Currently serving her fourth term as Mayor, Susan is known for her accessibility, energy, enthusiasm, and deep commitment to Brampton and its residents.
First elected in 1988, Susan served on Brampton City Council and Peel Regional Council before becoming Mayor of Brampton in 2000. As Mayor, Susan has established herself as a “people’s politician” through her open style of communication with constituents. Through her leadership and experience, Brampton has grown to become one of Canada’s most diverse and dynamic municipalities.
Susan has prided herself is getting things done and delivering results for Brampton residents. Some of the visible achievements include the Rose Theatre, the Brampton Soccer Centre, Cassie Campbell Community Centre and Brampton’s successful bus rapid transit, Züm. One of Susan’s first priorities as Mayor was to eliminate Brampton’s debt. The City has remained debt free for 10 consecutive years and is currently one of only two municipalities in Ontario with a Triple-A credit rating from Standard and Poors, a further accomplishment of which Susan is extremely proud.
During her tenure as Mayor, the City of Brampton has been recognized for its outstanding leadership in a number of fields. For example, in 2006, Brampton won the title of National Champion in Canada’s annual Communities in Bloom competition, and was the first municipality in the Greater Toronto Area, and one of only ten in North America, to be designated as an International Safe Community by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Susan is currently the Vice-Chair of the Peel Regional Police Services Board, a member of the Large Urban Mayors Caucus of Ontario, an honorary Chair of the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, and sits on a number of other advisory boards and panels.
Susan represents the City of Brampton and the Region of Peel at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) as a national board member and a member of the Big City Mayors Caucus. Susan is currently the chair of FCM’s Ontario Caucus, and co-Chair of the Big City Mayors affordable housing working group.
In addition to her political career, Susan was the founder and first commissioner of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), a national association of elite calibre women’s hockey clubs from British Columbia to Quebec. Created in 1998, the NWHL is the world’s premier women’s hockey league.
Susan is a graduate of the University of Toronto (Hon. B.Sc.), and is an honorary member of the Kiwanis Club, Zonta International, Scouts Canada and the Business and Professional Women’s Club. Susan was honoured for her volunteer community service by Rotary International with its highest award, the Paul Harris Fellowship, and is a recipient of the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Lord Baden Powell Medal. Susan was also recently named honourary Chair of the United Achievers Club of Brampton.
Susan and her husband, John, have raised two sons (Michael and Joey) in Brampton.