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Thunder Bay's next mayor will have to grapple with homelessness, housing crisis
Homelessness, safety top of mind in Thunder Bay
THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Jackson
Candidates vying to lead one of northern Ontario's largest municipalities agree that public safety, homelessness and aging infrastructure will have to be among the top priorities for Thunder Bay's next council.
Nine candidates are competing to replace long-serving mayor and former member of Parliament Ken Boshcoff, who is retiring from municipal politics. He was first elected councillor in 1979 and served two stints as mayor, first from 1997 to 2003 then again in 2022.
Trevor Giertuga, who's running for mayor after serving as city councillor since 2000, said the rise in crime and homelessness is the main challenge facing the city. If elected, he said he would increase police resources and build more housing.
"I would like to see us return back to neighbourhood policing with more boots on the ground in the areas, so we could target high-risk areas or high-crime areas," he said, noting that Thunder Bay used to have a crime prevention council whose members included Indigenous leaders, business owners and others in the community.
Statistics Canada's crime severity index, based on police-reported data, for Thunder Bay increased 18 per cent from 2024 to 2025. The Thunder Bay police website shows the city's crime severity index has been higher than both provincial and national averages from 2020 to 2024.
The District of Thunder Bay’s Social Services Administration Board estimated in an August report that there were 1,129 homeless people in the city by the end of last year and that at least 58 per cent of them identified as Indigenous.
Earlier this month, the city's long-awaited temporary shelter village with 80 private cabins and shared washroom and kitchen facilities welcomed its first residents. But Giertuga said the city needs more permanent housing instead of temporary solutions to homelessness.
"The village has opened and although I was opposed to it, we're in it now, so it's a matter of making sure it's run properly," he said, adding that the $12.5 million spent on the project should have gone toward permanent housing.
Moe Comuzzi, a real estate broker with extensive business experience who is also running for mayor, said the temporary village is a well thought out project and she would be committed to moving it forward if elected.
"It gives people dignity and the opportunity to have a nice, warm, safe place to help them," she said. "Whether or not they need services for mental health and addictions, the services will be there for them ... or whether they're just waiting for an affordable home that takes a little bit of time to build."
Comuzzi said building more housing and infrastructure is part of the goal to attract more investment and growth, as the city is an economic hub in northern Ontario.
"Industry, small business, and mining, critical minerals — I mean the opportunities are endless," she said.
Giertuga said he would also focus on increasing the city's tax base to avoid steep rate hikes for residents. He said Thunder Bay has a $30-million infrastructure funding gap and city council has been raising the capital budget by five per cent a year to make that gap smaller.
But he said promising to freeze property taxes is not realistic.
"Other candidates have put forward a tax freeze for 2027 and I ask, 'then how, where, are we going to get the money or what services are we prepared to cut?'"
Comuzzi also said a tax freeze is not feasible.
"Everybody's feeling the pinch at the grocery store and at the gas station. Businesses are feeling that stress too. So, growing Thunder Bay for all of us is the right step in the right direction," she said.
Since Thunder Bay is a regional service hub in northern Ontario, Giertuga said he would also advocate for more federal and provincial funding to help the city serve people from nearby communities.
"We have 30,000 people in the city that are not on our census that have come from outlying communities, and not just unhoused people, people coming for cancer treatment, people coming for other medical treatment, people coming for all sorts of different reasons," he said.
For mayoral candidate Volker Kromm, a project manager and business leader, the rise in poverty is a key issue.
"These last couple of years, we've seen a steady decline and such an increase in the effects of poverty on the streets and the drug culture and the cost of living and the whole of the affordability issue," he said.
"The poverty is growing, there aren't enough jobs. In some cases, there isn't the training available, and these people can't afford to live here because there aren't enough affordable houses, so they end up on the streets."
Thunder Bay's 10-year housing and homelessness plan says getting enough affordable housing will continue to be a problem since the average cost of building a single new unit is $450,000 and "the available funding does not stretch far."
Kromm said the city needs to better co-ordinate with federal and provincial government agencies and other groups that help homeless people and those struggling with addiction.
"We have a lot of great social service organizations ... They're doing the best that they can, but they work separate," he said.
Lindsay Martin, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Northwestern Ontario, said her organization supports homeless women and gender-diverse people, including those who struggle with substance use and mental health issues, but has never had much contact with or support from the city.
"A lot of NGOs, or non-for-profits or charitable organizations, they rely on community, they rely on government funding, and the municipality doesn't necessarily step in to support organizations like Elizabeth Fry Society," she said.
