Rob Burton (born 1946) is a Canadian businessman, journalist and politician. He currently serves as the 45th
mayor of Oakville. He was elected in the
municipal election of 2006, having failed to unseat
Ann Mulvale in 2003. He was re-elected to office in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 municipal elections.
In a 2014 endorsement of his re-election campaign, the
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
editorial board called Burton "among the best mayors in the Greater Toronto Area."
Early career and education
Burton graduated from the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
with a degree in history and economics before receiving a Master's of Science in Journalism from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.
After receiving his master's degree in 1971, he became a journalist for the ''
Watertown Daily Times'' in New York State. He was recruited shortly after by
CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
to help establish their new consumer rights programme ''
Marketplace
A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...
''. He worked as a journalist and television producer until 1988, when he led the creation of the youth-focused television station
YTV. After founding the station, he went on to work as the general manager and vice-president of programming and production.
Political career
Burton first ran for mayor in 2003. Up against five-term incumbent
Ann Mulvale, Burton ultimately lost his first bid for mayor by a total of 28 votes. Burton ran again in 2006, managing to unseat Mulvale by a nearly 2000-vote margin. Mulvale challenged Burton for the mayorship once again in 2010, but was soundly defeated by over 4000 votes.
In his time as mayor, Burton has been an outspoken advocate for growth control, environmental protection and greenspace. He is a vocal supporter of Ontario's
Greenbelt, founding the "Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt" alongside Ajax Mayor Steve Parrish and Toronto Councillor
Glenn de Baeremaker, which he still chairs today. He is a vocal critic of Ontario's development industry, describing large developers as a 'cartel' in 2017, after suggestions that developers wanted to ease planning restrictions and greenspace protections to improve housing affordability.
In 2015, Burton apologized for a series of tweets comparing Stephen Harper's use of veterans in the
Canadian Corps of Commissionaires to Mussolini's
Blackshirts
The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...
and Hitler's
Brownshirts.
Burton is the founder and chair of the Ontario Auto Mayors, a group of municipal leaders in communities with a large automotive manufacturing presence, advocating for more coordinated support of Ontario's automotive sector among all three levels of government. He has also served as the Chair of the
Halton Police Services Board since 2014.
Rob Burton won re-election in October 2022 by a narrow margin.
See also
*
List of mayors of Oakville, Ontario
References
External links
Rob Burton official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Rob
Living people
Mayors of Oakville, Ontario
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
1940s births
Canadian environmentalists
21st-century mayors of places in Ontario
Year of birth missing (living people)