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

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)”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 26, 2026 Meeting?

It’s near the end of the month, so it’s time for the regular meeting of city council. In keeping with a rather laid back May agenda, the outline for this meeting arrives with one one new item in addition to the all the things that were on the Committee of the Whole agenda, which were, for the most part, uncontroversial. Perhaps there will be some surprises, but for now, let’s check out the preview for this meeting… Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the May 26, 2026 Meeting?”

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

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)”

This Week at Council: Mixed Reviews for Fiscal 2025

Money matters were on the agenda for the May Committee of the Whole meeting! First up, the internal auditor returned with the results from the latest value-for-money audit, which this time focused on the building permits office. For the rest of the meeting, the City of Guelph’s finance staff officially closes the book on the 2025 fiscal year with the final report save for the outside auditor’s double check next month. For now, here’s the recap! Continue reading “This Week at Council: Mixed Reviews for Fiscal 2025”

RECAP: Heritage Committee Told Decision on McQuillan’s Bridge Coming to Council Next Month

Eleven minutes. That was how long it took for the Heritage Advisory Committee to get all their business done for this month. Several new designations were approved and there was a report about the cultural heritage impact of major proposed project downtown. The big news though was an update about the environmental assessment concerning a major piece of demolition by neglect, and when council will decide its fate. Here’s the (brief) meeting recap! Continue reading “RECAP: Heritage Committee Told Decision on McQuillan’s Bridge Coming to Council Next Month”

GUELPH POLITICAST #522 – The Year at Council… So Far (January to April)

Sure, it’s an election year, but that doesn’t mean that the current city council is coasting in their last year in office. The council calendar has been pretty busy these first four months of 2026, and some of the things that have kept them busy might surprise you. This week, if you don’t follow the news, or subscribe to this website, or have heard about it somewhere else, you will get your chance to catch-up on all the latest council business here. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #522 – The Year at Council… So Far (January to April)”

RECAP: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 5, 2026

The fourth may not be with them, but the fifth will be! 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: Committee of the Whole Meeting for May 5, 2026”

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Advisory Committee Meeting for May 7, 2026

This month’s Heritage Advisory Committee has a lot of new designations to offer as some pretty important properties have finally come up for designation. In other news, the heritage planning staff have notes concerning a tower project downtown and how it might impact another one of Guelph’s historic houses, plus there’s some mystery around what’s next for one of the city’s most famous bridges. Let’s check out what’s on the agenda! Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Advisory Committee Meeting for May 7, 2026”

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

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)”

This Week at Council: Debating Bumps in the Road at Regular Meeting

Straightforward regular council meeting to end April, right? (Albeit a week earlier than what have been expected.) Not so fast! The agenda was the confirmation of stuff that’s already passed, and the endorsement to create a Canadian Chinese Heritage Month, but there was apparently more to be said about traffic calming, and traffic calming options. What more was there left to say and how did the traffic calming policy change? Read the recap below… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Debating Bumps in the Road at Regular Meeting”