2022 unofficial municipal election results

Here are the unofficial results of the 2022 municipal election:

MAYOR

Brian SMITH 4,477 (38.47%)

Nina BIFOLCHI 2,937 (25.23%)

Giorgio MAMMOLITI 2,363 (20.30%)

Leslie FARKAS 1,862 (16.00%)

Total Votes 11,639

DEPUTY MAYOR

Tanya SNELL 6,217 (55.25%)

Sylvia BRAY 3,788 33.66%

Ilona MATTHEWS 1,248 11.09%

Total Votes 11,253

COUNCILLOR

Joe BELANGER 5,803 (12.49%)

Ellen TIMMS 5,462 (11.75%)

Sasha-Rose DILEO 4,988 (10.73%)

Faye EGO 4,884 (10.51%)

Richard WHITE 4,779 (10.28%)

George WATSON 3,702 (7.97%)

Stan WELLS 3,547 (7.63%)

Ron ANDERSON 3,284 (7.07%)

Pam BARKER 2,560 (5.51%)

Shawn CERVEIRA 2,364 (5.09%)

Jim SEILI 2,094 (4.51%)

Valery SANINGONG 1,087 (2.34%)

Fred HEYDUK 1,021 (2.20%)

Hogan COURRIER 902 (1.94%)

Total Votes 46,477

Craig Williams named

Wasaga Beach fire chief

George Vadeboncoeur, chief administrative officer for the Town of Wasaga Beach, is pleased to announce the appointment of Craig Williams as the municipality’s new fire chief and director of emergency management.

Williams, who resides in Wasaga Beach with his family, has served as the town’s deputy fire chief since joining the Wasaga Beach Fire Department six years ago. He has also served stints as acting fire chief with the department.

“I am very pleased to see Craig take on this new role with our organization,” Vadeboncoeur said. “Craig has been a first responder for more than twenty years and has demonstrated excellent leadership skills. He is also a good communicator and listener. He has the respect of the firefighters he works with and is greatly admired by staff throughout our various town departments.”

Prior to joining the town as deputy fire chief, Williams was a member of the Springwater Fire Department, first as a volunteer firefighter and captain, followed by six years as deputy fire chief and certified health and safety manager.

Earlier in his career, he worked as a paramedic, serving with the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services and later with the Hamilton Paramedic Services. His roles included training supervisor, professional standards/decision support supervisor and platoon commander.

He holds a diploma in public administration from the University of Western Ontario, plus an Advanced Care Paramedic diploma from Durham College. Williams is also certified under the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in a number of fire service disciplines, including fire suppression, prevention and investigation.

Additionally, Williams serves as an alternate provincial fire coordinator for Simcoe County and is the secretary/treasurer for the Simcoe County Fire Chiefs Administrative Group.

In his community, he volunteers his time on the board of directors for the South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre.

As deputy fire chief of the Wasaga Beach Fire Department, Williams was responsible for a variety of operations, including firefighter emergency response training, fire prevention, and vehicle maintenance. He also worked on special projects, including the purchase of the new aerial truck and the ongoing renovation of Station 2.

Throughout the pandemic, Williams coordinated the town’s response to COVID-19 and ensured staff were safe while delivering public services to the community.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Craig’s caliber within our organization and on behalf of council, our senior leadership team, and our entire staff I wish him all the best,” Vadeboncoeur said.

Williams looks forward to his new role as chief.

“I am very proud of the firefighters and support staff who serve our amazing community. I look forward to working with them to ensure our department continues to provide the exceptional service that our residents and visitors deserve. We have a dedicated, professional and well-trained group of men and women who are ready to help our community whenever they are needed.”

One of Chief Williams’s first priorities will be hiring a deputy fire chief.

Six new banners

recognizing veterans

The Town of Wasaga Beach and the Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach are collaborating to present six new remembrance banners that honour local veterans.

“On behalf of council and staff, I thank the Rotary Club for working with us to recognize these individuals for their service. We remember these veterans for their bravery and sacrifice,” Mayor Nina Bifolchi said.

Kevin de Groot, president of the Rotary Club, said it is an honour for his membership to play a role in the remembrance banner project. 

“The men and women who have served our country deserve our utmost respect and admiration. We can never truly do enough to show them our gratitude,” he said.

The banner project, initially launched in 2018, now features 20 veterans.

The town is installing the banners along Mosley Street, west of Schoonertown Bridge.

The new banners recognize the following individuals:

Joe Baxter

Mr. Baxter was a member of the 48^th Highlanders of Canada and served in the Canadian military from 1966 to 1973. During his career, Mr. Baxter served overseas in West Germany. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for several years.

Fraser Muir

Mr. Muir joined the Royal Canadian Air Force at age 18 in 1942 and served as a mid-upper gunner on a Lancaster bomber, completing 36 sorties with 50 Squadron, based at Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. Learn more about Mr. Muir.

Marc Seguin

Mr. Seguin served in The Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment of Canada from 1990 to 1994. In 1993, he served on a United Nations tour in Bosnia. From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Seguin was a member of the Second Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. From 1998 to 2004, he served as a CF-18 aviation technician at CFB Cold Lake. From 2004 to 2011, he was a flight engineer at CFB Valcartier. During this period, in 2009, he served a tour in Afghanistan. And from 2011 to 2015, Mr. Seguin worked as an ammunition technician at CFB Borden.

