After graduation, Higdon worked with the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy on a curriculum development project at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). He subsequently lived in Toronto and southeast Asia, later moving to Ottawa. Higdon began his Ottawa career teaching at Ottawa Technical High School but quickly became involved in politics and started work on Parliament Hill in January 1982 for a Member of Parliament. Employed by the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from January 1984, he worked in the 1984 Canadian federal election as a member of the Progressive Conservative National Campaign Committee. Following the campaign, he served three years as Executive Assistant to a Cabinet minister. Higdon then became a self-employed consultant specializing in social and demographic research and communications. From 1988 to 1994 he was employed as a Senior Analyst for the Department of Communications.
After mayor Jim Watson's resignation in July 2000, Higdon was unanimously elected by Council as Acting Mayor of Ottawa until completion of his term of office in December. Higdon was defeated in the 2000 Ottawa municipal election by regional councillor Peter Hume, following the amalgamation of the city and regional government. Following his defeat, Higdon began work for the Government of Ontario - first as a member of the Social Benefits Tribunal, later the Alcohol and Gaming Commission and finally with the Licence Appeal Tribunal.
Personal life
Higdon has been active in the community in many volunteer capacities having been a member of the Board of the Riverside Hospital, the Central Canada Exhibition, the Great Canadian Theatre Company, the Confederation Centre for the Arts (Charlottetown, PEI) and a Trustee of the Ottawa Public Library, among others. He has also sung in several choirs.
