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VOLUNTEERS WEEK PAGE
STRATFORD VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 19
14 FREE
MAY 2, 2025
Jennifer Anderson
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Nater wins fourth consecutive term as opposition MP for Perth-Wellington GALEN SIMMONS
Regional Editor
With 221 of 222 polls reporting by Tuesday morning, Conservative incumbent John Nater has been elected member of parliament for Perth-Wellington and will serve his fourth consecutive term as a member of the opposition party. With a more than 70 percent voter turnout in the riding – 63,683 of 90,016 registered electors – Nater received 33,850 votes or roughly 53 per cent. Liberal candidate David Mackey trailed with 25,892 votes or nearly 41 per cent of the total turnout, and the NDP’s Kevin Kruchkywich had 2,875 votes or 4.5 per cent of the vote by Tuesday morning. People’s Party of Canada candidate Wayne Baker rounded out the pack with 1,066 votes or 1.7 per cent of the vote by Tuesday morning. “It is my great honour and with great humility that I thank the people of Perth-Wellington for re-electing me to serve as your member of parliament and voice in Ottawa,” Nater said after national news outlets called his victory in the riding. “It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly and one that I will cherish for as long as I have the honour of serving in this office.” Nater was introduced by his young daughter, Ainsley, before an enthusiastic crowd of campaign volunteers and supporters at his election-night party at the Mitchell Golf and Country Club in West Perth. He thanked his campaign team for their time and effort CONTINUED TO PAGE 3
(CONNOR LUCZKA PHOTO) Hudson Kelly and Violet Bernier duck underfoot to collect a few chocolate eggs at the annual easter egg hunt hosted by CJCS/2Day FM on April 19. That morning at Upper Queen's Park, 10,000 chocolate eggs provided by Rhéo Thompson Candies were scattered and collected by hopeful hunters.
Council unanimously rejects strong mayor powers, but they are coming to Stratford anyway
CONNOR LUCZKA
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Undemocratic, upsetting, offensive, broken, and scary were just some of the words Stratford city council used to describe the strong mayor powers bestowed on Mayor Martin Ritsma on May 1. The powers, which grant heads of council with executive authority in certain scenarios, were topic of discussion at the April 28 council meeting, after Coun. Mark Hunter had earlier requested a report from staff on what
the endowment means for the city. As clerk Tatiana Dafoe shared in a fulsome presentation, the powers include the ability to appoint a municipality’s chief administrative officer (CAO), hire certain municipal department heads and reorganize departments, create committees of council, propose a municipal budget, propose certain bylaws the mayor says advances a provincial priority, veto certain bylaws the mayor says could interfere with a provincial priority, and bring forward matters CONTINUED TO PAGE 2