FONOM is hosting the Northern Ontario Leaders Debate in North Bay at 1pm on 14 February, live from Canadore College. Cogeco TV will be Live Streaming the Debate LIVE and for viewing afterwards: https://lnkd.in/ga28ef9R The leaders from Ontario's four main political parties will be part of an election debate airing on the evening of Family Day.
The debate will air on 17 February at 6:30--8:00 p.m. on Global News, CBC, CTV, TVO, CHCH, CPAC, CityNews and CP24.
An Ontario Election Prediction based on a weighted average of all available polling data and a seat projection that employs a proportional swing model is available from The Writ. Meanwhile, Abacus Data finds a Stable Race with Some Dynamic Undercurrents.
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OMAA has shared three key asks that we believe would make a meaningful difference for all Ontarians with the main four political parties: Safeguarding Our Local Democracy: Stronger Municipal Governance Benefits All Ontarians.
We call upon all candidates to prioritize these areas that are vital for enhancing municipal governance across Ontario. Good governance is foundational to the health and prosperity of our communities. Good governance involves maintaining balance between elected leadership providing direction and municipal operations conducted by a professional CAO charged with implementing that direction. |
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The Mayor-CAO Relationship – Building a Foundation for Success Co-hosted by AMO & OMAA
March 19, 2025 11:00am -12:00pm Virtual
AMO and OMAA are hosting a conversation on a key ingredient to a successful, effective and high-performing municipality- the relationship between a Mayor and CAO. This critical partnership sets the tone for your organization and can be a key factor in retention and attraction of employees as well as community relationships. In today’s climate, setting the tone and nature of the Mayor-CAO relationship is a win-win approach. Join us in discussion as we explore the key elements of a productive Mayor-CAO relationship.
We have assembled an expert panel to explore: ✅ Defining Roles & Responsibilities – Avoiding overreach and conflict by respecting professional boundaries. How have things changed since Strong Mayor powers have been brought in?
✅ Building Trust Through Communication – How regular, honest, and transparent dialogue aligns priorities and strengthens collaboration.
✅ Maintaining Professionalism & Neutrality – Why the CAO’s non-partisan approach and the Mayor’s support of professional administration matter.
✅ Fostering Innovation & Proactive Governance – Encouraging creative solutions for better municipal outcomes. Join AMO, OMAA and your municipal colleagues to gain valuable insights, hear real-world examples, and enhance the leadership dynamic in your municipality. Panelists: Mayor Darrin Canniff and CAO Michael Duben from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent Mayor Lynn Dollin and CAO Oliver Jerschow from the Town of Innisfil Moderator: Lindsay Jones, AMO Director of Policy Save the date. Registration information coming soon. |
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Some municipalities have begun to explore ways to support Provincial and Federal responses to the US tariffs, particularly around promoting "Buy Local" policies. Several municipalities have struck task forces to look into how to better support Canadian producers. A challenge, however, is how to navigate existing Procurement By-laws and regulations.
Has your municipality found innovative ways to align local procurement with Buy Local initiatives? Have you adjusted policies, developed creative programs, or implemented new strategies to support local businesses while remaining compliant? Please share any experiences, best practices, and any lessons learned Please send in your ideas by clicking the button below. We appreciate your input and will share all responses. |
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Whether in or on behalf of your communities, buying local supports local businesses that employ our friends and neighbours--and has a lower carbon footprint than purchasing imports. Here are two sites to help you: |
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Made in CA is a list of Canadian products in one place, so you can support Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. We’re also a fine resource if you’re looking for alternatives to Chinese-made products, given the country’s recent anti-Canadian actions. We encourage everyone to learn about the companies they support so they can make choices that align with their values.
Ontario Made is on a mission to make it easier to know what products are manufactured in Ontario. It is our mission to tell the story of how manufacturers and retailers contribute to the growth of Ontario's economy and create meaningful jobs for Ontarians. Ontario Made was created and is managed by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME). A member-driven non-profit business association, that has advocated and represented member interests for over 150 years.
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Spring Workshop and Public Speaking Training |
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The 2025 Spring Workshop takes place from May 14-16 at the JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort.
