We Meet Canada’s Most Controversial, but Somehow Longest-Serving, Big City Mayor

Saskatoon's bumbling mayor may soon be relieved of two of his most prominent distinctions, should his controversy-drenched reign end this October.

Mayor Don Atchison's first noteworthy distinction being the longest serving mayor in Saskatoon's history, and through no fault of his own, the longest tenured big city mayor in Canada right now.

Atchison's second, more notorious distinction, is being "Canada's Craziest Mayor," as dubbed by Rick Mercer way back in 2003. Keep in mind, this was long before the rise and fall of Toronto's Rob Ford, when mayoral antics in Canada were somewhat more innocuous.

VICE chatted with Mayor Atch over the summer on some of the infamy that branded his career early on, including that title of "Canada's Craziest".

"For me, it's always about innovation," Atchison told VICE when asked about his title. "A lady called me one day and said 'that's a great honour.' Because her grandfather had been a mayor of another city in Canada and she said 'mayors like you are the mayors that get things done.'"

For Atch, his "craziness" campaign kicked off around the same time as his mayoral campaign. While still a city councillor, his mayoral run included plunking himself curbside of busy intersections, armed with a campaign sign and suspended dignity, and spent hour after hour beaming a smile and waving to oncoming traffic. This strategy, which has since been outlawed, somehow proved successful as he won a tight four-way race.

Not to be outdone by himself, nine days into his first term, Atchison instituted formal attire policy that required citizens visiting the mayor's office to wear a shirt and tie. The policy was met with immediate backlash for both its discriminatory nature, and the overt fact that the dude owns a tie store. He dropped the policy on his tenth day.

"People were coming in here wearing cutoffs, sandals, tank-tops, swimming trunks, sweatpants, and so we implemented it for all of 12 hours," Atch says, reflecting back on his controversy.

"That's what it was all about. Do you really think you should wear swimming trunks into the office?"

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I also asked Atch about his proposed "Atreos," an $80-million, ten-story, climate-controlled glass dome that would enclose downtown Saskatoon. Over a decade later, he's well aware the idea has become the stuff an infamy, but he still doesn't concede that the idea is crap.

"If you think about it, in Vegas on Fremont Street, they didn't glass it in. What they did was just covered it in and then ran videos on the roof of it to attract people into the downtown area," Atchison says.

"People have phoned me later and said to me 'I was at such-and-such a place. I saw that idea. I guess you're not so crazy after all. It's a great idea.' [I would respond suggesting,] well you just finished saying you thought I was crazy until you saw it yourself. Why don't you help me out? 'Oh hell no, I don't want people to think I'm crazy,'" Atchison adds.

If you're wondering how this man has been able to remain Saskatoon's mayor for 13 years, you're not alone. But the right-leaning politician appeals to the business and industry communities of a notoriously conservative city. Saskatoon's biggest growth has been under his watch, since he took office, the GDP in Saskatoon has grown 70 percent and 50,000 jobs have been created [according to Atch himself], 2007 to 2014 saw the city's economy averaging 5 percent growth. And, he's also a genuinely nice guy, has simple way of speaking, and perpetually looks as if he's ready to crack a knock-knock joke.

But that demeanour has been a catalyst for controversy. He shrugged off perpetual racism allegations from the Indigenous community by claiming Saskatoon was "eons ahead" of Winnipeg, and referred to sexual orientation as "lifestyle choices" following the Orlando shooting (the statement was later blamed on a spokesperson). The ignorance of that comment wasn't exactly an unfamiliar sentiment, considering he's never accepted an invitation to the city's annual Pride Parade, calling up an array of excuses every year, which is always followed by the queer community calling bullshit.

He seems to struggle to grasp modern urban life issues like gentrification, profiling, and bike helmets. He advocated for more carding and random street checks even though Saskatoon already ranks first among Canadian cities in both of those categories.

When chatting with VICE about a gentrified neighbourhood, he immediately shows his enthusiasm for it.

"If you look at 20th Street [in Riversdale] today, my goodness. You look at all the restaurants. I can't recall any area of the city that has been in more magazines—national or international […] which for me is thrilling."

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But when prompted to comment on the number of long-time residents being priced out of their neighbourhood, he counters with: "If I had the answer for you today, you and I wouldn't be talking right now. I would be an awfully wealthy man," he says.

Even when talking with VICE about recently constructed bridge in the city, he makes an outlandish comparison in order to inflate its importance. "People tell me how [the new bridge] changed their lives," he says. "A lot of people before the Circle Drive South Bridge considered it to be, in a lot of ways, like the Berlin Wall. East against West. How often do you hear today about East versus West?".

Throw a stone in Saskatoon and you're bound to hit one of his burned-out critics. Sure, Saskatoon is a beautiful city with rich Indigenous history, scenic river valley, and generally friendly people. But the city is somewhat in its adolescence, and it's not developing without its share of blemishes. There's quietly anHIV epidemic in the Saskatoon area, in 2015 it had the highest crime rates in Canada [third in homicide, second in robbery, gold in aggravated assault], it has the highest rate of carding and random street checks in Canada, and many historic buildings, landmarks, and neighbourhoods are falling victim due to neglect or corporate takeover.

Meanwhile, Atch has largely been concerned, many believe, with preserving his own personal legacy. From the over-budget, behind-schedule, awkwardly titled $106 million Remai Modern Art Gallery, which the public was never consulted on to the near half million spent on decorative lights on a now defunct bridge, the big and shiny has always seemed to appeal to Atch, and his council is willing to not only spend but provide special deals and abatements to ensure these mega projects are a towering success. Saskatoon has seen record spending under Atchison, and with a city debt that's expected to rise to almost $500 million in the next five years, priorities are certainly suspect.

He's currently hot on the re-election campaign trail, and voters will decide his fate on October 26. He faces his most threatening challengers since taking office, popular city councillor Charlie Clark, and urban/regional planner Kelley Moore. The incumbent is trumpeting the improved police morale and construction of that Berlin-Wall-like bridge as evidence of his competence, while advocating, unsurprisingly, more big buildings and more random street checks. Atch told VICE "thank goodness for democracy," clearly confident with extending his record-breaking tenure.

"I guess the people will decide when they go to vote whether or not they like the direction the city has one, with the prosperity and that, over the last thirteen years," Atchison says. "What visions we have or what goals we have in mind."

Thank goodness for democracy, indeed. It remains to be seen if Atch will ever pull off that dreamlike vision of a domed and tie-clad heterosexual wonderland, but with challengers Clark and Moore splitting the lefty vote, history tells us Atch's comedy of errors just might have another act.