While best known as the head of Hulse, Playfair, and McGarry Funeral Chapels, McGarry also has 12 years of elected local experience and was recruited as a high-profile candidate to counter Dewar and Collenette.
McGarry, 64, sat on the Ottawa Board of Education between 1985 and 1994, including one term as chair. He was later elected to Ottawa-Carleton Regional Council for a three-year term.
He helped finance the Ottawa Senators' expansion bid and has worked for Kiwanis International, the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, and the Ottawa Senators Foundation among other groups.
Born in Wakefield in 1943, McGarry and wife Joan have three children. His funerary career began in 1962 under Charles Hulse and Keith Playfair, and has included time as president of the Ontario Funeral Service Association and the Funeral Service Asosciation of Canada.
He studied at Carleton University and the University of Toronto.
