2026 Municipal Election: Northern Bruce Peninsula Candidate Q + A

I ‘m running for mayor as I believe Northern Bruce Peninsula deserves open, transparent and progressive leadership. Residents should have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, practical clear information about what their municipality is doing and confidence that their concerns are being heard. We need to look forward, embrace practical new ideas and make thoughtful decisions that serve our community today and into the future. My goal is simple, to head a council that listens, communicates and works for the people of NBP.

I worked 35 years for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency(CFIA) formerly Agriculture Canada, where I worked in enforcement and compliance of federal acts and regulations. My career gave me extensive experience working with legislation, regulations, compliance and enforcement, while also understanding the importance of finding practical solutions that work for the people they effect. I was part of the CFIA emergency response team performing various roles and had many responsibilities, from Making protocols, implementing emergency preparedness plans and making policies. I have served on many service clubs and the board of directors at the WRG. I volunteered in Kitchener Minor hockey and Baseball for over 20 years, At present day I volunteer on the Bruce trail maintenance team and I am the land steward for the Escarpment Biosphere on West road.

I believe effective decision making starts with listening, gathering facts, considering different perspectives and understanding how decisions will affect the community. I will bring a thoughtful, collaborative and accountable approach to decision making with a commitment to listening, asking the right questions and making the correct decisions in the best interests for our community today and for the next generations to come.

The municipality cannot control every cost but we can make thoughtful decisions that reduce financial pressure on residents without compromising services. I cannot promise to eliminate the cost of living challenges, responsible and practical solutions need to be made and ensure that every dollar is spent thoughtfully and is accountable.

My Position is that we should not automatically accept tax increases, or promise reductions without knowing the consequences. We need open discussion, careful scrutiny of spending and transparency. As a candidate until I have all the numbers I can not make a totally informed comment on our current rates. I do support the lowest possible tax rates possible to support our community.

I believe our biggest challenge is balancing affordability with the long term needs of our community, we need to maintain our infrastructure and essential services without placing unnecessary pressures on taxpayers, while addressing attainable housing and supporting year round businesses. We need open dialogue, responsible spending, long term planning and meaningful input from residents.

We need a specific plan for Northern Bruce Peninusla. Funded by Provincial and Federal Governments, County Contributions, Passenger fares, explore advertising, sponsorships opportunities.

I believe we can maintain services and infrastructure while working to moderate property tax increases, but it requires disciplined budgeting, long term planning and accountability.

I would not support an AI center in Northern Bruce Peninsula.

Look at Smaller lower cost homes, rental housing, possible non profit housing providers and re visit the STA numbers.

The Lions Head Arena is an important community asset, we need to make a decision based on facts, affordability and the long term needs of NBP. I would need to see what has been discussed by our current and previous councils and what studies or independent reviews have been done before making an informed decision. I would hope that it can remain in service.

I believe in putting our Community first! It has been my honour to serve as Mayor since amalgamation in 1999 and I would appreciate the opportunity to continue to be a Champion for our area. There will be many challenges facing our Municipal Council in the upcoming term and I am seeking re-election because I feel my local experience will beneficial for our future. Transparency, accountability and honesty have always been my practice and I will continue to encourage an open democratic process, listening to all sides of the issues. It is always important to me that we protect the image and reputation of our Municipality. My leadership style fosters cohesiveness with the goal of cultivating a strong Community.

Mayor since amalgamation in 1999.

My experience and knowledge of the area, plus recognizing the issues results in effective decision making.

Managed spending but there is very little of the tax dollars that can be controlled.

The current tax rate is possibly too low to support the Asset Management Plan deficiencies and infrastructure.

Balancing tourism with the quality of life for the residents and advancing infrastructure.

A Regional Transit Plan should provide reasonable access to all communities with a connection to Go Transit. It should be funded by the Province, Municipalities and User Fees.

Always looking for funding from the upper levels of government.

Planning and development are County responsibilities. They must develop policy to address the requirements that would need to be followed.

The Municipality has reduced the building square footage to 750, no development charges and provide land, if available. We have a Community Improvement Plan for the entire Municipality which means that other incentives could be considered.

A new arena in Lion’s Head was not part of the original plan. The plan was to bring the dressing rooms to ground level, increase the community centre and build a new library.

I am running to help continue with the work we have been doing over the last term.

I have had over 22 years experience in municipal politics as deputy reeve, Reeve and deputy mayor.

I have had experience in all aspects of municipal government having served on committees ranging from finance, roads. museum. airport. recreation and other pertinent roles.

It is very hard for a municipality to have any degree of control on factors out of our control such as fuel prices, food costs etc. We can offer some assistance with child care and recreation programs through grants and infrastructure.

