John Rowswell (May 18, 1955 – August 31, 2010) was a
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
politician who served as the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to:
People
* Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan
Places
* Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
Steve Butland
Steve Butland (born March 26, 1941) is a Canadian politician. He represented the Sault Ste. Marie electoral district in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993 as a member of the New Democratic Party.
Butland was born in Sault Ste. Ma ...
, and in 2006 he was re-elected for his third term with approximately 56.5% of the vote. He was a consulting
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
who operated his own company, Rowswell & Associates Engineers Ltd. He was one of the longest-serving mayors in the city's history; only
Joe Fratesi Joseph Fratesi is the former mayor and former chief administrative officer of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Serving as Sault Ste. Marie's mayor from 1986 to 1996, he was the longest-serving mayor in Sault Ste. Marie's history, breaking the record that ...
served as mayor of Sault Ste. Marie for longer than Rowswell.
One of his final significant acts as mayor was to issue a formal apology to
French Canadians
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...
for the
Sault Ste. Marie language resolution
The Sault Ste. Marie language resolution was a government motion passed on January 29, 1990, by Sault Ste. Marie City Council, the governing body of the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, which resolved that English was the sole working l ...
Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to:
* CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
*Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network
*Ici Radio-Canada Première
Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...
, January 28, 2010.
He died in office on August 31, 2010, after a prolonged battle with cancer. Rowswell had a private
funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
, although a public
wake
Wake or The Wake may refer to:
Culture
*Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies
*Wakes week, an English holiday tradition
* Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
was held at the city's
Essar Centre
The GFL Memorial Gardens, formerly the "Essar Centre", is a 4,928 seat sports and entertainment centre in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It opened on September 29, 2006, replacing the now demolished Sault Memorial Gardens. The new b ...
. The city's 2010
Terry Fox Run
The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research
in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope.
The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Shar ...
was also dedicated to Rowswell's memory.
As his death occurred less than two months before the 2010 municipal election, provincial law did not permit a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
to be held to choose his immediate successor. City council opted not to appoint an interim replacement, but instead followed its existing rotation of
acting mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
s that had been arranged to serve as mayor during his medical absences. Councillors Lorena Tridico, Susan Myers and Ozzie Grandinetti each served one month as acting mayor until