The Wednesday night keynote speaker is Rock it by Talking It delivered by Stuart Knight
The program is almost complete--check out the Draft Program-at-a-Glance for the latest updates.
The Early Bird has been extended until 28 February due to continued mail delays.
You may also book your hotel room (including extensions) at the JW Marriott by phoning 705-765-1900 or via https://book.passkey.com/go/OMAA2025 Can't make it in person? Sign up for the Livestream option. Can't commit for the duration? Sign up for the Thursday or Friday only options. |
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Join us on May 14 (at the JW before the spring workshop starts) to boost your confidence and command the room with the Advanced Communication and Presentation Skills Workshop, a full-day, hands-on training delivered by the experts at Commanding Presence. Limited to just 20 participants, this workshop offers: Customized Assessments: Pre-workshop assessments ensure your coaching is tailored to your goals. Transformational Video Feedback: Review your recorded presentations with valuable input from peers and the coach. World-Class Coaching: Receive expert, personalized coaching that builds on your unique speaking style and personality. You’ll leave with the skills to present confidently, think on your feet, and make memorable, persuasive connections. Join us for an empowering experience that’s both challenging and rewarding!
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Interested in becoming a CAO one day?
Join us in Kingston on 11 April for a day filled with great advice, networking, and hands-on workshop segments for Aspiring CAOs including:
-- moving up the municipal ladder in an expediated fashion
-- things Councils look for in a new CAO and recruiter Q&A
-- contracts, mentoring, and building your brand
-- developing your elevator pitch and LinkedIn Profile Registration is only $25 for members or $99 for non-members. |
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Chief Administrative Officer |
Tweed is both a village and a municipality located two hours from Toronto and Ottawa, in eastern Ontario, within Hastings County. Known as the Gateway to the Land O’ Lakes and the Bay of Quinte Region, the Municipality of Tweed is celebrated for its small-town friendliness, affordability, accessibility, beautiful natural surroundings, outdoor recreational activities, and vibrant annual events.
The Municipality has a total population of about 6,057, with 2,512 private dwellings occupied by residents. Approximately 30% of the population lives in the Village of Tweed, the primary urban center, while the remaining 70% reside in five hamlets throughout the extensive rural area that stretches from Wadsworth Lake in the north to Roslin in the south. Covering approximately 230,000 acres, about 30% of the Municipality consists of Crown Land, while lakes, rivers, and streams account for roughly 4,650 acres. There are approximately 600 kilometers of roads throughout the area.
Tweed provides a wealth of outdoor experiences for families and visitors alike. With activities ranging from fishing and hunting to hiking and canoeing, the region is blessed with recreational opportunities that cater to all interests. Families will appreciate access to quality schools, healthcare facilities, and reliable internet services—all conveniently located within a short drive to the regional hubs of Belleville and Kingston.
This community is an ideal setting for a municipal professional seeking to establish deep roots and thrive alongside a Council and community dedicated to progressive leadership and a high quality of life.
With a combined operating and capital budget of approximately $11M and over 40 permanent and part-time staff, the Municipality of Tweed is committed to meeting the needs of our residents and business community by delivering efficient and effective services.
As the ideal candidate you are an inspiring, principled, and collaborative leader with a proven track record of results and accomplishments with related experience from either a public sector or private sector organization. You have exceptional communication skills and the political acumen to interact with an engaged council, diverse stakeholders, foster the development of partnerships, develop our workforce and inspire our employees, while ensuring customer service excellence. Lastly, you will have an exceptional understanding of forward-thinking strategies as it relates managing responsible growth, ensuring effective municipal operations in a fiscally accountable fashion and guiding our organization into the future, while retaining our small-town community charm.
Closes: 7 March 2025 |
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Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) |
The Town of Essex is located in southwestern Ontario, approximately 28 kilometres southeast of the City of Windsor. It is one of seven lower?tier municipalities in the County of Essex with borders extending from the hub of the county to Lake Erie. Essex includes two urban centres (Essex Centre and Harrow) and two hamlets (McGregor and Colchester). These unique communities are surrounded by a thriving wine and agriculture industry and boast a wide range of recreational facilities, an excellent school system, and affordable living options.
