About Clive

A career on the front lines of the city. 

Clive Doucet is a passionate urbanist. His life is about cities: how they work, what people need from them and how to make them better.

He was one of the author’s of the “Federal Urban Domain”, the federal government’s first document to classify all of its urban lands. His latest book Urban Meltdown: Cities, Climate Change and Politics as Usual was short-listed for the prestigious Shaughnessy/Cohen Prize for political writing. 

As an Ottawa city councillor Clive has never restricted himself to the ward he represents. He is a leader on city-wide light rail and transit, co-founder of the O-Train, a leader in recycling and waste management, safe bicycling and other issues that are ever increasingly important to a quality urban life in the 21st century.

Ottawa is growing its roads twice as fast as its population. Clive has said over and over again, the city can’t expect to control its costs if roads are increasing twice as fast as the population that pays for them. He has spoken out against these enormous and often damaging costs. Examples: Terry Fox extension $45 million for 4.5 kilometres of new road, Alta Vista Expressway $55 million for 1.7 kilometres of new road.

In 2010 Councillor Doucet won the Ottawa Consumers Choice Award for man of the year. Speech. In 2004 he received the Canadian Eco-Councillor of the Year award.

Beyond Ottawa

Clive's influence reaches well beyond Ottawa. He is a much sought after speaker on urban affairs. In November, 2008 he spoke in Philadelphia to delegates from around the world at Re-Imagining Cities: Urban Design After the Age of Oil  conference sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania and Rockefeller Foundation. Speech.

Earlier in January 2008 he was a Killiam lecturer at Dalhousie University, Halifax.  In recent years he has also spoken on urban issues in Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton

His book Urban Meltdown:Cities, Climate Change and Politics as Usual is used in universities across North America. The book was endorsed by Toronto Mayor David Miller, the late Jane Jacobs and numerous others.

Clive is not only an asset to Ottawa. He is an ambassador for our city to the world.

A political life 

Clive entered politics in 1997 to combat the expansion of neighbourhood streets in arterial roads. He championed the Ottawa O-Train pilot project. It won the Federation of Canadian Municipalities sustainable transportation award and a national procurement award.

In 2002 he worked with former councillor Phil McNeely to create the infrastructure and was first fundraiser for the Hay West campaign, which sent 30,000 tonnes of hay to the drought stricken western provinces.

Clive also served two terms as vice chair of the council Transit Committee, was on the board of the Children's Aid Society and participated in other boards and organizations .

Early years on the front lines.

He holds an honours BA in anthropology at University of Toronto and a MSC in Urban Anthropology at University of Montreal. At the Federal Ministry of Urban Affairs (MSUA) he was Manager of Communications, for the restoration of the Vieux Port area in Montréal, (1978-79) where he organized the first of its now famous summer street festivals.

He also worked for the provincial department of Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs (TEIGA) as the Eastern Ontario Policy Advisor on local government and with the Federation of Citizens' Associations in Ottawa coordinating participation of local community groups in the development of Ottawa-Carleton's first Regional Plan.

Clive is a prolific author with a dozen books to his credit and articles published in major newspapers and magazines.

He is married with two children and three grandchildren. He attended Fisher Park and Nepean high schools .

When not working, Clive can often be found cycling in the Gatineau Hills or rowing on the Rideau Canal. He still competes in the old guys rowing category in river head regattas.