The mayor of Ottawa is head of the executive branch of the Ottawa City Council. The mayor is elected alongside the city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in office, mayors are styled His/Her Worship. Mark Sutcliffe has served as the 59th and current mayor of Ottawa since taking office on November 15, 2022, following the 2022 municipal election.
The following is a list of mayors of Ottawa. Until 1854, Ottawa was known as Bytown. Over the course of Ottawa's history, the borders of the municipality have greatly expanded through annexations. This most recently occurred in 2001 when a number of neighbouring communities were amalgamated with Ottawa.
Bytown
1847 – John Scott
1848 – John Bower Lewis
1849 – Robert Hervey
1850 – John Scott
1851 – Charles Sparrow
1852 – Richard William Scott
1853 – Joseph-Balsora Turgeon
1854 – Henry J. Friel
Ottawa, pre-amalgamation (1855–2001) 1855–1857 – John Bower Lewis 1858–1859 – Edward McGillivray 1860–1862 – Alexander Workman 1863 – ? – Henry J. Friel 1864–1866 – Moss Kent Dickinson 1867 – Robert Lyon 1868–1869 – Henry J. Friel 1870–1871 – John Rochester 1872–1873 – Eugène Martineau 1874–1875 – John Peter Featherston 1876 – G. B. Lyon-Fellowes 1877 – William Henry Waller 1878 – Chauncey Ward Bangs 1879–1881 – Charles Herbert Mackintosh 1882–1883 – Pierre St. Jean, M.D. 1884 – Charles Thornton Bate 1885–1886 – Francis McDougal 1887–1888 – McLeod Stewart 1889–1890 – Jacob Erratt 1891 – Thomas Birkett 1892–1893 – Olivier Durocher 1894 – George Cox 1895–1896 – William Borthwick 1897–1898 – Samuel Bingham 1899–1900 – Thomas Payment 1901 – William Dowler Morris 1901 – James Davidson 1902–1903 – Fred Cook 1904–1906 – James A. Ellis 1906 – Robert A. Hastey 1907–1908 – D'Arcy Scott 1908 – Napoléon Champagne 1909–1912 – Charles Hopewell 1912 – Edward H. Hinchey 1913 – James A. Ellis 1914 – Taylor McVeity 1915–1916 – Nelson D. Porter 1917–1920 – Harold Fisher 1921–1923 – Frank H. Plant 1924 – Henry Watters 1924 – Napoléon Champagne 1925–1927 – John P. Balharrie 1928–1929 – Arthur Ellis 1930 – Frank H. Plant 1931–1933 – John J. Allen 1934–1935 – Patrick Nolan 1936–1948 – J.E. Stanley Lewis 1949–1950 – E.A. Bourque 1951 – Grenville Goodwin 1951–1956 – Charlotte Whitton 1957–1960 – George H. Nelms 1961–1964 – Charlotte Whitton 1965–1969 – Donald Bartlett Reid 1970–1972 – Kenneth H. Fogarty, Q.C. 1972–1974 – Pierre Benoit 1975–1978 – Lorry Greenberg 1978–1985 – Marion Dewar 1985–1991 – James A. Durrell 1991 – Marc Laviolette 1991–1997 – Jacquelin Holzman 1997–2000 – Jim Watson 2000–2001 – Allan Higdon
Amalgamation
When the city of Ottawa amalgamated in 2001, these were the mayors of the municipalities that amalgamated:
Chair of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton: Bob Chiarelli
Ottawa: Allan Higdon (acting) Gloucester: Claudette Cain Kanata: Merle Nicholds Nepean: Mary Pitt Vanier: Guy Cousineau Cumberland: Gerry Lalonde (acting) Goulbourn: Janet Stavinga Osgoode: Doug Thompson Rideau: Glenn Brooks West Carleton: Dwight Eastman Rockcliffe Park: Patrick J. Murray
Since amalgamation (2001–present) Bob Chiarelli, 2001–2006 Larry O'Brien, 2006–2010 Michel Bellemare, 2 May – 8 July 2009 (acting) Doug Thompson, 8 July – 6 August 2009 (acting) Jim Watson, 2010–2022 Mark Sutcliffe, 2022
Note: Bellemare and Thompson served as acting mayor during O'Brien's leave of absence, due to criminal charges before the court.