John was born and raised in Calgary and resides in Ward 8 where he is raising his young family. John has a history of commitment to public service and community involvement. He served as the President of the Scarboro Community Association and also served 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 most exciting and rewarding challenge and he has gained a tremendous amount of experience in policy and decision-making on Calgary City Council.

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 North-eastern 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.

Since being elected in 2007, John has remained dedicated to working with his constituents to find real solutions to the City’s on-going challenges. Most notably, John is a strong advocate for affordable housing, re-investment in Inner City development and infrastructure and, of course, safer streets and communities for all of Calgary.

Currently, John serves as a Member to the following Standing Policy Committees: Community & Protective Services,Planning & Urban Development, Land & Asset Strategy, Priorities & Finance, Gas Power & Tele-Communications as well as serving on the Calgary Housing Company and Legal Governance Task Force. John has also been appointed Chairman of the Special Standing Policy Committee of Community & Protective Services. John has also served on the Leadership Committee of the City of Calgary’s Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness, Transit Public Safety Audit Sub-Committee and the Audit Sub-Committee on Snow and Ice Control as well as the Standing Policy Committee on Finance and Corporate Services, the Standing Policy Committee on Audit,  as well as two terms on the Calgary Police Commission, thus gaining a valuable insight on many facets of the detailed workings of the Corporation.

John is an active member of the Board of Directors for Simon House.

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