Our current tax rate is one of the lowest but it does need to be increased to keep up with maintenance and services that we are falling behind on.

Infrastructure such as water and sewer is lacking and as a result growth (housing and businesses) is curtailed.

A true transportation network has to be consistent and be able to service all towns. It can only survive with municipal dollar input.

To maintain infrastructure (roads. arenas, etc) requires tax dollars. to keep taxes low means sacrificing some services. Which ones would be cut back? Recreation programs, road repair, garbage pick up?

By passing zoning that forbids such development.

Working on proper infrastructure to help support development of local housing initiatives. Water and sewer services and zoning for building multi dwellings.

In order to develop a new arena an area that is zoned, serviced and central must be planned for in order to obtain funding for building.

I have always been interested in Municipal government and hope to be involved in a larger capacity to advance existing projects and initiatives most important to the constituents of Northern Bruce Peninsula.

I was born and raised on the Bruce Peninsula and have lived here all my life. I am a farmer and small business owner. It was my honour to serve as a councillor of Northern Bruce Peninsula from 2018-2022. I presently volunteer on two Municipal committees which include the cemetery board and the drainage committee.

I will take into account data, professional expertise and stakeholder perspectives, preferences, and concerns before making decisions.

A municipality should try to be financially responsible so tax increases can be avoided.

The Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula has the lowest tax rate in Bruce County. Let’s keep it that way.

Water and wastewater facilities in the two larger hamlets of the Municipality.

Any transit system would be a good idea for our remote area. Start with a seasonal plan and expand from there. We would need provincial funding and pay-per-use to make it viable.

I would increase federal and provincial financial support requests so as not to burden residents with tax increases.

Data centre development can be controlled by zoning bylaws and moratoriums in Municipalities.

MNBP has already limited short term accommodation licences, amended bylaw to provide additional dwelling units and lowered the square footage required on new builds to help increase the housing supply.

I would recommend requesting federal and provincial funding for a new build.

I have enjoyed my first term. So much more to accomplish for our community.

Prior to my first term, my many years on the board of directors of the Canadian Bison Association.

Common sense approach.

Be fiscally responsible and no development charges.

Lowest in Bruce County.

Funding new infrastructure.

Funded by province.

More pressure on provincial and federal governments.

Good question, we all need to work together.

Be prepared for new developments with all the required infrastructure.

We need a new arena.

I’m running because big decisions are coming and I want to help make them carefully. Over the next few years council will weigh water and wastewater upgrades, the Lion’s Head Arena and other aging infrastructure. Together these run into the tens of millions of dollars, and our tax base is small.
My wife, Jill, and I have owned our property in Barrow Bay since 2017 and have lived and worked here since 2021. We have made some great friends and are truly committed to our community, where families, seniors and working people can afford to live, not only a place people visit.
I’m running to bring a practical, numbers-first approach to council: publish the full cost and per-household tax impact before any major vote, pursue senior-government funding, sequence projects instead of stacking them, and make sure visitors and growth pay their fair share. Residents should always know what a decision costs before it is made.

I studied Economics at Western and spent my career where business, finance and technology meet. In the 1980s I was a Senior Systems Analyst at an embassy in Washington, D.C., building software used by embassies and consulates across North America and Europe.
Back in Canada I started a software company serving the waste industry, and later served as the numbers person for the Canadian division of one of North America’s largest waste management companies, bridging management, finance and IT. Collection costs, truck replacement, contracts and budgets are exactly what a municipality deals with every day.
Throughout this campaign I’ve attended meetings, read the budgets and spoken with residents about what matters to them.

Good decisions start with good information. My career has been about taking complicated, expensive questions, putting real numbers on them, and asking what happens if the assumptions turn out to be wrong. I will read the staff reports, ask for the full cost over the life of a project, and want to see alternatives, including a tender or a market check, before we commit. I also believe in separating “need to have” from “nice to have”, and in recording votes on major spending clearly so residents can see who decided what.I’m also a good listener. This municipality includes Tobermory, Lion’s Head, and many smaller villages as well as rural areas, and each has different needs. Seasonal residents, year-round residents, seniors, young families and business owners all deserve to be heard before decisions are made, not after. I’ll work respectfully with staff and fellow councillors, and I’ll be direct with residents about the trade-offs.

