Don Iveson's Biographical Information
- Date of Birth May 30, 1979
- Place of Birth Edmonton, Alberta
- Education Bachelor of Arts, University of Alberta
- OccupationNon-Profit Manager
- youngest current City Councillor
- advocacy director with the University of Alberta Students' Union
- elected to Edmonton City Council in 2007
- Re-elected in 2010
Don Iveson's Full Biography
Don Iveson was born on May 30, 1979 in Edmonton and has grown up in Edmonton’s Parkallen neighborhood. As a son of an education professor at the University of Alberta, he read a lot of books as a child, both fiction and non-fiction. As a child he was also very active as a scout and was included in debating. By 2001 he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta. During his college years he served as a managing editor of the Gateway, the university’s student newspaper. He also did student exchange during his last year, and ended up at the University of Toronto, and stayed there to serve as the president of the Canadian University Press for almost a year. After being there for two years, he took up a job as advocacy director with the University of Alberta Student’s Union, where he played a major, leading role in negotiations with the City of Edmonton where the students of University of Alberta fought for a Universal Transit Pass. Shortly after leaving the position, in 2007, he entered politics.
He ran for the Edmonton City Council, in ward 5, in the 2007 municipal elections. He focused his campaign on improvement of transit services, densification of housing and increased affordable housing. The election brought, what media called the election's biggest surprise, him ward's second council seat, being only behind Bryan Anderson.
Mayor of Edmonton, Stephen Mandel, assigned the environmental portfolio to Iveson as soon as he took office. With that in mind, he attended the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. His achievements also include endorsing a municipal tax on plastic bags and reduction of cosmetic pesticide use.
He is currently the youngest City Councilor, and after his election to Edmonton City Council for the first time in 2007, he was re-elected in 2010. He is married to a music teacher, Sarah Chan and they have a son named Dexter.