By Pepper Parr
November 10th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Ann Marsden delegating before Council
Jason Marsden advised us that Ann Marsden passed away this evening.
She passed at her home peacefully after being diagnosed with colon cancer back in June. Her husband Dave, sons Dale and Jason were by her side.
She had a renewal of vows back in September, which was also her celebration of life. “In my moms true fashion if she was paying for a party she was gunna be there and enjoy it” said son Jason.
Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.
Ann was a consistent and persistent citizen who delegated at City Hall frequently.
She once ran for the office of Mayor and for the office of chair of Regional Council.
She deserves much of the credit for the recent work at Veteran Square and for getting the fountain refurbished.
More later
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(This got lost in the troubles time you just fixed.)
Anne was a tireless leader for a long time, and I learned over that time that she was usually, to always, ignored and scorned by Mayors and Councilors, particularly when she went after their lack of following procedural rules, transparency and accountability, which I have found myself to be most of the time – Sitting Clerks have been leaving at light speed lately.
I note that the City says in the web pages on Transparency and Accountability, including the City Citizen Engagement Charter among other things.- “The City of Burlington is committed to maintaining transparency in our information and accountability in our processes.”
On the role of the Integrity Commissioner, the City says – “The role of the IC is to support the City’s ethical framework and enforce the Code of Good Governance. They provide guidance on various ethical codes and policies and investigate potential breaches of the Code.” Anne pointed me to these sections. The IC did not enforce Governance in my case in point.
My own experience provides correspondence to the Clerks Office, with evidence indicating breaches of transparency, accountability, ethics and breaches of the Codes that are relevant to the duties of the Clerks office as overseer of procedure and the written Codes of conduct.
I remember Anne going after them fearlessly for their failure, at times, to enforce all of these stated policies. Anne’s example will be sorely missed.
My heartfelt condolences to Dave and the family. I did not know she was so ill.
Anne was a tireless leader for a long time, and I learned over that time that she was usually, to always, ignored and scorned by Mayors and Councilors, particularly when she went after their lack of following procedural rules, transparency and accountability, which I have found myself to be most of the time – Sitting Clerks have been leaving at light speed lately.
I note that the City says in the web pages on Transparency and Accountability, including the City Citizen Engagement Charter among other things.- “The City of Burlington is committed to maintaining transparency in our information and accountability in our processes.”
On the role of the Integrity Commissioner, the City says – “The role of the IC is to support the City’s ethical framework and enforce the Code of Good Governance. They provide guidance on various ethical codes and policies and investigate potential breaches of the Code.” Anne pointed me to these sections. The IC did not enforce Governance in my case in point.
My own experience provides correspondence to the Clerks Office, with evidence indicating breaches of transparency, accountability, ethics and breaches of the Codes that are relevant to the duties of the Clerks office as overseer of procedure and the written Codes of conduct.
I remember Anne going after them fearlessly for their failure, at times, to enforce all of these stated policies. Anne’s example will be sorely missed.
My heartfelt condolences to Dave and the family. I did not know she was so ill.
My deepest love and condolences to Dave and family for Anne’s passing. I remember well the first day I met Anne and Dave under Anne’s favorite tree on a warm sunny day in Central Park. Anne & Dave’s stories and adventures have been so inspiring to me and I am grateful to have met such an incredible person in Anne. I just wanted to share a link to the story Anne & Dave shared with me, as part of a project about community by Kristen Harding, who remains in our thoughts and hearts:
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/473ad729e4.html#page/32
In gratitude,
Steven Barrow
At the Remembrance Day Ceremony this morning, Ann & Dave Marsden donated a wreath in memory of HM Queen Elizabeth II for her service in WWII.
Their wreath, and all the many others will remain at the Burlington Cenotaph in Veteran Square @ City Hall until 11:00 am November 13, 2025.
Such very sad news.
Anne spent numerous hours of time and energy over several years advocating for Burlington residents here and beyond. Anne will be dearly missed.
My sincere condolences to all of her family and friends.
God Bless Ann and May She Rest in Peace. I will miss her spunk and passion for the City!!
Ann Marsden will be missed. A tireless advocate for accountability, accessibility, and citizen voice, she reminded Burlington’s leaders why they were elected and who they serve. Whether challenging Strong Mayor powers, defending the public’s right to speak, or pressing for transparency in City Hall, Ann’s delegations reflected courage and conviction.
From her fight to preserve delegation time, to her insistence that budgets meet every legislated requirement, to her plainspoken critique of policies that silenced community voices. Ann Marsden spoke truth to power. She embodied the belief that democracy depends on participation, persistence, and principle.
Burlington has lost a passionate citizen, but her example will continue to inspire those who believe engaged residents make for better governance.
I spoke with several of my colleagues – former partners in the muddy trenches of civic activism – and all had high praise for Anne. There was also a common theme to our discussion as this unattributed quote from a very frequent delegator illustrates – “Anne was fierce and unrelenting and members of Council dismissed her every time. I hope none of them comments with some praise for her in death, because they paid her no attention nor paid her any respect in life.”
How sadly true.
This is sad news indeed. I know that Anne’s faith was a source of great strength and comfort to her. She also had an enduring belief in the innate goodness of people. This sense, together with her assumed duty to do good things, drove her to be a courageous and unflinching advocate for both those less fortunate and for the community as a whole. She will be sorely missed and the world will be a less rich and certainly a less interesting place without her. God speed good lady!
Anne was such a passionate advocate for transparency, democracy, and truly seeking a better Burlington for us all. She was also extremely kind and compassionate and stood up for others, always. Such courage! As Eve says, we will miss her voice. We need more like Anne. Deepest condolences to her family and friends.
My Sincere condolences to the Marsden family at this time . Mrs Marsden was a tireless advocate in the city of Burlington and her voice will be missed . Rest In Peace