Jody Mitic

Mitic was born in Kitchener, Ontario.{{Cite web|url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/3895003-brothers-born-in-kitchener-compete-in-amazing-race/|title=Brothers born in Kitchener compete in Amazing Race|last=Starr|first=Katie|date=2013-07-17|website=TheRecord.com|language=en-CA|access-date=2019-03-25}} He moved with his family to Winnipeg when he was five where his father worked for the Canadian Auto Workers union.{{cite book |last1=Mitic |first1=Jody |title=Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper |publisher=Simon & Schuster Canada }} The family later moved to Brampton, Ontario.

While still in high school Mitic joined his local reserve regiment the Lorne Scots. After graduating Mitic worked for a year at an auto parts factory before joining the Royal Canadian Regiment of the regular Canadian Army.

Mitic did a tour of duty in Bosnia and was on his second tour in Afghanistan as a sniper when he lost both of his legs in a landmine incident in 2007.

During his recovery, Mitic worked through some of his psychological issues with a computer program named Ellie,{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/05/20/407978049/how-a-machine-learned-to-spot-depression|title=How A Machine Learned To Spot Depression|newspaper=NPR.org|publisher=NPR|accessdate=14 April 2018}} which tracks facial expressions and speech patterns to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

As part of his physical rehabilitation, Mitic successfully recovered and ran in an Achilles Canada 5-km run with prosthetic legs.

Mitic says he became addicted to pain killers after his treatment but eventually managed to quit.

In 2013, he and his brother Cory competed on The Amazing Race Canada 1, finishing in 2nd place. Following his appearance on The Amazing Race Canada, Mitic became a motivational speaker and an advocate for wounded veterans and people with disabilities. In 2016, he appeared on the Trailer Park Boys podcast episode 15 to talk about his book, Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYeztPiGKaA|title=TPB Podcast Episode 15 - Canadian Sniper|last=|first=|date=Mar 10, 2016|website=YouTube|access-date=}}

Mitic was elected following the departure of long-time city councillor Rainer Bloess. He won with close to one third of the vote, about 1,800 votes ahead of his nearest competitor, Laura Dudas.

During the 2017 Conservative Party leadership contest, Mitic contributed to former Minister of Veterans Affairs Erin O'Toole's campaign.{{Cite web|url=https://ipolitics.ca/2017/02/01/the-conservative-donor-list-features-some-notable-names/|title=The Conservative donor list features some notable names |publisher= iPolitics.ca|author=Siekierski, BJ|author2= Beatrice Britneff|date=February 1, 2018}}

Mitic announced on March 31, 2018, that he would not be running for re-election, citing wanting to spend more time with his family, and both mental and physical health issues.{{Cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/mitic-wont-seek-re-election-as-councillor-to-concentrate-on-family-health|title=Mitic won't seek re-election as councillor, to concentrate on family, health |publisher= Ottawa Citizen|date=March 31, 2018}} After months of absenteeism, Ottawa City Council voted June 13, 2018 to authorize an indefinite leave of absence for him, as the body had done in 2013 to facilitate Councillor Stephen Blais' recovery from a heart attack.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/jody-mitic-formal-leave-of-absence-1.4446345|title=Council OK's formal leave of absence for Jody Mitic | CBC News|website=CBC}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/jody-mitic-ottawa-morning-rehab-addiction-1.4997569|title=Jody Mitic comes clean on cocaine addiction, 'inexcusable' council performance|last=|first=|date=January 30, 2019|website=CBC News|access-date=September 1, 2019}}

He is separated from his former wife, Alannah Gilmore.{{cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-votes-innes-ward|title=Jody Mitic captures Innes ward for an amazing race victory all his own|date=28 October 2014|publisher=|accessdate=14 April 2018}} He has two daughters with his ex-wife. Gilmore had been one of the medics who treated him after his injury in Afghanistan.{{cite web | url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/the-bomb-that-blew-two-people-together | title=How a bomb brought Jody Mitic and Alannah Gilmore together | publisher=Ottawa Citizen | date=4 September 2015 | accessdate=4 September 2015 | author=O'Connor, Joe}} Mitic wrote a book about his experience in Afghanistan in a memoir titled Unflinching: The Making of a Canadian Sniper.

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140920211227/http://www.jodymitic.ca/about-jody/ Campaign Biography]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150323110839/http://ottawa.ca/en/city-council/councillor-jody-mitic City Council Biography]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitic, Jody}}

Category:1977 births

Category:Living people

Category:Canadian Army soldiers

Category:Canadian military snipers

Category:Canadian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Category:Canadian amputees

Category:Ottawa city councillors

Category:Writers from Ottawa

Category:Writers from Kitchener, Ontario

Category:Canadian people of Serbian descent

Category:Canadian politicians with disabilities

Category:21st-century Canadian memoirists

Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers

Category:Politicians from Winnipeg

Category:Writers from Winnipeg

Category:Politicians from Brampton

Category:21st-century Canadian municipal councillors