Rob Burton | |
|---|---|
 Burton in 2018 | |
| 45th Mayor of Oakville | |
| Assumed office November 13, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Ann Mulvale |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Burton |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Wendy Burton |
| Residence(s) | Oakville, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | www |
Rob Burton (bornc. 1946)[1] is a Canadian businessman, journalist and politician. He currently serves as the 45thmayor of Oakville. He was elected in themunicipal election of 2006,[2] having failed to unseatAnn Mulvale in 2003.[3] He was re-elected to office in the 2010,[4] 2014[5] and 2018 municipal elections.[6]
Burton graduated from theUniversity of New Mexico with a degree in history and economics before receiving a Master's of Science in Journalism fromColumbia University.
After receiving his master's degree in 1971, he became a journalist for theWatertown Daily Times in New York State. He was recruited shortly after byCBC to help establish their new consumer rights programmeMarketplace. He worked as a journalist and television producer until 1988, when he led the creation of the youth-focused television stationYTV.[7] After founding the station, he went on to work as the general manager and vice-president of programming and production.[8]
Burton first ran for mayor in2003. Up against five-term incumbentAnn Mulvale, Burton ultimately lost his first bid for mayor by a total of 28 votes.[9] Burton ran again in2006, managing to unseat Mulvale by a nearly 2000-vote margin.[10] Mulvale challenged Burton for the mayorship once again in2010, but was soundly defeated by over 4000 votes.[11] In the2014 election, Burton won with about two-thirds of the vote.[12] He was strongly endorsed by theToronto Star editorial board.[13] He was re-elected with a plurality in2018.[14] Rob Burton won re-election in2022 by a narrow margin.[15]
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'sGreenbelt, founding the "Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt" alongside Ajax Mayor Steve Parrish and Toronto CouncillorGlenn 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.[16]
In 2015, Burton apologized for a series of tweets comparing Stephen Harper's use of veterans in theCanadian Corps of Commissionaires to Mussolini'sBlackshirts and Hitler'sBrownshirts.[17]
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.[18] He has also served as the Chair of theHalton Police Services Board since 2014.[19]