A municipality can’t control grocery or gas prices, but it controls the part of the bill it sends us. The most direct step is to keep property tax increases near the rate of inflation, going above only for essentials, with a separate recorded vote and the per-household cost published. Beyond that: Control costs by tendering or market-testing major purchases and contracts. Seek every available provincial and federal grant before turning to the tax base. Use tools like the Municipal Accommodation Tax, parking fees and development charges so visitors and new growth carry their share, rather than year-round residents. Keep user fees for recreation and services reasonable, especially for seniors and families. Support local jobs by encouraging shoulder-season tourism and small business. Make it easier to build housing at all price points. Every dollar council spends is a dollar a household has to find. That should be in the room at every budget meeting.

Our rate is lower than some neighbours’, but the trend concerns me. The municipal rate rose about 8.3% in 2024 and about 8.1% in 2025, and the levy has grown roughly 22% since 2023. Over the same period inflation ran around 2% to 4%. Nearby municipalities have been moving more slowly: South Bruce Peninsula, Saugeen Shores and Bruce County have generally been in the 3% to 5% range. Part of this is catching up on real needs, and I don’t want to pretend otherwise. But increases at this pace are hard on seniors, fixed-income households and young families, and they are not sustainable if big projects are coming. My target is an operating-budget increase near inflation, roughly 2%, with exceptions only for genuine essentials, voted on separately and with the cost per household published. Residents should be told plainly what each increase pays for and what was considered instead.

Paying for infrastructure without pricing residents out. Water and wastewater upgrades in Tobermory and Lion’s Head, the Lion’s Head Arena, roads and other assets add up to tens of millions of dollars, and no combined cost has been published. Debt is expensive: every $1 million borrowed over 30 years costs roughly $61,000 a year in payments. This issue touches almost everything else. It affects tax rates, housing, whether seniors can stay in their homes, and what we can offer young families and local businesses. Water and wastewater capacity also decides where housing can be built. The answer is open planning: publish the total costs and the per-household impact before votes, sequence projects, maximize senior-government grants, make sure users of new systems and visitors carry their share, and avoid land purchases and commitments that have no funding plan behind them.

For a rural, spread-out area like ours, transit should be practical and right-sized, not a copy of an urban system. That likely means on-demand or scheduled shuttle service connecting Tobermory, Lion’s Head, Wiarton and Owen Sound. It would serve seniors, youth, workers and people without a car, and in summer it could carry visitors to reduce parking pressure at trailheads and downtown Tobermory. Funding should come first from provincial and federal transit and rural-connectivity programs, shared fairly among the participating counties. Seasonal visitor-linked revenue, like the Municipal Accommodation Tax, and user fares could cover part of the cost. I would not support a system that relies mainly on our local property tax levy. I’d want to see the study’s ridership numbers and full costs, and a pilot before long-term commitments.

Start with an honest asset management plan: know what each road, building and water system costs to maintain and replace, and plan reserve contributions steadily, rather than
facing surprise bills. Then: Sequence major projects so we’re not paying for several at once. Apply for every grant and have projects ready to go when funding opens. Tender or market-test major purchases and contracts, and review the full life-cycle cost, not just the first-year price. Use development charges and the Municipal Accommodation Tax so growth and visitors share the load. Sell or repurpose surplus municipal land and underused assets. Publish the per-household cost before major spending votes. Maintenance is cheaper than replacement. Deferring repairs just moves the cost to a future council and a bigger bill.

Prepare before a proposal arrives. Data centres use large amounts of electricity and water, can bring noise and traffic, and often create few permanent jobs. The Bruce Peninsula’s groundwater, shoreline, dark skies and tourism economy are assets worth protecting. Council should: Review zoning and official-plan policy now, so a developer doesn’t set the terms first. Require independent studies of water use, power demand, noise and environmental impact. Insist on full public consultation, with notice well beyond the minimum. Ensure the municipality is never asked to subsidize the project through tax breaks, or to take on servicing costs for it. Seek a community benefit agreement with binding commitments and penalties. Coordinate with Bruce County, neighbouring municipalities and Indigenous
communities. Not every investment is good for us. If a proposal can meet strict conditions and protect our water and character, council can consider it. If it can’t, we should say no.

Housing is limited by land, servicing and rules, and a municipality influences all three. Make it simpler to add secondary suites, garden suites and small units on existing lots, with clear, fast approvals. Prioritize water and wastewater capacity where housing is most appropriate. Review municipally owned land for surplus parcels that could support affordable or workforce housing, or sell them with conditions that require housing. Work with Bruce County, which delivers housing programs, and with non-profit builders on seniors’ and rental housing. Use zoning and policy to protect long-term housing from conversion to STA’s: I support limiting STA’s in residential areas and reducing them gradually. Use development-charge and fee policies to encourage smaller, attainable units. Our workers, seniors and young families need places to live here, and our businesses can’t hire without them.

