Andy Fillmore is officially running for mayor of Halifax, leaving federal politics after nearly nine years as the city’s MP.
He made the announcement Wednesday morning at Dartmouth’s Alderney Landing.
Fillmore has been the MP for Halifax since 2015, when he defeated incumbent New Democrat Megan Leslie as part of the red wave that brought in Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
Fillmore was re-elected in 2019 and 2021. He has been on various committees and was parliamentary secretary to a few ministers over the years, but was never tapped for a cabinet position himself.
The announcement of Fillmore’s mayoral run has been long expected, since he said last year he was considering the idea. In June, Fillmore delivered his final speech to Parliament, saying he wouldn’t be returning when the House of Commons rises in the fall.
Worked as urban planner in Halifax, United States
Born in Bloomington, Ind., Fillmore’s family returned to Nova Scotia when he was young and he grew up in Halifax. He eventually attended Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., the Technical University of Nova Scotia (since merged into Dalhousie University), and the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, Mass.
Fillmore spent 20 years as a city planner, including in Massachusetts where he worked on the Big Dig highway megaproject in Boston as an urban designer, and was later a town planner in Maine.
In 2005, Fillmore returned to Halifax to work at the municipality and led the implementation of the HRM by Design Downtown Halifax Plan.
He is the third high-profile candidate to join the race for mayor, alongside current councillors Pam Lovelace and Waye Mason. It’s an open field as Mayor Mike Savage announced in February he wouldn’t re-offer after 12 years in the city’s top role.
Multiple political newcomers are also looking to run for mayor, including Clay Bowser, Nolan Greenough, Ryan Dodge, Zoran Jokic, and Blake Roache.
Municipal election day across Nova Scotia is Oct. 19.
