Nearly 50 mayors and reeves acclaimed in northeastern Ontario

Dave Plourde is no stranger to municipal politics — or to running an election campaign. Plourde has been on Kapuskasing town council for 28 years, including one term as mayor. 

Now for the first time he's running unopposed, and will serve as mayor for a second term.

"I found it a huge relief, just to not to have to run a campaign and get the signs out and do the door knocking that you see every term of council," Plourde said. 

Plourde is one of nearly 50 mayoral and reeve candidates in northeastern Ontario who have already been acclaimed ahead of municipal elections on October 24. While acclaimed candidates like Plourde can breathe a sigh of relief and relax as election day approaches, there's also the worry of why more people haven't put their names forward, and what message voters are sending.

"I hope this isn't a sign that you know, it's complacency maybe," Plourde said, adding that he hopes the lack of competition for the mayor's seat won't discourage people from voting for their town councillors. 

"I understand what it means to have a good team around the table. And you know I'm just one voice. So certainly it's important that people do get out and vote." 

Blind River short a candidate 

In Blind River, meanwhile, residents won't have any choice in the makeup of their next municipal council. Not only is Mayor Sally Hagman acclaimed for another term — all of the councillor candidates are acclaimed too. And in fact, the town is one candidate short, and will have to find a person to fill a vacant council seat later this fall. 

"I really find that it would have been more fun to have that council run, to have those discussions with other people that would want to run for council. We're going to be missing all of those things. And so when October 24th comes up, the council of Blind River will just treat it like another day," Hagman said. 

Hagman, who has served one term as mayor, said she did "not at all" expect a dearth of candidates in her town. 

"I don't know what message the residents are sending, because by not having other candidates, does this mean that you know the council did such a great job that the voters are wanting to have them back? Or possibly, did social media's rants and negative comments put people off that they don't want to get involved?"

Along with Blind River, 15 other municipalities in northeastern Ontario will have entirely acclaimed councils — including nearby Thessalon, Hornepayne, Armstrong, South River and Evanturel, to name a few. 

First-time mayor acclaimed in Chapleau 

In Chapleau, the entire municipal council has also been acclaimed. Unlike most others, the incoming Mayor is not an incumbent, and is new to council altogether. 

Ryan Bignucolo had previously run unsuccessfully for the position in 2014 and 2018. This time, no one else put their name forward for the job. 

"I took that as a sign everybody thought I was the right person for it, or someone would have ran against me," Bignucolo said.

He said the most common feedback he got from community members after the last two elections was that he wasn't spending enough time in the community. The pandemic changed that though, and Bignucolo said he plans to continue to travel less and spend most of his time at home in Chapleau going forward. 

While he may be new to council chambers, Bignucolo said he's ready to get to work. 

"Every new job has learning curves, you just have to surround yourself with some good people, work with the staff that you have and the managers, and put a good plan forward," Bignucolo said.  

Young voices 'a missing link' 

In Blind River, while Hagman praises a strong council that has worked well together, she also knows certain voices are missing — in particular, younger voices. She said just one of the town's current councillors is not a retiree. 

When October 24th comes up, the council of Blind River will just treat it like another day.— Sally Hagman, mayor of Blind River 

"The more we can engage our youth the more we can understand what is missing and what they would like to have present. So it's definitely a missing link," Hagman said, adding that she hopes when council looks at appointing a councillor later this fall to fill the vacant seat, that they're able to find a younger candidate to take on the role. 

And she hopes when the next municipal elections come around, there will be more candidates. 

"It is a very gratifying position, and I hope in the next four years we're able to communicate that to our residents so that they too would like to step up to the plate and see all the inner workings of our municipality and why we're so proud."