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Vol. 16, Issue 51
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
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By Mark Ribble A sold-out Mayors’ Trifecta Breakfast at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens on Friday, January 9 had the region’s three mayors presenting their 2025 progress and a look forward to 2026. The annual event organized by the Leamington District Chamber of Commerce brought together business people, municipal staff and charitable organizations for a light-hearted look at local happenings and a delicious breakfast topped off with Colasanti’s famous donuts. Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald was joined on the podium by Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers and Pelee Island Mayor Cathy Miller for the event, sponsored by WFCU Credit Union. Chamber President Diane Malenfant and Manager Wendy Parsons each said a few words to welcome those in attendance and introduce the mayors one-by-one. Leamington Mayor — and Warden of Essex County — Hilda MacDonald was chosen to be first to present her outline. She began by quoting Charles Dickens by saying, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” and bringing that quote all the way from 1859, comparing to today’s world. Locally, Mayor MacDonald talked about how homelessness and affordable housing continue to present challenges and fears of what tariffs would do to the agricultural industry, the decision to end Leamington-to-Windsor transit, and Leamington’s myriad
Guests at the Mayors Breakfast included Chamber of Commerce President Diane Malenfant, Chamber of Commerce Manager Wendy Parsons, Pelee Island Mayor Cathy Miller, Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald, Chatham-Kent Leamington MPP Trevor Jones and Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers. SUN photo
of road construction over the past year. When she switched over to the “best of times” scenario, the mayor spoke about new international trade, buying Canadian and made in Canada stickers. She praised the province for providing funding for new waste water systems and major infrastructure upgrades, and the new MRI suite at Erie Shores HealthCare. A green bin waste diversion program for Windsor-Essex was introduced for the first time, an overnight shelter program at the Homelessness Hub and the $41 million funding from the province for the Northeast Trunk Sanitary Sewer Project. “The most defining moment for our community (Leamington) this past year was securing a $41 million investment from
the province,” she said. “This is a project that will shape Leamington’s future for generations to come.” MacDonald says that project lays the foundation for about 6,500 new residential units in the municipality, as well as newly serviced commercial and industrial lands, which will also create new jobs. “This growth is not by accident, it’s by design,” she said. “It’s the product of long term strategic planning and bold, sometimes difficult, decisions made by successive councils for over more than a decade.” As for the 2026 outlook, the mayor says the municipality is growing in every way. New major projects include the aforementioned sewer project, a new fire truck purchase,
waterfront plaza work and a new traffic light at the intersection of Armstrong Drive and Talbot Street West. Leamington’s building department reported that permits issued in 2025 had a value of $202 million and expected to remain strong in 2026. Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers then took the podium to speak on his town’s progress throughout 2025 and what lies ahead for 2026. Rogers thanked his “team Kingsville” for working collectively over the past year and into the future. “We’ve been a team since day one,” he said. “You guys show up, you work hard, you work collectively.” Rogers talked about the beginning of this term and how three years ago,
Kingsville’s strategy was long-term planning. “Any policy that served for a term of council, wasn’t acceptable,” he said. “Developing the strategy would take time, thoughtful consideration, collaboration, resident consultation and full buy-in from council and administration.” He said the strategic plan — A 2040 Vision for Kingsville — was developed at the end of 2023 and they’ve been working diligently toward their goal and the four key priorities that represent those goals: a fiscally sustainable community, a thriving local economy, healthy happy residents and a resilient infrastructure. He talked about progress and setbacks alike. SEE MAYORS CONTINUED ON PG. 2
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