have a face to face, because you certainly like to slam me here. Let's see what kind of guts you have. I have the guts and courage to succeed YOU will never have." Meehan also divulged the constituent's street on Facebook, reportedly responding "Give me your address, or I will go and find you on treet name it's not that long a street." Meehan subsequently apologized and removed the Facebook posts. While on council, Meehan often voted against mayor Jim Watson's bloc, which has been called the "Watson club". On February 16, 2022, Meehan resigned from her position on the Ottawa Police Services Board. She announced that she would not seek re-election in the 2022 municipal election on July 25, 2022. On July 29, 2024, Meehan announced she would be seeking the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

nomination in the riding of

Ottawa West—Nepean Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau ...

for the next Canadian federal election. However, just 12 days later on August 9, she decided against running.

Election results

References

External links

2004 Award for Excellence in Health-Care Reporting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meehan, Carol Anne 1956 births Living people Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Canadian television news anchors Canadian women television journalists CTV Television Network people Ottawa city councillors People from Pembroke, Ontario Women municipal councillors in Ontario 21st-century Canadian municipal councillors 21st-century Canadian women politicians