Lion’s Head needs a safe, working arena, and residents shouldn’t be left guessing. The best course is a clear decision process with real numbers. A 2024 consultant estimate put replacement at about $15.9 million, with a repair path closer to $8.25 million over 11 years. Earlier plans for a $17-million loan were paused, and the municipality has since purchased land for a possible future facility without a design or costing. First, keep the current arena safe and operating. Second, publish full costed options, repair, renovate or rebuild, with the per-household tax impact of each. Third, aggressively seek federal and provincial grants, and community fundraising and partnerships, before borrowing. Fourth, hold public meetings with users, seniors, youth and ratepayers before council votes.

I’m running because I am, and always have been, an active member of the community. I’d rather be involved in decisions that affect our area in a positive way, than just sit back and critique. I feel I am approachable, and the support I have been given in the past reinforces the fact that I try to be a balanced and informed representative.

I have served a total of four terms on council, including the previous two. I took a long break after my last term on St Edmunds council, and my first term on the new municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula. Working full time, being a mother, and an involved councillor is not an easy task. We would all be well served, I believe, by having more of this demographic in decision making roles. I have, whether on council or not, served literally on dozens of boards and committees. All were good learning experiences and taught me the value of listening, and working with others, for positive outcomes.

Councillors don’t make decisions in a vacuum; not to mention you have 1 vote in 5 (in MNBP). I try to listen to my community as much as possible, research issues and then present my views to my fellow councillors on the issue. I can say our council is very good to listen. I try to elicit their understanding and support…if this doesn’t work, I cry. (Kidding)

The obvious way a municipality can address cost of living concerns is to keep taxes reasonable. Municipalities also face many increased costs….have you done any road construction lately? Our municipality has one of the highest kms of roads to maintain per ratepayer. If we put off something today, you can be sure it will cost even more tomorrow. In order to maintain taxes, services would have to be cut. Some of the people who most need our support may be affected. Who decides what services are important or expendable? Well, I guess that would be council, but any decision would have to be well thought out. We are competing for grants, etc. from senior levels of government. We need to be diligent and firm in our requests, as both Ontario, and Canada benefit from visitors to this area.

Our current tax rate is the lowest in Bruce County. However, we have been using up reserves. Our long standing mayor, Milt McIver has always pushed the importance of having reserves, and this has certainly been to our benefit. Wages, road work, etc. have increased so much….and it doesn’t look much better in the future. Many in our municipality own their own home, or have a piece of property, because we are primarily rural, but this doesn’t mean they have a high income. We may have to make some tough choices.

I believe we have several top priority issues, but if I had to pick the toughest, I would say that; as tourism is becoming our number one economic driver, seasonability is the biggest factor. We aren’t like the Collingwood area who are fortunate to have downhill skiing, etc in the winter..and the facilities to enhance the experience. I will give a thumbs up to the National Park, who have been piloting some winter programs and trying to bring more of an all season program to the park. I think this will take awhile (especially since we can’t count on what snow we will have), but with changes in tourism happening in Canada, I have faith.
This still won’t alleviate the fact that most of the shops and restaurants (especially on the north end of the peninsula) have to close for the winter. This loss of income, and activity, while welcomed by some, is challenging financially for many. Activity begets activity, and the reverse is also true.

I would have to be better informed than I am now, to answer this. There is a “volunteer” driver system in our area…if say, seniors need to go for drs appts. Any services need to be well advertised, so our seniors know about them. A call to the municipal office could help, and we are going to make an effort at council to make sure these services are better known.

This is a tough question, however, I have made my objection to the amount of funding we turn over to Bruce County very clear. Approximately half of our collected taxes are turned over to Bruce County. By even their own figures, we get less “bang for our buck” than any other municipality in the county. I believe that more of these tax dollars should stay in the municipality, where we can direct where they are most needed…..this needs to change at the county level..I havent been successful in this…but I havent given up.

I would doubt this would happen in MNBP…but I guess stranger things have happened. Again I would have to better educate myself before commenting. I watch CNN (too much, maybe)…so we will see what happens elsewhere.

This is one of the toughest questions municipalities face right now, especially in a mainly rural area such as ours.
Some of the changes initiated by the province in planning regulations should alleviate some situations….ie: the ability to have more than one housing “unit” on a lot. Depending on circumstances, this can be what was previously called a “granny flat”, or actually a completely detached until. There are various other options..which an appt at the planning dept. can help explain. We havent seen a lot of this being taken advantage of yet in our municipality, however in time I can see that if properly regulated, it could be very helpful. It is counterproductive, however, when unnecessary “studies” circumvent the intended result.