How Municipal Council Races Are Shaping Up Across Grey & Bruce Counties
Four sitting mayors haven't filed (two won't), some council benches sit empty, and others are getting crowded. Here's where every Grey-Bruce race stands 12 days before nominations close.
Four sitting mayors across Grey and Bruce counties are not on their municipalities’ candidate lists with 12 days left to file, and in several municipalities the council benches remain thin or empty.
Nominations close Friday, August 21 at 2 p.m. Candidates may withdraw up to the same deadline, so every field below can shrink as well as grow.
Owen Sound Current reviewed the published candidate lists for all 17 lower-tier municipalities in Grey and Bruce on August 9. Some races are crowded — South Bruce Peninsula has 4 candidates for mayor and 10 competing for 3 council seats.
Others have no one at all: Georgian Bluffs has five council seats and no registered candidates, and Northern Bruce Peninsula has just a single name on the ballot for any municipal office.
Where the number of certified candidates does not exceed the number of seats, no vote is held for that office and the clerk declares those candidates elected.
Where there are fewer candidates than seats, nominations reopen for that office on Wednesday, August 26 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. If a seat is still empty after that, no one is elected to it, and the new council must fill it within 60 days — either by appointing someone or by calling a by-election.
Which of those applies is set by a policy each municipality was required to adopt before the election, not by a fresh decision of the incoming council.
Four Mayors Not on the Ballot, So Far
Two have said publicly they are stepping down.
Ross Kentner in Meaford told supporters during the 2022 campaign that he would serve a single term, and announced this year that he will not seek re-election.
Andrea Matrosovs in The Blue Mountains announced in April that she will hang up both her mayor’s and warden’s chains of office in November. Matrosovs has served as Grey County warden for the past two years, acclaimed to the role both times she sought it.
Scott Mackey in Chatsworth and Milt McIver in Northern Bruce Peninsula have not filed and have not publicly said whether they intend to. McIver has been mayor of Northern Bruce Peninsula since at least 2010.
A fifth, Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy, is also not on his city’s list and has said he is not seeking re-election.
Who’s Running Across Grey County
Most councils in Grey and Bruce have seven members: a mayor, a deputy mayor and five councillors. The counts below are for councillor seats only — mayor and deputy mayor races are listed separately in each entry.
Town of the Blue Mountains — Three candidates for mayor: Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon, Marni Moreau and Paul Reale. Mayor Andrea Matrosovs is not seeking re-election. Gail Ardiel is the only candidate for deputy mayor. Ten candidates are running for five council seats.
Municipality of Meaford — Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney is the only registered mayoral candidate. Mayor Ross Kentner is not seeking re-election. Robert Uhrig is alone in the deputy mayor’s race. Seven candidates are running for five council seats.
Township of Georgian Bluffs — Mayor Susan Carleton is unopposed so far. Deputy Mayor Grant Pringle is likewise the only candidate for his seat. No one has registered for any of the five council seats. The Current has asked the township to confirm its list is current.
Township of Chatsworth — Deputy Mayor Terry McKay faces Councillor Shawn Greig for mayor. Mayor Scott Mackey has not filed. Diana Rae and Peter Whitten are contesting deputy mayor. Two candidates, Margie Stafford and Brenda Robertson, have filed for three council seats.
Municipality of Grey Highlands — Three-way mayoral race: Mayor Paul McQueen, Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen and Mark Brown. Joel Loughead and Tom Allwood are contesting deputy mayor. Four candidates have filed for five council seats.
Town of Hanover — Mayor Sue Paterson faces Deputy Mayor Warren Dickert. Selwyn Hicks, the former deputy mayor and Grey County warden who lost that seat to Dickert in 2022, is the only candidate for deputy mayor. Five candidates have filed for five council seats — enough for acclamation if no one else files.
Municipality of West Grey — Mayor Kevin Eccles and Deputy Mayor Tom Hutchinson are each unopposed so far. Three candidates — Scott Foerster, Jordan Hoxie and Deidter Stadnyk — have filed for five council seats.
Township of Southgate — Mayor Brian Milne and Deputy Mayor Barbara Dobreen are each alone on the ballot. Five candidates have filed for five council seats.
How Bruce County Races Are Shaping Up
Town of Saugeen Shores — Mayor Luke Charbonneau, acclaimed in 2018 and 2022, faces Jeff James. Deputy Mayor Diane Huber is unopposed. Bud Halpin and Don Matheson are contesting vice deputy mayor after David Myette withdrew. In the wards, Rachel Stack is alone in Port Elgin after Halpin withdrew to run for vice deputy; three candidates are running in Saugeen ward and five in Southampton. Each ward elects two councillors.