Darren Bailey

An 18-year member of the Royal Canadian Navy, Mr. Bailey’s career has involved serving in many operational theatres, including Operation Apollo (the War on Terrorism) in the Persian Gulf. He also deployed to Afghanistan for a seven-month tour of duty and later deployed to Haiti on a humanitarian mission following a major earthquake there. His career has also included several deployments with NATO.

Carol Bateman

Ms. Bateman served in the Canadian Armed Forces from 2004 to 2019. During her career, she was a unit chaplain at CFB Kingston and CFB Petawawa. She also served as the base chaplain at Petawawa. Postings also took Ms. Bateman to Toronto and CFB Borden. From January 2007 to March 2007, Ms. Bateman served in Cyprus and later, in 2010, she served in Afghanistan. Other career highlights for her included participation in the burial of a Second World War Canadian soldier in France after his remains were found and identified.

Roy Moore

Mr. Moore joined the Royal Canadian Volunteer Naval Reserve in Toronto at HMCS York in 1942. He served in the Battle of the Atlantic. Sailing aboard HMCS Bittersweet (K182) and HMCS La Malbaie (K273), he participated in ship escorts, submarine hunting, and coastal patrols. Later, he transferred to HMCS Red Deer (J255) and participated in convoy escort duty, submarine patrols, and minesweeping. In 1943, Mr. Moore served aboard HMS (HMCS) Norwegian Destroyer Lincoln (G42), which was on loan to the Royal Navy. He left the navy in 1945 as a chief stoker machinist.

See the banners.

Get details on our Remembrance Service.

NEW PLAYGROUND The Mills Park playground reopened Oct.13.

Mills Park playground reopens

Members of town council officially reopened the Mills Park playground Oct. 13, following the completion of a $297,558 revitalization project. 

“This new playground will provide children a safe place to have fun with their family and friends. We look forward to hearing the laughter that will come from this space,” Mayor Nina Bifolchi said.

The park is at 30 Lewis St., next to the municipal office. Work on the revitalization project started in July.

In March, council awarded the project to New World Park Solutions.

The project included the following:

• Removal of the existing playground structure
• Removal of the existing wood fibre base
• Excavation of the new footprint of the playground
• Installation of the new playground equipment and features
• Installation of a rubber base as part of Integrated Accessibility Standards for Outdoor Play Spaces
• Installation of wood fibre base
• Surface restoration

“We encourage parents and children throughout our community to visit the playground in the days and weeks ahead so they can check out this wonderful new addition,” Mayor Bifolchi said.

South Georgian Bay specialized transit services - Transit Plus

The Town of Collingwood, The Town of Wasaga Beach, and Clearview Township are excited to announce new specialized transit services within the South Georgian Bay Area. The three municipalities will be working together within a joint contract to provide parallel accessible services across the Towns of Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, and Stayner.

In Collingwood, this service will be replacing the current Red Cross service, and the Town subsidized portion of the Ace Cabs service. The Town Wasaga Beach and Clearview Township will be launching this new service as an enhancement to the current public transit services.

New Specialized services are anticipated to begin in The Town of Wasaga Beach and Clearview Township in the month of November, with Collingwood following in mid December. The new service, TransitPLUS will be a door to door service serving residents of our accessible communities. 

For details on using the service see our Transit page.

Fares one way are $2.00 for adults and $1.50 for students and seniors, and service will operate from 7:00am to 9:00pm 7 days a week. Same day or on-demand service will always be a priority to provide to the community, however pre-booked rides will take precedence, and same day calls will be served based upon a first come first serve model.

This is an exciting partnership between our local municipal partners that will enhance the ability to travel for those with disabilities across our local municipal borders. Please visit the any of the Town’s websites to follow updates as start-up of services begins in early November. Questions about the service can be also addressed by contacting your local municipal office for additional details.

PROBUS MONTH On Oct.19, Mayor Nina Bifolchi and members of council hosted a flag-raising at town hall to mark Probus Month. Local Probus Club members joined us for the special occasion. Read the proclamation.

AWARD We're pleased to share that the Wasaga Beach Youth Centre recently received the Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce. This is the second year in a row the centre has been recognized as a safe and inclusive space for youth. Thanks to our youth centre team for a job well done!

Photo from Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce Facebook page

RECOGNITION On Oct. 5, Councillor David Foster and Historical Advisory Committee chair Lindsay Neale presented Sharon Bloomfield with the 2021 Historical Appreciation Award. They also presented Mike Miller with the 2022 Historical Appreciation Award. Bloomfield was recognized for her 25 years of volunteering at the Wasaga Beach Archives, where she was the volunteer coordinator. She was also instrumental in the transition of the archives to the new facility at 140 Main St. Miller was acknowledged for preserving the history of Wasaga Beach by creating his 'Memories of our Town' Facebook page and for articles he writes about people and places of local historical significance. Congratulations to both recipients.

Interested in serving on one of our advisory committees?

Learn more about the various committees and how you can apply.

2023 municipal grant application

process now open

The Town of Wasaga Beach is now accepting applications for municipal grants for 2023.

Applications must be submitted by December 20th, 2022.

Learn more about the process.