Alan Unwin

Alan Lawrence Unwin was a Canadian politician in Ontario. He served as Mayor of St. Catharines from 1994 to 1997.

Life and career

Unwin served as principal at Carlton School and Ferndale School in St. Catharines. He also chaired the St. Catharines Transit Commission in the mid-1980s.
In late 1994, he was elected mayor, winning election in a crowded field of nine candidates. He attempted to ban lap dancing in the city, and strongly opposed a 1995 court decision which legalized the practice. He attended a rally for the Reform Party in May 1997, in which party leader Preston Manning called for federal prisoners to be stripped of their voting rights.
Unwin also became chairman for the Ontario urban mayors caucus in 1997, during negotiations with the provincial government of Mike Harris on the cost of service downloads. He criticized Harris for refusing to meet with them directly, and claimed that cities were not given enough information to plan their budgets for the following year.
Unwin did not seek re-election in 1997. He endorsed Tim Rigby's successful campaign to succeed him as mayor.
Unwin died on May 10, 2024, at the age of 82.