Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter told a packed house at the Minden Community Centre last week that he has never understood why municipal elections attract so few voters to the polls.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) brought its travelling ‘healthy democracy project’ roadshow to town May 28, with speakers Petra Wolfbeiss and Henry Khamonde discussing ways County residents can get involved and help make a difference ahead of the next election, scheduled for Oct. 26, 2026.
Kicking off the event, Carter spoke about low voter turnout for the most recent municipal election in 2022. Dysart et al reported 31.47 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, with Algonquin Highlands at 28.9 per cent, Minden Hills at 24.76 per cent, and Highlands East at 21.26 per cent.
This is a far-cry from the 72.36 per cent of voters in the riding (which also includes Kawartha Lakes) who re-elected Jamie Schmale to parliament in April, and the 48.95 per cent of people in HaliburtonKawartha Lakes-Brock who gave Laurie Scott a seventh term as MPP in February.
“The day-to-day relationships most of us have with government is at the municipal level – waste management, fire services, road upgrades… so, the area that affects us the most we pay the least attention to,” Carter said. “This apathy is also reflected in the number of people we attract to run.”
Wolfbeiss said AMO is working to flip those statistics on their head. Involving and engaging the public is key to the process, she said. So too is understanding why interest is so low.
“Municipal governance is the least understood… so educating people about all the different things their municipal government is responsible for is vital. We also need to get back to a place where we can have frequent conversations, disagreements and debates and for that to be OK,” Wolfbeiss said. “It’s only through those conversations that good change can happen.”
She noted the project has one clear objective – to increase the diversity and number of people running for election in 2026.
The 2022 election had the highest number of acclamations in history with 560, up from 380 in 2018. There were 32 communities where the entire council was acclaimed, meaning they automatically secured a seat because nobody run against them.
In Haliburton County, 12 of 22 officials were acclaimed, including the mayors and deputy mayors in Dysart and Minden Hills.
Wolfbeiss pointed to two blinding issues – low pay and increases in harassment, violence and abuse. She told how, recently, Leamington mayor Hilda McDonald had to be escorted out of a meeting after an “online conspiracy theory group” ambushed a meeting about the township’s official plan. She has reportedly received repeated threats against her life.
In Quebec, nine per cent of the province’s approximate 8,000 elected officials have resigned since November 2021, citing toxicity at the council level and abuse from the community.
“It’s low wages, high demand. That narrows down the number of people who want to do it. People are seeing too much risk and not enough reward,” she said, noting AMO is developing a civility and anti-harassment strategy.
It’s also inviting municipal politicians, active or not, to share stories from when they were in office – the good and the bad – to help form future ‘healthy democracy’ directives. Staff will engage with diverse candidates representing different minorities who have run for office.
Wolfbeiss said AMO is also revamping its training for new councillors and will provide additional resources to ensure they feel informed and supported.
“Through this work, we hope to build up representative councils, develop resource tools and training, foster a respect for democracy, and increase trust in local government.”
Youth are key
Khamonde, a youth fellowship intern with AMO, said the organization has recently collaborated with Apathy is Boring, a non-partisan group that promotes youth participation in politics. They released the report ‘Youth and Local Democracy’, which highlights existing barriers.
“To put it simply, youth don’t think their voice holds weight in local government. It’s up to us all to shift their frame of mind, so they know they do have a say,” Khamonde said. “They haven’t yet established that connection with their municipality and the role it undertakes.”
Seeking youth input on important issues is a good first step to bridging the divide, the AMO representative added. “Local municipalities have the power to invite youth to the table and inspire change.”
A “homegrown” healthy democracy project will be kicking off in the Highlands this fall. It’s operating under the umbrella of the Telling Our Stories Speaker Series, as part of the Haliburton County Community Cooperative. Four sessions are planned, designed to boost candidate numbers ahead of next year’s municipal election. A full itinerary will be released over the summer.
To learn more, contact Sean Pennylegion at pennylegion@gmail.com.
