Dan Carter

Dan Carter is a Canadian politician who serves as the current mayor of Oshawa. Elected in the 2018 municipal election, he succeeded John Henry on December 1, 2018. He was re-elected in 2022.

Background Carter campaigned on the theme that his background gave him special insight into how to manage the city's social and economic problems. He struggled with severe dyslexia as a child, leaving him functionally illiterate, and was sexually abused by a stranger at age 8. After his older brother Michael was killed in a motorcycle accident when Carter was 13, he fell into drug and alcohol addiction, and was homeless for most of his late teens and 20s, He served as vice-chair of the city's finance committee under Nancy Diamond, and ascended to chair after Diamond's death in 2017. His campaign pledges in that election included the creation of an angel fund to provide financial assistance to new business startups, as part of a comprehensive economic diversification strategy.

Oshawa Mayoral Election (2018) Candidate Vote % Dan Carter 17,651 69.35 Sara Lear 2,899 11.39 Joe Ingino 1,409 5.54 Bob Rutherford 1,083 4.26 Adam Kunz 1,060 4.16 Kenneth Carruthers 983 3.86 Rosaldo Russo 367 1.44