OttawaFormer mayor Jim Watson will be back at city hall Thursday as one of the latest honourees to receive the Order of Ottawa. Current mayor defends decision despite advocate calling LRT launch a ‘fiasco’Guy Quenneville · CBC News · Posted: Nov 27, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 31 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Former Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, seated at far right, sits next to current Mayor Mark Sutcliffe during an Ottawa Board of Trade event at city hall in 2022. On Thursday, Sutcliffe will award Watson and 14 others the Order of Ottawa. (Francis Ferland/CBC)Former mayor Jim Watson will be back at city hall Thursday as one of the latest honourees to receive the Order of Ottawa. Even before counting his time as mayor of pre-amalgamation Ottawa, Watson was the longest serving mayor of the nation’s capital, holding that role for 12 years. He was a fixture in Ottawa politics for decades, including as the president of the residence association at Carleton University in the 1980s. He first ran for council in Ottawa in 1991 in Capital ward and was later elected to his first term as mayor in 1997. After leaving city hall to serve for a time as the MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean, Watson returned to the mayor’s chair in 2010.He announced in 2021 that he would not be seeking re-election, bringing an end to a mayoral tenure that included everything from the initial redevelopment of Lansdowne Park to the troubled launch of OC Transpo’s Line 1. The city announced last month that Watson and 14 other people would be receiving the order, which recognizes residents who have made a significant contribution in a professional capacity to city life. City council launched the award in 2012 under Watson’s tenure. Former mayor Jim Durrell, who led the city from 1985 to 1991, was among the first people to receive the award during its inaugural year.Current Mayor Mark Sutcliffe will be on hand to honour this year’s recipients during a Thursday evening ceremony at city hall. Sutcliffe defends decision A public inquiry into the launch of Line 1 found that both city officials and the companies that built the line made “egregious” errors during the construction and testing, raising the question of whether the city is fit to oversee such massive infrastructure projects.Watson then apologized and said he took took full responsibility for the line’s failings. On Wednesday, Sutcliffe was asked whether, in light of the inquiry’s findings, it was appropriate for Watson to be bestowed the order. Sutcliffe sits on a selection committee that also includes the city clerk, the chief of police and a city archivist. “I’ve known Jim Watson a long time,” Sutcliffe replied. “We don’t agree on everything. I don’t necessarily endorse everything he did as mayor, but … he’s contributed to the city in many different ways as not just mayor, but as a member of provincial parliament and a cabinet minister, as a volunteer. He clearly loves the city, cares about it.””I don’t think anybody would be surprised that the longest serving mayor in our city’s history would be the recipient of the Order of Ottawa,” Sutcliffe added.In this photo from 2015, Watson shares his enthusiasm for the LRT project while standing in the tunnel beneath Algonquin College. (Alistair Steele/CBC)LRT ‘fiasco’ taints legacy, says advocateLaura Shantz of advocacy group Ottawa Transit Riders was among those unsurprised that Watson is getting the honour, given his long career in politics. “He was really, really strong at showing up and being present,” Shantz said via email. “The line about going to every letter opening is not far off and that is likely what we’re talking about here. But it’s the story of a career politician more than a city or community champion to me.” As a transit advocate, though, Shantz said the “LRT fiasco” taints Watson’s history of leadership.Shantz added that even though Ottawa city hall doesn’t involve political parties, Watson did “a lot to divide council and create an in group and an out group, which forced many votes into a suburbs/rural versus urban divide that serves us poorly to this day.”The other 14 people receiving the Order of Ottawa Thursday are:Patrick Newton BondoKenneth CampbellHolly Ellingwood, PhDMike McGahanMichael McLellanDr. Louise McNaughton-FilionWyatt McWilliamsPatrick MooreSuzanne ObiorahJo-Anne PolakTahawar RanaCarole SaadBernadette SarazinChristine TrauttmansdorffWith files from Kate Porter
Former mayor Jim Watson, 14 others to get Order of Ottawa Thursday
