BIO

Jan Harder has served the residents of Barrhaven as their representative at the Ottawa city council table for the past 13 years. A recognized leader on council who has been proud to call Barrhaven home for over 25 years, Jan is always accessible to residents, taking prompt action on concerns raised by her constituents. She has become known as a community builder and champion and has helped Barrhaven grow by working with local and national business leaders to secure the necessary infrastructure to support such growth. Jan believes that the best way to build Barrhaven is to balance growth while maintaining a high quality of life – an approach that has made this community one of the most desirable places in Ottawa to live, work and play.

Prior to being elected in 1997 to the former City of Nepean council, Jan was a successful business professional for a national food industry leader. Jan often states that for the majority of her life she has been and continues to be employed in the customer service industry.

Jan’s tenure on Ottawa council has included being appointed chair of the Ottawa Public Library; director of the Canadian Library Association; president of the Canadian Library Trustees Association; director of the Urban Library Council of North America; vice-chair of the Emergency Protective Services Committee; vice-chair of the Audit, Budget and Finance committee; chair of the Ottawa Community Land Development Corporation; director of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc; past-chair of Energy Ottawa; past director of the Bruyere Almonte Hospital and Carleton Lodge boards; chair of Plasco's public advisory committee; member of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario's Task Force on Long Term Care; and longtime member of the Planning and Environment, Transit and Transportation committees.

Jan continues to work with numerous Barrhaven community groups and city-wide organizations to raise money and awareness for their causes. Jan's annual golf tournament has raised over $200,000 for the Irving Greenberg Cancer Center at the Queensway Carleton Hospital and, this past year, she also raised $45,000 for the Ottawa Public Library through her annual golf tournament. Jan has also lent her time to help organize Canada Day celebrations in Barrhaven for over 10 years. Jan was also happy to lend her name to raise $55,000 for the South Nepean Autism Centre in support of families throughout the community.

Jan is married to Larry and has five daughters, and, in recent years, has been blessed with five grandchildren.