Bryan Paterson
Bryan Paterson (born March 16, 1977) is a Canadian politician serving as the 96th and current Mayor of Kingston, Ontario. Career. Paterson is an economics professor at the Royal Military College of Canada. Mayor. Paterson became mayor of Kingston after winning the election on October 27, 2014 with 38.15% of the vote. The first meeting of City Council was on December 2, 2014. Paterson was re-elected in 2018. Controversy. In 2014, Paterson came under scrutiny when two videos of him discussing the "hyper-sexualization" of youth appeared on social media. In the second video, Paterson notes his  desire to "raise up an army for God." In 2020, Paterson was accused of participating in conversion therapy while serving as a youth pastor at conservative Evangelical church Third Day Worship Centre. Paterson denied "certain claims" made by his alleged victim as "false and inaccurate." Paterson distanced himself from the church when videos surfaced of Third Day Worship Centre pastor Francis Armstrong giving sermons in which he made discriminatory remarks about the LGBTQ+ community and the Islamic Society of Kingston. Personal life. Paterson attends Third Day Worship Centre, a church that is non-denominational and evangelical.