Claudette Millar
{{short description|Canadian politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Claudette Millar
| image =
| caption =
| office1 = First & Fourth Mayor of Cambridge, Ontario
| term_start1 = 1973
| term_end1 = 1974
| predecessor1 = Position Established
| successor1 = Robert Kerr
| office2 =
| term_start2 = 1978
| term_end2 = 1988
| predecessor2 = Erwin Nelson
| successor2 = Jane Brewer
| education = Millsaps College
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|02|03}}
| birth_place = Belleville, Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|02|10|1935|02|03}}
| termstart = 1969
| termend = 1973
| office = Mayor of Preston, Ontario
| successor = Herself; as Mayor of Cambridge
| death_place = Guelph, Ontario, Canada
}}
Claudette Millar (February 3, 1935 – February 10, 2016) was a Canadian politician, most noted as the first mayor of Cambridge, Ontario.{{cite news |last1=Weidner |first1=Johanna |title=A loss for Cambridge: former mayor Claudette Millar was 81 |url=https://www.therecord.com//news/waterloo-region/2016/02/11/a-loss-for-cambridge-former-mayor-claudette-millar-was-81.html |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=therecord.com |date=11 February 2016 |language=en}}
Biography
Millar was born February 3, 1935, in Belleville. She grew up primarily in Kitchener after relocating there with her family as a child.{{cite news |title=Claudette Millar, Cambridge’s first mayor, dies at age 81 |url=https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/claudette-millar-cambridge-s-first-mayor-dies-at-age-81-1.2772566 |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=Kitchener |date=10 February 2016 |language=en}} She obtained her pilot and driving licenses at age 16.{{cite news |title=Friends and family to celebrate the life of Claudette Millar, Cambridge's first mayor, Feb. 20|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/obit-memorial-cambridge-mayor-claudette-millar-1.3446363 |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=CBC |date=14 February 2016}} Following graduation from Kitchener Collegiate Institute, Millar went on to study at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. She graduated in with a Bachelor of Arts.{{cite journal |title=In Memoriam |journal=Millsaps Magazine |date=9 April 2017 |volume=Winter |page=45 |url=https://issuu.com/millsapscollege/docs/2017-winter-millsaps-magazine |accessdate=29 October 2020 |language=en}}
Millar was elected mayor of Preston in 1969, becoming Canada's youngest mayor at 35.{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Erin |title=Claudette Millar, the first mayor of Cambridge, has passed away |url=https://www.570news.com/2016/02/10/claudette-miller-the-first-mayor-of-cambridge-has-passed-away/ |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=www.570news.com |date=10 February 2016}} When Preston, along with Galt, Hespeler and Blair, was amalgamated into Cambridge in 1973, Millar was elected the city's first mayor. She served two non-consecutive terms: from 1973 until 1974 and again from 1978 to 1988.{{cite news |last1=Gowing |first1=Walter |title=Former mayor Claudette Millar was ‘a real fighter’ |url=https://www.cambridgetimes.ca/community-story/6372219-former-mayor-claudette-millar-was-a-real-fighter-/ |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=CambridgeTimes.ca |date=2 March 2016 |language=en-CA}}
As mayor, Millar was noted particularly for her work in preserving the city's cultural and environmental heritage. She opposed the construction of a freeway bypass which would have disrupted parkland in the city, including the Dumfries Conservation Area and the Rare Charitable Reserve."Road angers park donor's heirs". The Globe and Mail, May 31, 1979.
She was a three-time Ontario Liberal Party candidate for the electoral district of Cambridge, losing to Monty Davidson in the 1975 election and the 1977 election, and to Mike Farnan in the 1987 election."Liberal in Cambridge gets election recount after narrow defeat". The Globe and Mail, September 17, 1987. She sought the Liberal nomination for Cambridge again in the 1999 election, but lost to Jerry Boyle."Liberal newcomer defeats Claudette Millar". Waterloo Region Record, April 1, 1999.
Following the end of her term as mayor, Millar was appointed to the Ontario Municipal Board."Former Cambridge mayor enjoys making OMB decisions". Waterloo Region Record, February 10, 1993. In 2003 she returned to municipal politics, winning election to a seat on Waterloo Regional Council."Regional council looks a lot like the old one". Waterloo Region Record, November 11, 2003. In that role, she was instrumental in bringing the Toyota plant to Cambridge. She held the role until announcing her retirement in 2014."Changes loom at regional council". Waterloo Region Record, September 27, 2014. In 2015 Millar was inducted into the Region of Waterloo's Hall of Fame.{{cite news |title=Local hall of fame welcomes new members |url=https://www.therecord.com/sports/waterloo-region/2015/05/05/local-hall-of-fame-welcomes-new-members.html |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=therecord.com |date=6 May 2015 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=List of Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/exhibits/past-and-present-inductees.aspx |website=www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca |accessdate=29 October 2020 |language=en |date=20 October 2020 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117082303/https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/exhibits/past-and-present-inductees.aspx |url-status=dead }}
Millar died February 10, 2016, of stomach cancer after a brief stay at a Guelph, Ontario hospice.{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Ray |title=Claudette Millar, Cambridge's first mayor, has died |url=https://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/community-story/6272052-claudette-millar-cambridge-s-first-mayor-has-died/ |accessdate=29 October 2020 |work=NewHamburgIndependent.ca |date=10 February 2016 |language=en-CA}} In November 2017, University of Waterloo announced the naming of a recently opened residence building as Claudette Millar Hall.{{Cite web |title=University of Waterloo Residence Named Claudette Millar Hall – Masri O Architects |url=https://masrioarchitects.ca/university-of-waterloo-residence-named-claudette-millar-hall/ |access-date=2024-09-09 |language=en-US}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Mayors of Cambridge, Ontario}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Claudette}}
Category:Mayors of Cambridge, Ontario
Category:Women mayors of places in Ontario
Category:Ontario Liberal Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections