With regional councillors abolished, twelve mayoral races now carry unprecedented weight. From Niagara Falls to Wainfleet, here is what the candidates are telling voters.
When Niagara voters cast ballots on October 26, 2026, they will not just be choosing local mayors. Under the province's restructuring, those twelve mayors will form the bulk of Regional Council alongside a provincially appointed chair . The 19 directly elected regional councillors are gone. Every mayoral contest is now a regional contest, and the candidates know it.
Niagara Falls: A Referendum on Experience
The region's highest-profile race pits four-term incumbent Jim Diodati against two-term Councillor Lori Lococo. Diodati has vowed a fifth term would be his last, framing it as a final push to finish long-gestating projects.
"This last term for me is to get things across the finish line. These are things that take years. The hospital has taken me 15 years and more than one premier to get across the finish line."
Lococo has built her campaign around a simple message.
"Niagara Falls, I've heard you loud and clear … it's time for a change at city hall. I'm running for mayor to be that change. For too many families, Niagara Falls has become unaffordable. As mayor, my priorities will be affordability, responsible budgeting and making sure your tax dollars are spent wisely."
St. Catharines: An Incumbent and a Crowded Field
Mayor Mat Siscoe is seeking a second term after winning nearly 70 per cent of the vote in 2022. Among his challengers is Jimmy Jackson, a steelworker and landscaping business owner who has positioned himself as a grassroots alternative.
"I'm not running simply to become another politician. I'm running to ask difficult questions, challenge the status quo when necessary, listen to residents and work toward practical solutions."
He has identified three priorities:
"Public safety and community well-being … Infrastructure, flooding and city services … Affordability and economic growth."
Jackson has also drawn scrutiny for social media posts, including shares from a group pushing mass deportation and a video featuring a member of a white nationalist organization. He has said he is
"not aligned with everything that some of these organizations that I've shared have said."
Welland: Eight Candidates, One Open Seat
With Mayor Frank Campion not seeking re-election, eight candidates are competing for the city's top job. Regional Councillor Pat Chiocchio is leaning on his regional experience.
"From downtown to our neighbourhoods, from seniors to young families, from small businesses to large employers, the message is clear, people want leadership that is practical, transparent and focused on getting things done."
Ward 5 Councillor Graham Speck is running as a reformer from within.
"I know how the system works. I know what it takes to make city hall work for all the city of Welland."
His campaign slogan is blunt:
"Welland can do better."
Grimsby: Four Candidates, One Regional Voice
Incumbent Jeff Jordan is seeking a third term and emphasizing his experience navigating the new regional structure.
"My experience and my history in town have made me a wise choice. Before I ran for mayor in 2018, we were without a new hospital, we were without a new community centre and without GO service — and all those are happening now."
On the regional dynamic:
"Having only 12 mayors (on regional council), it's very important that as mayor you work with the other mayors so we can get a consensus. I worked with the other mayors to stop the four-city model."
Councillor Veronica Charrois is challenging him with a focus on the mayor's new regional weight.
"The next mayor is going to have the only (Grimsby) vote at regional council, so that person needs to be well prepared and knowledgeable from day one, so (my) municipal experience first. Second, is we need a strong voice at the regional table. The third is I'm fully committed, this will not be a part-time job for me, it's a full-time job."
Lincoln: Fiscal Restraint vs. Managed Growth
Lincoln's open race features Councillor Adam Russell and community advocate Cheryl Keddy-Scott. Russell is campaigning on affordability.
"We hear a lot about (municipal tax) affordability in Lincoln. I think we should try to be as efficient as possible and try to maybe do more with less and bring those costs down."
He has also criticized the town's debt position:
"I think right now we've taken on a little too much debt for projects; maybe we should have saved up or used our reserves."
Keddy-Scott is pitching balanced growth.
"We have to respect the taxpayers, but I also want to respect the character of our community. We need to strengthen our infrastructure and ensure residents have a voice as we grow."
Port Colborne: Unfinished Business
Incumbent Bill Steele is seeking another term.
"There's a lot of things we need to finish,"
he said, citing infrastructure and water and wastewater tunnel projects. He has welcomed the province's regional restructuring:
"I think, quite frankly, it'll help reduce time at the Region."
Former councillor Bea Kenny is challenging him with a promise of responsiveness.
"My goal is to work with the public just as much as I'm working with the staff to make things happen."
She has also emphasized her constituent-service record:
"It feels good that people still remember my integrity as a councillor."
Thorold: Experience vs. Withdrawal
Thorold's race features former mayor Henry D'Angela and Regional Councillor Tim Whalen, after Mayor Terry Ugulini did not seek re-election. D'Angela, seeking a return after nearly two decades, argued the new structure demands experience.
"(I'll) have plenty of time (for) the mayor's position … especially as the (province) has now eliminated regional councillors, the mayoral role is more critical … because they'll have to shoulder the full load at the Region."
His philosophy is direct:
"At the end of the day, we're representing the citizens of Thorold, but we need to make sure they're part of the process."
Fort Erie: Independence and Disruption
Incumbent Wayne Redekop has made the town's status his central issue.
"The single, highest priority is ensuring that Fort Erie continues as an independent, standalone municipality. Because if our independence is jeopardized, that means all of our priorities no longer are priorities for a larger, amalgamated body."
He has also promised to protect local health care:
"We are dedicated to ensuring that urgent care services will remain in Fort Erie and that we will have the health care services that our residents require."
Challenger Juan Liu has run a radically different campaign. On health care:
"With 38,000 (people), (Fort Erie) should unquestionably have a large general hospital. The hospital must not close."
On taxation, she has called the current system a
"parasite system"
that does nothing more than bleed people dry, and has said:
"If you don't have the money, you can't do anything."
Niagara-on-the-Lake: Three Familiar Names, One Open Chair
For the first time since 2006, Gary Zalepa's name will not be on the ballot for lord mayor. Seeking to replace him are Deputy Lord Mayor Erwin Wiens, Regional Councillor Andrea Kaiser, and philanthropist Vaughn Goettler.
Kaiser, who announced her candidacy in May, said she will focus on
"collaboration, connection and thoughtful leadership,"
while also protecting the environment, continuing a good quality of life for residents and the prosperity of local businesses.
Goettler, making his second attempt at the chair after finishing third in 2022, has positioned himself as a voice for measured development. At a debate, he said:
"We should not be building until we know where the infrastructure is at."
On strong-mayor powers, he was equally direct:
"I don't need them. Strong-mayor powers are extreme. When you build consensus, you are almost unstoppable."
Kaiser pushed back on calls for a development moratorium:
"Random moratoriums bring us back to court legal cases."
She also emphasized her regional experience:
"We don't have time for someone to learn on the job. I am the only candidate who has that regional experience."
Wiens, the deputy lord mayor, framed the new powers pragmatically:
"It's a tool in a toolbox."
On governance, he added:
"Democracy is the backbone of what we are doing here. I believe in consensus."
Wainfleet: A Challenge from Outside
Incumbent Brian Grant is facing a challenge from Kevin Gibson, according to the township's certified candidate list. While direct quotes from the mayoral candidates were not available in the search results, the race will test whether voters in the small township favor continuity or a new direction.
West Lincoln: Acclaimed, But Not Silent
Mayor Cheryl Ganann was acclaimed, meaning she faces no opponent on the ballot. The retired elementary schoolteacher is the only candidate to register to run for mayor in the town's October 26 municipal elections. She previously represented Ward 3 for six years before being elected as mayor.
Pelham: A Four-Way Contest
Pelham's race includes incumbent Marvin Junkin and challengers Frank Adamson, Wally Braun, and Randy Gananathan, according to the town's certified candidate list. While direct quotes from the mayoral candidates were not available in the search results, the contest will test whether voters favor continuity or a change in direction in a town navigating its own growth pressures.
The Stakes
The through-line across all twelve municipalities is unmistakable. Mayors are no longer just local figures; they are the region's governors. The candidates who win on October 26 will shape Niagara's response to housing, homelessness, infrastructure deficits, and its relationship with the province for the next four years. The question is whether voters, faced with a ballot that looks familiar but carries entirely new weight, will turn out to decide it.
Sources: Niagara Falls Review; St. Catharines Standard, CBC, Town of Pelham, The Spec, CKTB
