Glenn De Baeremaeker (/d ˌbɛərəˈmkər/ dee BAIR-ə-MAY-kər) is a former city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who represented Ward 38, one of the two former Scarborough Centre wards from 2003-2018. The son of working-class parents, he has a master's degree in international development and spent six months in Ethiopia at the height of the 1980s famine.

Glenn De Baeremaeker
Toronto City Councillor for (Ward 38) Scarborough Centre
In office
December 1, 2003 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byBrad Duguid
Succeeded byMichael Thompson
Deputy Speaker of Toronto City Council
In office
April 25, 2018 – December 1, 2018
Preceded byShelley Carroll
Succeeded byShelley Carroll[1]
Personal details
NationalityCanadian
Residence(s)Toronto, Ontario
OccupationEnvironmentalist, Consultant
TTC Chair Karen Stintz and TTC Vice-Chair Glenn De Baeremaeker announcing the proposed OneCity transit plan in June 2012

He originally rose to prominence for his work with the Save the Rouge group fighting to keep the Rouge Valley area of Scarborough free from development. A strong environmentalist, De Baeremaeker is a vegan. Working as an assistant to city councillor Doug Mahood, De Baeremaeker ran for a seat on Scarborough city council in 1994 but lost to David Soknacki.

Continuing his environmental work, De Baeremaeker became one of the leaders in the effort to save the Oak Ridges Moraine from development. When Brad Duguid left city council in 2003 to run for the provincial Liberals, De Baeremaeker decided to run for the empty seat and triumphed by a wide margin.

De Baeremaeker was notable for cycling to City Hall from his home in Scarborough almost every day year round. He was a strong advocate for safer road conditions for cyclists.

De Baeremaeker was known for his support of former mayor David Miller's policies, in particular his support of the civic workers' deal to end the 2009 Toronto municipal strike.

In March 2012 Toronto City Council dissolved the Toronto Transit Commission Board and appointed new councillors, including De Baeremaeker, to the Board, a role he continued in during the 2014-2018 Council term. In 2014 he was appointed Deputy Mayor East and a member of the Toronto Region Conservation Authority.[2] [3]

De Baeremaeker was elected as Deputy Speaker of Toronto City Council on April 25, 2018 following the resignation of Shelley Carroll.[4][5]

After the changes to the City of Toronto ward boundaries imposed by the Ontario Provincial Government of Doug Ford resulted in the disappearance of former Ward 38 Scarborough Centre, De Baeremaeker announced he would not be running for re-election in the new larger Ward 21 Scarborough Centre in the 2018 Toronto election.[6]

De Baeremaeker now runs a government policy consultancy agency.

Election results

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2010 Toronto election, Ward 38
Candidate Votes %
Glenn De Baeremaeker 11,166 62.44%
Glenn Middleton 4,541 25.39%
Tushar Shah 824 4.61%
Kirk Jensen 708 3.96%
Sandip Vora 643 3.60%
Total 17,882 100%

Unofficial results as of October 26, 2010 03:55 AM[7]

2014 Toronto municipal election
Candidate Votes %
Glenn De Baeremaeker 13,626 69.54%
Theo Kalafatis 483 2.46%
John Lewis 642 3.28%
Justin Ried 463 2.36%
Theodore Rueckert 550 2.81%
Ganga Sasthrigal 662 3.38%
Rajesh Shah 405 2.07%
Tushar Shah 185 0.94%
Aysha Sidiq 460 2.35%
David Thomas 1552 7.92%
Kevin Winson 567 2.89%
Total 19,595 100%

Official results as of March 3, 2015 14:09 PM[8]

In 2021, Glenn de Baeremaeker was elected to the Board of Directors of the South Asian Autism Awareness Centre, a local charity he supports.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Mayor John Tory calls on smaller city council to 'work together'". www.cbc.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  2. ^ "TTC City Council dissolves TTC board, appoints new board". Archived from the original on 2012-03-14.
  3. ^ "Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker – City of Toronto". Archived from the original on 2018-01-26.
  4. ^ Toronto City Clerk [@TorontoCouncil] (April 25, 2018). "Mayor Tory has moved a motion on Item CC39.2" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ Toronto City Clerk [@TorontoCouncil] (April 25, 2018). "City Council has elected Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker for the position of Deputy Speaker for the remainder of the term #tocouncil" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Yousif, Nadine (13 August 2018). "Long-time Toronto councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker won't seek re-election now that Ford is changing ward boundaries - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  7. ^ City of Toronto elections page Archived October 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "City of Toronto 2014 elections page" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  9. ^ South Asian Autism Awareness Centre Board of Directors Archived 2021-04-23 at the Wayback Machine, accessed April 2021.
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