Please let us know you plan on attending - tickets are free: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/burlington-mayoral-candidates-debate-tickets-1998110191370 Excitement is building across the community as Focus Burlington moves forward with plans for what promises to be a highly engaging and informative mayoral debate ahead of the 2026 municipal election. With a venue selected, a date secured, and invitations already extended … Continue reading Focus Burlington Gears Up for a Dynamic 2026 Municipal Election Season
Opinion – Shattering Decorum: What Burlington Voters Should Know Before October
Sometimes the most important decisions made in a council chamber are not the ones that receive the headlines. They are the procedural decisions – like the ones that determine who will chair the meeting, how debate is managed, how votes are taken, and ultimately how the public record is created. While these matters may seem … Continue reading Opinion – Shattering Decorum: What Burlington Voters Should Know Before October
Opinion – AI Data Centres Are Becoming the New Challenge for Cities – What you Should Know or Do
Across Ontario, municipal councils are increasingly finding themselves on the front lines of the artificial intelligence boom. Hamilton City Council recently voted overwhelmingly to prepare an Interim Control By-law that would temporarily pause approvals for new data centres while staff study their long-term impacts. At the same time, Toronto is working to develop a planning … Continue reading Opinion – AI Data Centres Are Becoming the New Challenge for Cities – What you Should Know or Do
Opinion: Freeman Station: A Wake-Up Call Burlington Can’t Afford to Ignore
Recent developments surrounding Freeman Station should serve as a long-overdue wake-up call for the City of Burlington. For years, the station sat on lands that, while not without uncertainty, at least provided a sense of continuity. Today, with that property now in new hands, the context has fundamentally changed. Layer onto that the troubling realities … Continue reading Opinion: Freeman Station: A Wake-Up Call Burlington Can’t Afford to Ignore
Strong Mayor Powers: The Stratford Case for Democracy
Democracy is not a spectator sport, but in Ontario, it has increasingly become a target for executive overreach. While some municipalities like Burlington have spent their energy fiddling around the edges with non-binding policies to mitigate the impact of the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, the City of Stratford has chosen a more courageous, albeit … Continue reading Strong Mayor Powers: The Stratford Case for Democracy
Opinion – Strong Mayor Powers: If Council Doesn’t Understand Them – How Can They Govern Them?
At Burlington’s upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting on May 11, Council will consider Agenda Item 8.3 - adopting “Guidelines for the Use of Strong Mayor Powers.” On its face, this looks like a responsible step toward accountability. I have submitted a letter to the City Clerk for the public record, raising concerns about the … Continue reading Opinion – Strong Mayor Powers: If Council Doesn’t Understand Them – How Can They Govern Them?
Opinion – Burlington’s 2026 Mayoral Race: A Voter’s Guide to Cutting Through the Rhetoric
The political landscape in Burlington has shifted. The 2026 mayoral race, has been a field of speculation, suddenly ignited by the entry of Ward 3 Councillor Rory Nisan. Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns announced earlier that she was running. The race is now no longer just about the incumbent; it is a battle over economic … Continue reading Opinion – Burlington’s 2026 Mayoral Race: A Voter’s Guide to Cutting Through the Rhetoric
Strong Mayor Powers – The Backstory
The Made-in-Canada Housing Crisis Ontario’s housing crisis - and the introduction of Strong Mayor Powers (SMPs) - did not emerge overnight. They are the product of decades of federal and provincial policy choices. Beginning in the 1980s, the federal government steadily reduced its role in social housing. In 1993, it ended funding for new social … Continue reading Strong Mayor Powers – The Backstory
Strong Mayor Powers – How They Actually Work
Second in a Four-Part Series Municipal governance in Ontario entered a new era under the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act.2022 A mayor now holds a suite of executive-style tools more commonly associated with corporate leadership than with council chambers. These powers include shaping and tabling the municipal budget, vetoing certain council decisions, requiring a supermajority … Continue reading Strong Mayor Powers – How They Actually Work
Strong Mayor Powers: The Institutional Verdict
Third in a Four-Part Series Introduction The first article in this series examined how strong mayor powers were introduced. The second explored how they function in practice. This instalment explores: what do Ontario’s leading municipal institutions and professional bodies actually think of them? Some of the answers are neither simple nor flattering Across academic, administrative, … Continue reading Strong Mayor Powers: The Institutional Verdict