Tag: 2026 Municipal Election

GUELPH POLITICAST #529 – The Trustee to Council Pipeline (feat. Linda Busuttil & Katherine Hauser)

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Half of city council is new in terms this being their first term in office, but that doesn’t mean that some of those people were politically inexperienced entering this office. For decades, the farm league for politicians has been the local school board, which is about as direct as democracy can get. Looking back at this term, and the rapid pace of change that councillors have had to deal with, have the councillors with that school board experience had a leg up? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #529 – The Trustee to Council Pipeline (feat. Linda Busuttil & Katherine Hauser)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #526 – What’s Next 2026? The Transit Struggle (feat. Steve Petric)

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This term has presented a lot of challenges to transit and transit users, not the least of which was ridership recovering following the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has, thankfully, not only returned but grown in the last four years. Logistically speaking though, there are other challenges to transit that have stacked up including financial pressures, but what else is coming for transit in the next four years? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #526 – What’s Next 2026? The Transit Struggle (feat. Steve Petric)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #525 – Election Skullduggery Already? (feat. Dylan McMahon)

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On Friday, Guelph Politico received a video of someone accessing the website “michellebowman.ca”. Michelle Bowman is a candidate running in Ward 2 in this fall’s municipal election, so one would think that if you typed in her name with the domain extension “.ca” that it would lead to her website. It doesn’t. Barely three weeks into this election, do we already need to have a conservation about the rules and ethics of running for local office? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #525 – Election Skullduggery Already? (feat. Dylan McMahon)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #523 – What’s Next 2026? Politics and Policing (feat. Chief Gord Cobey and Peter McSherry)

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Is there a bigger political lightning rod when it comes to the City of Guelph budget than the police budget? For some people, we spend too much on the police and at the expense of expanded funding for social services, and for others we don’t spend nearly enough on the police. As we look to the next term at city hall, what challenges around policing will be presented to the new council? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #523 – What’s Next 2026? Politics and Policing (feat. Chief Gord Cobey and Peter McSherry)” →

Mostly Familiar Faces Sign Up on First Day of Election Nominations

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The 2026 election got underway today at city hall as prospective candidates arrived throughout the day to file their papers for mayor, city councillor and school board trustee. By the end of the day, there were seven candidates on the ballot and while only one of them were an incumbent, it doesn’t mean that they’re new faces to the Guelph political scene. Let’s look at the keeners that couldn’t wait for the campaign to begin (for real). Continue reading “Mostly Familiar Faces Sign Up on First Day of Election Nominations” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #521 – One and Done (feat. Erin Caton & Michele Richardson)

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Near the end of every council term, we invite the rookies who were elected in the previous election onto this podcast to talk about their experience. This time it’s different because one, there were so many new councillors in 2022, and two, in this case, we have two people who’ve decided that one term is enough. How can just four years on Guelph city council possibly be enough? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #521 – One and Done (feat. Erin Caton & Michele Richardson)” →

REMINDER: Election Starts One Week From Today!

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In exactly one week, nominations will open for the 2026 municipal election, and then we’ll start the countdown to what looks like a big change in municipal governance this fall. between the change in Guelph’s mayor, what looks to be several new members of city council, and beisieged school boards, there will be a lot to sort out over the next couple of months, and to begin with, scroll down here see important dates, who can run, how you can vote, what coverage is coming up in Guelph Politico, and MOAR!!!! Continue reading “REMINDER: Election Starts One Week From Today!” →

RECAP: Guthrie Starts Farewell Tour at Breezy Breakfast

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For the first time since announcing that he will not run for a fourth term to be mayor in this fall’s municipal election, Cam Guthrie took questions about it from the people. Why did he decide that 12 years was enough? When did he decide? What are his greatest successes and frustrations while in office? The people gathered for this morning’s Breezy Breakfast wanted to know and they had many more questions for the outgoing mayor to answer. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Guthrie Starts Farewell Tour at Breezy Breakfast” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #511 – Gab Fest and Scrambled Eggs (feat. The Breezy Breakfast Gang)

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Breezy Breakfast has been one of the primary venues for local political discussion and information for the last 10 years. Now, not everyone can take time out first thing in their busy day to have a sit down breakfast and chew the fat about the doings at city hall, so presented here thanks to the miracle of digital recording tech is all the hot goss and chit chat that you missed when maybe you were on your way to work, or were maybe already there… Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #511 – Gab Fest and Scrambled Eggs (feat. The Breezy Breakfast Gang)” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #465 – How Do You Fill a Council Vacancy?

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These are busy days at Politico HQ. There’s a federal election on right now, and Guelph has become so big that it’s spread over two ridings with so far a dozen candidates vying to be the next Members of Parliament. If one candidate in particular is successful then that means there will be a vacancy on Guelph city council. What happens then? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #465 – How Do You Fill a Council Vacancy?” →