John was born and raised in Calgary and resides in Ward 8 with his wife where he is raising his family. John has a passion for public service and community involvement. He realized this passion when he served as the President of the Scarboro Community Association and also as Chair of the Sunalta/Scarboro Coalition for Safer Communities in 2006.

John Mar is currently serving his second term as Alderman for Ward 8 of The City of Calgary. John has found that representing Ward 8 residents has been a rewarding challenge and he has gained a tremendous amount of experience in policy and decision-making over the past 6 years serving as your Alderman.

John’s strong commitment to reducing crime and to making our streets safer began before working in municipal government. A former Member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), John trained at Depot Division and was posted to Burnaby, British Columbia where he worked as a beat cop.

John earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dalhousie University and King’s College, in Halifax, Nova Scotia and also attended Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts under the New England-Nova Scotia Exchange Program.

John’s passion for public service and his commitment to community led him to first run to be your Alderman for Ward 8 in 2007. After a second successful campaign, John was elected with an unprecedented 53% of the popular vote, and given the opportunity by the people of Ward 8 to continue to dedicate his time and energy to City Hall to help make our city truly a wonderful place to live, work and play.

John has worked hard to build a strong reputation of being accessible and accountable to his constituents and for his ability to build effective links between various interest groups and citizens in addressing issues facing Ward 8 communities.