Mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick


The Mayor of the City of Saint John is the head of the elected municipal council of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John Common Council consists of a mayor and 10 councillors. The city has a ward system with four of roughly equal population. This municipal arrangement was first adopted in the 2008 municipal election after a plebiscite held October 9, 2007. The mayor is directly elected along with two councillors that run at large. The councillor at large, which gains a plurality of votes, becomes the deputy mayor. Each ward elects two councillor.
Since the incorporation of Saint John in 1785, the mayor has served as the chief representative of the city. Officeholders were first appointed by the Governor of New Brunswick, under an order in council. By the end of the end of the nineteenth century, the mayor was elected by the alderman of Common Council. In 1854, the office was directly elected by Saint John residents. As head of the largest city in New Brunswick, many mayors have served as elected officials at the federal and provincial level both before and after their tenure.
Since 1785, 67 individuals have held the office of mayor. Notably, Samuel Davis, 1977-1980, served as the first elected Jewish Mayor of Saint John. In 1983 Elsie Wayne was elected the first woman mayor. She served until 1993. While serving only two years, Thomas J. Higgins was the first Catholic Mayor of Saint John. The incumbent, Don Darling, was elected May 9, 2016.

List of Mayors

Appointed by Governor-In-Council
  1. Gabriel G. Ludlow, 1785-1795
  2. William Campbell, 1795-1816
  3. John Robinson, 1816-1828
  4. William Black, 1828-1829
  5. Lauchlan Donaldson, 1829-1832
  6. William Black, 1832-1833
  7. John M. Wilmot, 1833-1834
  8. Benjamin L. Peters, 1834-1835
  9. William H. Street, 1835-1836
  10. John Robertson, 1836-1837
  11. Robert F. Hazen, 1837-1840
  12. William Black, 1840-1843
  13. Lauchlan Donaldson, 1843-1847
  14. John R. Partelow, 1847-1848
  15. William H. Street, 1848-1849
  16. Robert D. Wilmot, 1849-1850
  17. Henry Chubb, 1850-1851
Elected indirectly by Common Council
  1. Thomas Harding, 1851-1852
  2. William O. Smith, 1852-1853
  3. James Olive, 1853-1854
Elected directly by residents
  1. James Olive, 1854-1855
  2. William O. Smith, 1855-1859
  3. Thomas Mcavity, 1859-1863
  4. Isaac Woodward, 1863-1866
  5. Aaron Alward, 1866-1870
  6. Thomas M. Reed, 1870-1874
  7. A. Chipman Smith, 1874-1877
  8. Sylvester Z. Earle, 1877-1879
  9. Charles R. Ray, 1879-1881
  10. Simeon Jones, 1881-1884
  11. J. Mcgregor Grant, 1884-1885
  12. J.S. Boies Deveber, 1885-1887
  13. Henry J. Thorne, 1887-1889
  14. George A. Barker, 1889
  15. I. Allen Jack, July 7-August 9, 1889
  16. W. Albert Lockhart, 1889-1891
  17. Thomas W. Peters, 1891-1894
  18. George Robertson, 1894-1898
  19. Edward Sears, 1898-1900
  20. John Waterhouse Daniel, 1900-1902
  21. Walter W. White, 1902-1906
  22. Edward Sears, 1906-1908
  23. Thomas H. Bullock, 1908-1910
  24. James H. Frink, 1910-1916
  25. Robert T. Hayes, 1916-1920
  26. E. Allen Schofield, 1920-1922
  27. Harry R. Mclellan, 1922
  28. G. Frederick Fisher, 1922-1924
  29. Frank L. Potts, 1924-1926
  30. Walter W. White, 1926-1932
  31. James W. Brittain, 1932-1936
  32. D. Laurence Maclaren, 1936-1940
  33. Charles R. Wasson, 1940-1944
  34. James D. McKenna, 1944-1948
  35. Ernest W. Patterson, 1948-1950
  36. George E. Howard, 1950-1952
  37. Ernest W. Patterson, 1952-1954
  38. Gilbert B. Peat, 1954-1956
  39. William W. Macaulay, 1956-1958
  40. D. Laurence Maclaren, 1958-1960
  41. James A. Whitebone, 1960
  42. Eric L. Teed, 1960-1964
  43. Stephen H. Weyman, 1964-1966
  44. Arthur L. Gould, 1966
  45. Arthur L. Gould, January-June 1967
  46. Joseph A. Macdougall, 1967-1969
  47. H. Avard Loomer, 1969
  48. James E. Calvin, 1969-1971
  49. Bob Lockhart, 1971-1974
  50. Edis A. Flewwelling, 1974-1977
  51. Samuel Davis, 1977-1980
  52. Bob Lockhart, 1980-1983
  53. Elsie Wayne, 1983-1993
  54. Thomas J. Higgins, 1994-1995
  55. Shirley McAlary, 1995-2004
  56. Norman McFarlane, 2004-2008
  57. Ivan Court, 2008-2012
  58. Mel Norton, 2012-2016
  59. Don Darling, 2016-Present