Roland Montgomery Armitage (February 8, 1925 – June 19, 2024) was a Canadian veterinarian, businessman, veteran, horse trainer and politician. Armitage served as mayor of West Carleton Township, Ontario from 1991 to 1994. He also served on the council for the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton.

Early life

Armitage was born on February 8, 1925, on a homestead on March Road in

South March, Ontario South March is a dispersed rural community in Kanata North Ward, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Oce ...

to parents Godfrey and Joan Armitage ( Foote). His family had lived in the area since around 1836. In 1942, while attending Ottawa Technical High School, he and a friend enlisted to join the Canadian Army to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He lied about his age, as he was only 17 at the time. He joined the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion to train in

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

, but was sent home to mature. He then went to Camp Petawawa to train as a motorcycle dispatch rider, and was sent to England. While recovering from an injury, he was asked to join the 5th Battery 3rd Medium Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery due to his "keen night vision". As a member of the 3rd Medium Regiment, he took part in the

Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

and the liberation of France, and was part of the second wave to land on

Juno Beach Juno and or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allies (World War II), Allied invasion of German occupation of France during World War II, German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the World War II, Second Wo ...

. Following the invasion, he was promoted to Sergeant. After the war, Armitage attended the

Ontario Veterinary College The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) is the oldest veterinary school in Canada. It is located on the campus of the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. The OVC is one of five veterinary schools that offer the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, D ...

at the

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

, graduating in 1951. After graduating, he lived in

Shawville, Quebec Shawville is a town located in the Pontiac Regional County Municipality in the administrative region of Outaouais in western Quebec, Canada. History At the end of the 1860s, a group of citizens from Clarendon Centre, under the leadership of Ja ...

for 20 years before moving to

Dunrobin, Ontario Dunrobin is a community in West Carleton-March Ward in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about northwest of Downtown Ottawa. Dunrobin lies within a valley, nestled between the Ottawa River and the Carp escarpment. It is locate ...

. He bred and raced horses, and was track veterinarian at Connaught Park in

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Quebec Route 148, Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is ...

. Armitage served as the president of the Canadian

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...

Horse Society from 1972 to 1974 and the Canadian Trotting Association from 1976 to 1981. He was general manager of

Rideau Carleton Raceway Rideau Carleton Raceway is a Canadian horse racing and gambling complex located at 4837 Albion Road in Ottawa, Ontario. The facility began operation in 1962 and specializes in Standardbred harness racing. In 2000, the venue introduced slot mac ...

for nine years. He was named Canadian veterinarian of the year in 1982.

Politics

In the 1960s, he served for eight years as a town councillor in

. Prior to the

1987 Ontario general election The 1987 Ontario general election was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by Premier David Peterson, was returned to power with their first majority ...

, he won the Liberal nomination in the riding of Carleton, defeating Jim Colton, a Carleton Separate School Board trustee. He ran in the general election on an environmentalist platform, supporting cleaning up beaches and promoting recycling programs. On election day, he lost to Progressive Conservative Norm Sterling by fewer than 500 votes, in one of the closest elections in the riding's history. Armitage was elected as mayor of West Carleton in the 1991 municipal election, defeating township councillor Keith Roe by over 2,200 votes. As mayor, he also sat on Ottawa–Carleton Regional council. In 1994, Ottawa–Carleton Regional Council adopted a ward system and councillors would need to be directly elected rather than be made up from the various mayors and city councillors in the region. In the

1994 Ottawa-Carleton Regional Municipality elections Elections were held on November 14, 1994 in the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. This page lists the election results for Regional Chair, Regional Council, and local mayors and councils of the RMOC in 1994. The 1994 election was the fir ...

, Armitage chose to run for a seat in Ward 5, which covered the region's western rural townships. He ended up losing to former

Goulbourn Goulbourn Township, Ontario, was formed in 1818, roughly 20 km southwest of downtown Ottawa, with the first major settlement occurring in Richmond, Ontario, Richmond. Other communities in the township include Stittsville, Ontario, Stittsvil ...

mayor Betty Hill by just 75 votes. He ran on a platform of freezing taxes and phasing in the cost of regional policing in rural areas.

Post politics

In 1999, he was named to the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...

. In 2005, he was awarded the Key to the City of Ottawa. In 2011, the hall at the West Carleton community complex was renamed the Dr. Roland Armitage Hall. In 2019, he was named to the Order of Ottawa. In 2021, he was named to the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

. On June 19, 2024, Armitage died at the Perley Health Veterans Residence in Ottawa, where he had taken up residence in 2023. He was 99.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Roland 1925 births 2024 deaths Military personnel from Ottawa Animal sportspeople from Ontario Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Army personnel of World War II Mayors of West Carleton Township Canadian sportsperson-politicians Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Ontario Liberal Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections Canadian veterinarians Members of the Order of Ontario University of Guelph alumni Quebec municipal councillors People from Outaouais Canadian people of Irish descent 20th-century mayors of places in Ontario