Guelph Politico

GUELPH POLITICAST #501 – Ed Video Lives! A Christmas Special (feat. Julie René de Cotret)

Published on Dec 24, 2025Dec 23, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Christmas is a time to get together with old friends and for this podcast, there’s been no older friend in Guelph than the gang at Ed Video! Ed Video is one of the longest running arts centres in Canada, and has attracted a wide variety of artists over the years, but in the year 2025, we know that the arts are having trouble bouncing back from COVID. So why has this maybe been a good year for Ed Video despite it all? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #501 – Ed Video Lives! A Christmas Special (feat. Julie René de Cotret)” →

This Week at Council: Squares, Downloading, and Bike Lanes End 2025

Published on Dec 21, 2025Dec 20, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

It was the last council meeting of the year, and it’s been a wild ride, but there were at least a couple of surprises left for civic policy nerds before Christmas Break. Yes, as expected, council discussed the final, final design for St. George’s Square as council sought the ever nebulous “wow” factor. In addition to that there was some push back from council about changes to conservation authorities and a twist ending for fans of bike lanes. For the last time in 2025, here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Squares, Downloading, and Bike Lanes End 2025” →

POLICE NOTES: Vodka Theft Crew Sought, More Fake Bills, and An Investment Scam

Published on Dec 20, 2025Dec 20, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

There are 145,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot going on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days. Continue reading “POLICE NOTES: Vodka Theft Crew Sought, More Fake Bills, and An Investment Scam” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for December 16, 2025

Published on Dec 17, 2025Dec 18, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Let us wrap up a very busy, and a very difficult 2025 in the council chambers. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along with the thread below, or you can watch the whole meeting for yourself by watching it on the City’s website here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for December 16, 2025” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #500 – Unfinished Agendas (feat. Karen Farbridge)

Published on Dec 17, 2025Dec 15, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

It’s been over 10 years since Karen Farbridge left office, technically defeated in the 2014 election by then one-term City Councillor Cam Guthrie. It ended up being an end to her days in elected office, but Farbridge isn’t gone, and she certainly isn’t forgotten, and in the last few weeks she’s been the one doing the remembering with a new series of Substack newsletters about lessons she learned from her career in politics. But what more can she tell us? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #500 – Unfinished Agendas (feat. Karen Farbridge)” →

This Week at Council: More ADUs, But Four Units is Enough?

Published on Dec 14, 2025Dec 27, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

In the last planning meeting for 2025, there was indeed a lot of planning. No new projects were on the agenda, so no future additions to the housing stock, but maybe the fruits of this meeting will lead the way(?). In the first half, council talked about making it easier to get more ADUs built in the city, and in the second half they looked at doing more than four units as-of-right in low residential areas. Let’s get into the recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: More ADUs, But Four Units is Enough?” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #499 – Finally, a Good News Story in the Housing Crisis (feat. Kristen Cairney)

Published on Dec 14, 2025Jan 6, 2026 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

For years now, we’ve seen the pressures of housing and affordability explode into a crisis, and the answers to that crisis never seem to make themselves known. Maybe things are changing. In November, the City of Guelph and Wyndham House announced that by this time next year, they will have effectively ended youth homelessness in Guelph. What makes them so confident? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #499 – Finally, a Good News Story in the Housing Crisis (feat. Kristen Cairney)” →

POLICE NOTES: Distractors Outwitted, Another Bitcoin Scam and a Stolen Pizza Car

Published on Dec 13, 2025Dec 13, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

There are 145,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot going on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days. Continue reading “POLICE NOTES: Distractors Outwitted, Another Bitcoin Scam and a Stolen Pizza Car” →

RECAP: City Council Meeting for December 9, 2025

Published on Dec 9, 2025Dec 10, 2025 by Adam A. DonaldsonLeave a comment

Plans and planning will on the agenda for this second-to-last meeting for 2025! You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along during the meeting on Blue Sky or recap the complete thread after the meeting below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “RECAP: City Council Meeting for December 9, 2025” →