Thurs Apr 23 – News, Events & Editorial: If You Were Mayor of Owen Sound, What Would You Do?

News and updates involving Grey County, Harrison Park, Saugeen Ojibway Nation, CMHA Grey Bruce, Meaford Lawn Bowling Club, Owen Sound Police, and more

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EDITORIAL

If You Were Mayor of Owen Sound…

I’ll admit it: I’m a bit of a politics nerd. Local government in particular fascinates me, as this is where politics feels most tangible and real.

It’s where decisions get made about the roads you drive on, the parks your kids play in, the vibrancy of your downtown, whether housing gets built and where, what you pay in property taxes, and whether services improve… or disappear.

Our publisher, Maryann Thomas, shared a good read from the Toronto Star with me this week. Their editor-in-chief, Nicole MacIntyre, launched a project called If I Were Mayor, inviting readers to share the one thing they would do to make their city better.

Immediately, we knew: there’s space for your ideas here, too.

Because with Owen Sound’s next municipal election approaching this fall, now feels like the right time to start talking about the future of this city — before campaign slogans and rehearsed talking points take over.

So we’re borrowing the concept (with thanks to the Toronto Star) and asking a simple question:

If you were Mayor of Owen Sound, what’s the first thing you would do to make the city better?

Sure, it’s an oversimplification. Cities are complicated places. Even the best ideas run into budgets, bureaucracy, politics and competing priorities. But that complexity shouldn’t stop imagination.

And here in Owen Sound, there’s no shortage of issues people care deeply about.

Readers write and speak to us every week about the state of the downtown core, addiction and homelessness, public safety, affordable housing, healthcare access, development, property taxes, infrastructure, and the future of local business.

Some want to see tougher enforcement. Others want more compassion and more services. Some want council to focus on growth. Others want to preserve what makes Owen Sound feel like home.

There’s no single right answer.

But there are good ideas, and there’s a lot of will locally to make things happen.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll publish a selection of Letters to the Editor answering that one question. Keep it respectful. Keep it constructive. Keep it specific, and under 500 words.

The best ideas might help shape the conversation heading into the October 26, 2026 municipal election.

And who knows? Maybe candidates will borrow a few.

Send your letters to editor@owensoundcurrent.com

Let’s hear it, Owen Sound. (And don’t worry, surrounding municipalities — you’ll have your say, too!)

Public Notice

• First Household Hazardous Waste Event of 2026 Taking Place this Saturday - City of Owen Sound

• Notice of Sanitary Sewer Main Cleaning - Municipality of Meaford

Keep Reading

… for weather updates, obituaries, upcoming local events, and the most comprehensive weekday reporting on what’s happening in Owen Sound, and across Grey & Bruce.

Today, you’ll find updates on the heavy police presence in Howdenvale on Monday and the search for one suspect, an ongoing OSPS investigation into the downtown brawl recorded and circulating social media, a local anthologist’s recent CBC interview, and a lot more.

Miranda Miller
Editor

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