Sean Devine

Sean Devine (born June 11, 1970) is a Canadian politician, playwright, and actor. Devine currently represents Knoxdale-Merivale Ward on Ottawa City Council. His artistic career has spanned over three decades, including playwriting and directing, as well as acting roles on film and television. He has appeared in over twenty films and more than a dozen TV series.

Early life and education Devine was born on June 11, 1970, in Montreal, Quebec. From 1987 to 1989 he attended Marianopolis College in Westmount. Afterwards, Devine studied from 1989 to 1992 at the National Theatre School of Canada.

Drama career Devine served as the artistic director of Horseshoes and Handgrenades Theatre Company between 2004 and 2019.

Devine's 2011 play Re:Union was based on the real-life story of Norman Morrison, a Baltimore Quaker who self-immolated below Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's Pentagon office in 1965. The play imagines a meeting between Morrison's daughter Emily and Robert McNamara. First produced in 2011, it was published by Scirocco Drama in 2013. At Ottawa's Magnetic North Theatre Festival in 2015, Re:Union won the Prix Rideau Award for Ottawa's Best Production.

Devine's next play, Except in the Unlikely Event of War, premiered in 2013, was a political drama and satire which discusses war and government manipulation of the media. It draws inspiration from The Report from Iron Mountain, a satirical book which asserted that the United States government believed war was necessary to maintain its power.

Devine's 2016 play Daisy is a political drama set during the 1964 United States presidential election. The play depicts the events surrounding the presidential election and the controversial 'Daisy' advertisement of Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign. Daisy premiered at Seattle's ACT Theatre in 2016. The play received the Broadway World Seattle Critic's Choice Award for Best New Play and was nominated for a Gregory Award for Best New Play. It was later published as a book by Talonbooks in 2017.

Devine's play, titled When There's Nothing Left to Burn was released in 2017. The play was by the events of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, and drew further inspiration from the 2012 Quebec student protests. It depicts ordinary citizens living in the midst of violent political upheaval. The play won the University of Lethbridge's Fiction at Fifty competition.

In 2017, Devine took a position with the Canada Council for the Arts, a federal government institution dedicated to funding the arts.

Politics In 2015, Devine won the nomination for the New Democratic Party over PIPSC negotiator Denise Doherty-Delorme to represent the party in the 2015 Canadian federal election in Nepean. Ultimately he placed third, losing to Chandra Arya of the Liberal Party. Devine was again the NDP's candidate in Nepean in the 2021 Canadian federal election and focused on establishing relationships with communities who felt ignored by Arya such as the Tamil, Punjabi and Sikh members. On this occasion he again placed third, although he received twice the number of votes he had in 2015.

Devine was successfully elected as city councillor for Knoxdale-Merivale Ward in the 2022 Ottawa municipal election, defeating real-estate agent James Dean, Myles Egli (brother of retiring incumbent Keith Egli), and conservative writer Joseph Ben-Ami. Devine's campaign emphasized the need for civility at city hall, improved public transit, and better natural disaster preparedness.

Devine voted against "Lansdowne 2.0" project which proposed over $400 million of taxpayer-funded subsidies for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park. The project was approved by a vote of 16 to 9.

In 2024, Devine voted against reductions in the frequency of the O-Train. The service reductions were ultimately approved by city council.

Personal life Devine resides in the Trend-Arlington neighbourhood of Ottawa with his wife and four children. He previously served as the president of the Trend-Arlington Community Association. During his presidency, Trend-Arlington was severely affected by a tornado in 2018. Under Devine's leadership, the Community Association organized recovery efforts and received awards from the mayor's office and United Way for their work.

Selected filmography Television series Year Title Role 2017 The Disappearance Stephen Price 2014 Intruders Bill Anderson 2013 The Haunting Hour: The Series Mr. Franklin 2013 The Killing Dr. Andrew Newman 2012 Arctic Air Rudy 2008 Supernatural Gus 2007 Dragon Boys Motel Manager 2006 Whistler Mack 2006 Godiva's Ben 2006 Masters of Horror Hunter 2005–2007 The 4400 P.J. 2004 Cold Squad Dr. Alvin Whitehead 2003 Da Vinci's Inquest Michael 2002 Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension Bala & Dr. Darger 2001 Mysterious Ways Scott Krotenko 1998 The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo Rawls 1997–1998 Lassie Officer Burdick

Film Year Title Role 2013 Midnight Stallion Donald Dupree 2011 Knockout Jacob Miller 2010 Territories Walter Sotos 2009 Kick Me Down Gene 2001 XChange Rix 2000 The Whole Nine Yards Sgt. Buchanan 1999 Dead Silent Dakins 1999 The Last Breath Hammer 1999 Perpetrators of the Crime Ed 1999 Quand je serai parti... vous vivrez encore Major Denny

Television films Year Title Role 2018 Mommy's Little Angel Doyle 2017 Killer Mom Detective Peters 2003 Wicked Minds Julien 2002 The Rendering Kip 2001 The Royal Scandal Timothy Carter 2001 Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story Hindmarsh 2000 Race Against Time Kilroy the Bounty Hunter 2000 Task Force Pierre Bluteau 1999 Revenge of the Land James McCann

Electoral record

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