Adrian A.A. Heaps, Councillor
Adrian Heaps comes from a family dedicated to action and change. His grandfather was A.A. Heaps, a former City of Winnipeg councilor and M.P for 16 years. As a tribute to his grandfather, and because they share the same initials, Adrian’s name at City Hall will be known as A.A. Heaps.
His father was one Canada’s decorated war heroes while his mother worked for the United Way Family Services agency for over 20 years.
Adrian’s commitment to improving the quality of life for the citizens of Toronto is driven by his belief that people need the “tools, resources, and direction to take control of their own lives.” The opening of his Ward 35 Community Office is the first step to providing these vital elements of building communities in Ward 35 and Toronto.
As a new member of Council, Adrian’s agenda will be to learn from the best practices already in place ... “and to contribute new ideas and activities that build towards the kind of city we can all be proud of.”
With a background in cultural, community and economic development, Adrian’s work has spanned a number of careers that have taken him to South East Asia, Europe, Guyana, Colombia and First Nation communities in Ontario.
Originally, Adrian started work in the cultural industries, working in production and then as an administrator for various theatre companies and festivals. Over the years his career evolved from theatre to television and then to the music industry, where he was Vice-President of one of Canada’s most vibrant independent music companies. Adrian worked with many Canadian recording artists on the domestic and international stage.
This experience led to Adrian working on a number of marketing studies for the Canadian music industry commissioned by the Canadian government, where he worked in Western Europe and finally South East Asia.
In 1990 Adrian formed his own company to work on the broader issues of tourism, cultural and community development. In this capacity he has worked with municipalities and organizations as a consultant to tourism strategies and economic based activities.
His work in this field has allowed him to apply his broad experience to government and private sector organizations overseas in such locales as Guyana and Colombia, where he has worked on a variety of issues and activities, all aimed at improving the delivery of policies and programs in those countries.
Adrian and his family have lived on First Nation communities in Ontario, where Adrian was responsible for creating environmental and waste management programs and also negotiated one of the first partnerships between the provincial Government and First Nation Communities for waste reduction.
Adrian and his family have lived in Scarborough Southwest for the past 20 years. With one son in public school and one daughter in Birchmount Collegiate’s exceptional athlete program, Adrian’s oldest son is editor of Corporate Knights, Canada’s leading magazine on corporate social responsibility. His wife is an elementary French and ESL teacher.
Adrian cycles to City hall whenever possible and has run four marathons.
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Adrian's ABCs (Agencies, Boards and Commissions)
Toronto Cycling Advisory Committee - Chair
Disabilities Issues Committee - Chair
Scarborough Community Council