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Biography

Mayor Carl Zehr

Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr was born and raised in Baden, Ontario, just west of Kitchener, in Wilmot Township. He attended Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and Waterloo-Oxford District High School and subsequently chose to pursue a career in accounting. Since then he received his professional CGA designation (1972) as well as Fellow designation from the Certified General Accountants of Canada (1982).

Early on, he held accounting and corporate positions with Hybrid Turkeys, Mercedes Developments, K-W Hospital, and University of Waterloo. From 1981 until 1998 he was a partner in the accounting firm Mercer, Hildebrand and Zehr. He has participated on various community committees and boards. At various times over the years, he served as director of CGA Canada, president and governor of CGA Ontario, as well as Chair of CGA's K-W Chapter.

Having chosen to live and work in Kitchener, and recognizing a desire to serve his community, Carl first ran for elected office in the fall of 1985. He served as city councillor for the Chicopee Ward on the east side of Kitchener from 1985 through 1994. During that time he served as a councillor for the Region of Waterloo, from 1988 through 1994.

In 1997 Carl ran for the elected office of mayor and with an outpouring of community support was successful. He has subsequently won four successive elections and is currently Kitchener's longest serving mayor. As mayor, he also represents the city at regional council. He has served as an elected official in Kitchener for 22 years.

Carl is committed to improving the quality of life for the residents of Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo. During his tenure as mayor, many amenities have been developed including community centres, recreational facilities, employment lands, health sciences campus, environmental areas as well as arts and cultural events and facilities.

In addition to serving on all regular standing committees of Kitchener city council, the mayor is also an appointee and active participant on many boards and committees, including the Mayor's Advisory Council for Kitchener Seniors (MACKS), Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro Inc. board of directors, University of Waterloo board of governors, Kitchener Housing Inc. board of directors, Centre in the Square board of management and Downtown Kitchener BIA board of directors.

Since becoming mayor, Carl has been a member of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario's Large Urban Mayors Caucus of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Big City Mayors Caucus. He was chair of LUMCO in 1999, and from 2008 until June 2011 was chair of BCMC. These roles have allowed Carl to highlight our local perspective on issues important to municipalities across the province and country.

By his side in his personal, professional and public service life is Carl's wife Sandy. They have two adult children and four grandchildren.

Awards and Recognition

2008 Top 100 CGA's in Canada
2008 Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award
2006 Ontario Pharmacist Association (OPA) Visionary Award
1991 Paul Harris Fellow - Rotary Club of Kitchener in recognition of service to the community and the Rotary Club
1991 Ivy Thomas Award - CGA Ontario, recognition for exceptional business, community and political activities
1980 Life Membership in the Certified General Accountants of Ontario
1974 Member of Rotary Group study exchange team to Japan, two month cultural, business and goodwill tour

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