The Town is current seeking qualified candidates for the position of Chief Administrative Officer.
As the top executive position for the municipality, the CAO is responsible for providing strategic vision and effective leadership to the whole organization and is the administrative representative to the community. With the support of the Senior Management Team the CAO plans, organizes, directs and controls all municipal operations and services in accordance with municipal policies and relevant legislation and oversees and provides leadership and direction to cross-departmental efforts to continuously improve the overall citizen experience.
The Town of Essex offers a competitive salary in the range of $191,871 to $233,225, complimented by an excellent benefit package.
Closes: 7 March 2025 |
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Director of Finance / Treasurer |
The City of Dryden, located on Wabigoon Lake, in the heart of Northwestern Ontario, is enveloped by the beauty of tranquil lakes, stunning views, and the boreal forest. Dryden offers the perfect blend of opportunities to raise a family, launch a business or enjoy retirement. The city has grown the conveniences of an urban centre without losing its rural, neighbourly charm.
Dryden is a community in motion, known for its abundant outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, and hiking but also for its first-class fully equipped recreation complex. There is something for every sport and outdoor enthusiast in Dryden, waterfront golf course, beaches, canoeing, cross-country skiing, easily accessible hunting in the Boreal Forest and fishing in and on local pristine lakes.
The City of Dryden is seeking a visionary Director of Finance/Treasurer to drive financial sustainability and strategic growth in our thriving municipality. As a key member of the senior management team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the City's financial future, ensuring responsible fiscal management, and implementing innovative, yet prudent, financial strategies that enhance service delivery and community well-being.
Dryden offers an exciting opportunity for finance professionals who are enthusiastic about public service, governance, and financial leadership. Here, you will enjoy the challenge of balancing strategic financial planning with operational efficiency, all while making a meaningful impact in a close-knit and engaged community. |
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Executive Director, Housing Development Office |
Toronto is Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is home to more than 3 million residents whose diversity and experiences strengthen our great city. A global centre for business, finance, technology, arts, culture, and innovation, Toronto consistently places at the top of international rankings due in part to investments championed by residents and businesses, and in turn, led by Toronto City Council and carried out through the work of the Toronto Public Service. As Toronto continues to face an unprecedented housing affordability crisis across the housing continuum, the City has established a new Housing Development Office that will bring a singular focus to City-led and City-supported housing development, and strengthen coordination between the City, CreateTO and Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) to achieve the City's housing goals with priority to affordable housing.
Reporting to the Deputy City Manager, Development and Growth Services, the newly-established role of Executive Director of the Housing Development Office will oversee the consolidated list of all housing development projects, the consolidated housing capital plan and budget including investments in City-led projects (including through TCHC, CreateTO, and City-supported projects), and will ensure the City and City Council continue to have full visibility on all projects and investments across the entire housing portfolio. More specifically, this new Office will: Ensure coordination of the development of all City-led housing sites (sites owned and/or overseen by the City, as well as its agencies, and corporations) and City-supported housing sites (sites owned by Indigenous, non-profit, and co-operative housing organizations); Focus on monitoring activities at each stage gate and 'unsticking' projects by working with other divisions in Development and Growth Services to resolve issues and hurdles that prevent projects from advancing through development and permitting approvals quickly; Conduct an ongoing review of the City-led and supported housing project pipeline to strategically sequence projects and harvest new or emerging housing opportunities; Establish and maintain a consistent delivery framework, including common methodologies for financial modelling, site due diligence and investment approvals; Ensure more seamless transitions between the City and its housing delivery partners, for example, where a City partner may lead the early phases of a project and then transfer responsibility to the City or another partner when the site is ready to be taken to market; Implement new tools to enable improved transparency and reporting of progress across all City Divisions, Agencies and Corporations involved in the delivery of housing; Identify the appropriate delivery models for City-owned sites, whether that be City-led or led by one of the City's delivery partners, CreateTO or TCHC; and Take on additional functions and contracting arrangements to enable faster affordable housing delivery. By optimizing expertise and resources across teams, strengthening coordination, and streamlining process and systems, the Executive Director will effectively advance the City-led approach to delivering and expediting housing projects that benefit all citizens of Toronto. The Executive Director, Housing Development Office will oversee a team of approximately 10-15 people, and is an in-person role.
