Candidate registrations closed across Niagara last Friday (Aug. 21), and the list for all twelve municipalities has been finalized. There were a few last-minute entries, some surprise additions and omissions, and evidence of a healthy interest in elective service. An overview of each municipality, its candidates, and the issues dominating the landscape will occupy this column’s space for the next while. Covering each candidate will not be possible, but providing some context for each town and city, focusing on the key races, and airing out the areas of disagreement, agreement, and compromise will allow the reader a chance to become better informed, learn some things about matters happening in other locales, and further investigate specific problems that they may believe the candidates are not adequately addressing. Remember, there will be no Regional Council races this term, and how the spectre of amalgamation gets handled will come down to the twelve mayors and the regional chair Premier Doug Ford appoints later in the fall.
Beginning with Fort Erie, an analysis of each area will set the stage for the coming campaign and outline what to expect as the election progresses through different phases. Regularly revisiting what’s happening on the ground will keep the races current and give readers up-to-date developments they can research at their convenience.
FORT ERIE
(Disclosure – my brother serves as mayor and will be running for a fourth consecutive term)
2022 – Results
- Turnout – 35%
- Mayor – Redekop 67%
- Candidates for councillor – 22
2026 – Candidates
- Candidates for Mayor – 4
- Candidates for councillor – 15
The mayor’s race in Fort Erie pits the long-serving head of council, Wayne Redekop, against three challengers, including Regional Councillor Tom Insinna, and two newcomers, Juan Liu and Mike Campbell. Redekop will seek a fourth consecutive term and seventh overall, having served from 1997 to 2006, and again since 2014. Although his website has not been updated, Redekop plans to maintain a strong presence on social media and will use his incumbency to emphasize that he remains the best choice for the border town. Insinna has the strongest name recognition among contenders, and his website outlines four areas on which he hopes to unseat Redekop. He seeks to protect local healthcare, respect taxpayers, support jobs and investment, and strengthen public safety. Insinna claims, “I have spent my career serving others, and I am ready to continue that service as Mayor of Fort Erie.” Mike Campbell appears to be a late entry and does not have a website at present. He uses his Facebook account to communicate, but this writer had difficulty finding any information about his proposed candidacy. As for Juan Liu, Ms. Liu has what she calls a “scientific plan” for mayor, which she has posted on YouTube. She sees everyone as the “true mayor” and believes that decision-making needs to return to citizens rather than to elected representatives. As the youngest candidate in the race at 37, and the only woman, she has been a resident of Crystal Beach for about 10 years.
Fort Erie has six wards. Councillor George McDermott will be acclaimed since no other candidate filed to run in Ward One. In Ward Six, Ann Marie Noyes will continue to represent the people of Stevensville for the same reason. As for the other wards, there will be a race in Ward Two as incumbent Councillor Nick Dubanow will face off against Jon Nadeau. Using his Instagram account, Nadeau, a local business owner, wants to emphasize the importance of protecting local identity and maintaining the close-knit community experience while allowing for reasonable growth. He would like to develop green spaces and ensure local healthcare. Dubanow expresses much of the same, with the added ability to speak to the exact nature of what the town needs because of his familiarity with the council and the town’s work to date.
In Ward Three, Councillor Darren Flagg faces two upstarts, including Jennifer Priestly, who runs a paralegal service in Ridgeway, and last-minute entrant Andrew Holdsworth, a process operator for the Niagara Region. Ward Four Councillor Joan Christenson has attracted the largest contingent ready to unseat her, with Matt Paul, Daniel Turner, and Tavis McGlashan all having filed candidate papers. Paul has a website filled with documents addressing issues he says the public has raised with him, while Turner and McGlashan (who filed at the end of the registration period) have not yet delivered specific proposals on social media that were easily located.
Finally, in Ward 5, Councillor Tom Lewis filed early but still has three competitors. Thomas Mete, a young man who seems to have a savvy understanding of social media, produced a very appealing video that could excite the youth. Scott Boumeester, who registered early, and Kassandra Ryerson, who turned this into a four-person race when she registered at the end of July. There should be some lively races in a town that has a large geographical footprint encompassing Fort Erie proper, as well as Ridgeway, Crystal Beach, and Stevensville, all part of Greater Fort Erie.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who worked part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar until being appointed Executive Director at Redeemer Bible Church in October 2023. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, earning a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