Municipality of Kincardine — Mayor Kenneth Craig faces Councillor Bill Stewart. Councillor Rory Cavanagh is the only candidate for deputy mayor. Six candidates have filed for council under the municipality’s hybrid at-large and ward system.
Municipality of Brockton — Mayor Chris Peabody, acclaimed in 2022, is again alone on the ballot. Tim Elphick and Kym Hutcheon are contesting deputy mayor. Six candidates are running for five council seats.
Municipality of Arran-Elderslie — Mayor Steve Hammell and Deputy Mayor Jennifer Shaw are each unopposed so far. In the five wards, Ryan Nickason has filed in Arran and Alicia Mariano in Elderslie, three candidates are contesting Paisley, and no one has registered in Chesley or Tara.
Town of South Bruce Peninsula — The region’s busiest race. Four candidates for mayor: Jay Kirkland, Bill Klingenberg, John David Close and Janice Jackson. Kirkland was elected deputy mayor in 2022 and appointed mayor in 2023 after Garry Michi resigned; this is his first mayoral election. Jackson was mayor from 2014 to 2022 and lost to Michi. Deputy Mayor Caleb Hull faces Ana Vukovic, who ran for mayor in 2018 and finished second to Jackson. Ten candidates are running for three council seats.
Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula — Brad Gesinghaus is the only name on the ballot for any municipal office. Mayor Milt McIver has not filed. No one has registered for deputy mayor or for any of the three council seats.
Township of Huron-Kinloss — Mayor Don Murray faces Shawn Plante. Deputy Mayor James Hanna is unopposed. Six candidates are running for five council seats.
Municipality of South Bruce — Mayor Mark Goetz is alone on the ballot. Ashton Metcalfe has filed in Mildmay-Carrick ward after David Wood withdrew; no one has filed in Teeswater-Culross. Rita Groen and Nigel Van Dyk have registered for at-large seats. The municipality’s published list is dated July 6 and may not reflect later filings.
School Board Trustee Candidates
Trustee seats appear on the same ballot as municipal offices, and some cover several municipalities at once. That means the same candidate’s name shows up on candidate lists across the region.
Conseil scolaire Viamonde (French-language public) — Eric Lapointe is the only registered candidate, and he appears on every candidate list reviewed for this report.
Bluewater District School Board (English-language public)
Angela Forder is registered in The Blue Mountains and Meaford
Leslie Patrick Medve in Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth
Tracy Schaus-Atkinson in Hanover and West Grey
Wayne Peeters in Southgate and Grey Highlands
Katie Lutz in Saugeen Shores and Arran-Elderslie
Jan Johnstone in Kincardine and Huron-Kinloss
Terry Boyd-Zhang in Brockton and South Bruce
and Robert John William Galbraith in South Bruce Peninsula.
No Bluewater trustee candidate has registered in Owen Sound or Northern Bruce Peninsula.
Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board (English-language separate)
Francis-Joseph Gross and Jessica Marin are both registered in Hanover, Southgate and Grey Highlands
Gross is also registered in West Grey
Lucie Desbiens is registered in Chatsworth, Saugeen Shores, Arran-Elderslie, South Bruce Peninsula and Northern Bruce Peninsula
Lori Di Castri is registered in Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss and Brockton’s Ward 31,
Linda Strader is registered in Brockton’s Wards 34 and 36
Beverley Eckensweiler is registered in South Bruce.
Conseil scolaire catholique Providence (French-language separate) — No candidate has registered anywhere in the region.
Check Your Registration on the Voters List
Residents across Grey and Bruce can check, update, add or remove their information on the Voters’ List through Elections Ontario at RegisterToVoteON.ca until Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
Missing that cutoff doesn’t cost you your vote. After September 1 you can go to your municipal office with identification showing your name and qualifying address to be added to the list, or register during the voting period.
Voting methods vary across the region — internet and telephone in some municipalities, paper ballots in others — so check your own municipality’s election page, linked above, for how and where you’ll vote.
What’s Next
Municipalities must certify nominations by August 24. Where seats remain unfilled, a second nomination window opens on Wednesday, August 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with clerks certifying or rejecting those nominations by 4 p.m. on August 27.
Certified candidate lists will be published from August 24, and the Current will report the final fields once they are confirmed.
Voting day is Monday, October 26. Voting methods, advance periods and Election Centre locations vary by municipality — internet and telephone in some, paper ballots in others.
Subscribe and keep an eye on Owen Sound Current’s Municipal Election Guide for candidate lists, voting information and more updates as they happen.
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