Closes: 19 February 2025 |
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Executive Director Building & Chief Building Official |
The Executive Director, Building & Chief Building Official provides strategic leadership to ensure all newly constructed commercial and residential buildings meet provincial and municipal standards and regulations. This role oversees the issuance of licenses and permits for construction in Toronto, ensuring compliance with technical standards and regulatory frameworks. Reporting to the Deputy City Manager, the Executive Director drives operational excellence, policy development, and service improvements to support the city’s growth and development.
The ideal candidate is a visionary and results-oriented leader with a proven track record in managing regulatory compliance, policy development, and operational oversight within a large organization. They demonstrate expertise in stakeholder engagement, financial management, and driving performance improvement while ensuring alignment with government standards and priorities. The candidate is skilled in building collaborative partnerships, leading change initiatives, and navigating complex regulatory environments to achieve organizational goals. Beyond the core role, the successful individual will be a key member of the Development and Growth team helping with key Council priorities such as the Housing Crisis. Passion and progressiveness is how this individual should be described in balancing their need to ensure compliance and challenge the status quo and create excitement and motivation the division.
Closes: 24 February 2025 |
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The Town of Gore Bay is located on Manitoulin Island in Ontario on the majestic north channel of Lake Huron, with access to the best freshwater boating in the world. Gore Bay offers a splendid outdoor experience, with a pristine natural setting.
With a population of approximately 1,000, the Town of Gore Bay also serves as a busy service hub to the surrounding municipalities, serving 4,500 people in total. Whether you need to visit the bank, send a letter at the post office, or access vital services at Service Ontario, everything is a walkable distance. From well-stocked grocery aisles, to trusted legal services and courthouse, to financial services, to transportation services, to a modernized local airport, the Town offers all the essential services needed for everyday life.
Looking ahead, Gore Bay is actively pursuing a vision to double its population over the next 20 years, and with our progressive council, we are well on our way! In Gore Bay, future residents will find a Town that is growing in both size and opportunity, where community spirit and modern ambitions go hand in hand.
The Town of Gore Bay is looking for a people leader that inspires a high-performance team to deliver extraordinary services for the community we serve. The successful candidate will receive a competitive starting salary within the range of $90,000 to $110,000, coupled with an OMERS pension and excellent benefits package. Closes: 28 February 2025 |
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We cannot eat numbers nor drink profits. Why then have we built a world where we serve the economy as though it were some great and hungry god.
It was not always this way. Once, the economy was a servant, a tool for feeding families and building communities. “The fundamental problem of economics,” John Maynard Keynes wrote, “is not the problem of scarcity, but of distribution.” But somewhere along the way, we let the tail wag the dog. We came to believe that economic growth alone was the measure of a nation's success, that stock prices and corporate gains were signs of progress, while the suffering of the many was mere collateral damage.
Adam Smith, often mistaken as the high priest of unbridled capitalism, warned that “no society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.” And yet, we have designed a system where wealth pools like stagnant water in the hands of the few, while the many labor harder and longer for less.
If the economy does not serve humanity, then what purpose does it have? Karl Polanyi, seeing the brutal failures of markets left unchecked, wrote, “To allow the market mechanism to be the sole director of the fate of human beings… would result in the demolition of society.”
And so, it must be said: the economy is a means, not an end. A growing GDP is meaningless if it does not translate into better lives, fair wages, and a sense of security for all. The economy must serve society, and not the other way around. |
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Cultivating Civility Masterclass. Join visionary civic leaders from around the world in this on-demand program that equips you with strategies, tools, and insights to tackle toxicity & foster a culture of civility in your community. The Cultivating Civility Masterclass is a fully online, self-paced program designed to fit your schedule. Over the course of seven structured modules, you’ll engage with expert insights, actionable strategies, and practical tools to help you lead your community through cultural transformation.
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TVO Today's Ontario Election page provides in-depth coverage, analysis, and current affairs journalism on the Ontario provincial election campaign. |
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