"It would be good if they started to co-ordinate with work that's already being done and support it in that way."
Martin said the next city council should advocate for more support from the province to address issues that lead to homelessness, such as lack of affordable housing and mental health care.
"Without housing, folks are out there struggling ... temperatures drop to -35 here at times, and that's a death sentence for people who are unhoused in our community," she said.
Peter Diedrich, a mayoral candidate who worked for decades in telecom, technology and venture capital consulting, agreed that more co-ordination with higher levels of government is key to addressing long-standing issues in Thunder Bay.
"The role of a new mayor and a new council is to actually make that co-ordination process work and work flawlessly," he said.
"It's not just a municipal problem. Much of the funding and resources need to be coming from provincial and federal sources, and I don't think that I should go as mayor without a good plan. I don't want to go and beg for money."
Diedrich said collaboration with the province is part of his goal to build more housing, have 90 per cent fewer homeless people and zero tent encampments in Thunder Bay in four years. He criticized the previous administration for allowing designated encampment sites in parks, "where children are playing with their families."
Kromm said a lot of people he met during the election campaign expressed disappointment and frustration about the work of previous city councils.
"I was shocked a little bit at the lack of enthusiasm that people have for the municipal election," he said.
"When I'm knocking on doors, they say, 'Oh, I guess we'll have to sit down and kind of take a look at the issues,'" Kromm said. "If they're a business or a homeowner that's been affected by some of the homelessness or the crime issues, then they're keenly engaged, but still, it's a fairly small percentage of people that are responding."
The city said a total of 9.52 per cent of eligible voters, or more than 8,700, cast their ballots in advance as of Thursday morning. The overall turnout in Thunder Bay's 2022 election was 43 per cent.
Kromm said people need to pay closer attention to what the candidates are saying.
"Take a look at the councillors, take a look at their skill sets, what do they bring to the table?" he said. "If you vote on name recognition, you're going to get what you've always had."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Maan Alhmidi | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Carney not worried about closer Turkish ties amid nation's treatment of LGBTQ+ groups
Carney not worried about closer Turkish ties
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's not overly concerned about Canada seeking closer ties with Turkey amid criticism that the country has infringed on LGBTQ+ rights.
Turkish authorities have targeted multiple LGBTQ+ groups and individuals, detaining dozens of activists, breaking into association offices and raiding popular hangouts.
Last month, Ottawa opted against joining Germany, France and others in condemning Turkey’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ organizations.
Carney told reporters in Istanbul that "engagement is not approval” and that Ottawa believes everyone should be able to live freely, safely and with dignity.
He says Canada raised the human rights concerns during bilateral meetings with Turkish officials but would not say whether he personally spoke to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the issue.
Carney is in Turkey for a three-day trip to strike a new strategic partnership and pursue free trade with the NATO ally.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
By Craig Lord | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Ballots cast on election day in B.C. will be counted by hand, Elections BC says
B.C. election day ballots will be counted by hand
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
It's the last full day of campaigning in British Columbia's election ahead of final voting day Saturday, when most ballots will be counted by hand.
Elections BC has confirmed that votes cast on election day will be tallied manually, in a departure from 2024, when electronic tabulators were used to count paper ballots for the first time in a general election.
That was hailed as a success in Elections BC's report on the polls, but the agency says in a statement that it's going back to a manual count due to "short time frames and complex operational logistics of a snap election."
It says paper ballots cast at advance polling stations and at district electoral offices will be counted with electronic tabulators, and it expects those results to be reported first.
Elections BC also says the election-night count will not include absentee or main-in ballots, which will be tallied at the final count scheduled Nov. 6 to Nov. 10.
Advance voting numbers released Thursday were down more than 11 per cent compared to 2024, bucking a two-decade upward trend.
There were more than 891,000 advance votes cast from Friday to Wednesday, representing about 24 per cent of all registered voters.
That compares to more than one million advance votes cast in 2024, when numbers spiked 49 per cent over the previous election.
Elections BC's report on the 2024 election says electronic tabulation allowed the first preliminary results to be reported within five minutes of polls closing, and 59 per cent of preliminary results to reported within half an hour.
"In past elections first results typically started to be reported around 45 minutes after polls closed," it said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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6 dépenses que la Ville de Montréal peut payer à ta place en 2023
Tu peux te faire rembourser plusieurs produits! 🤑
Oui, vivre en ville peut coûter cher. Avec la hausse des loyers, les prix en épicerie qui grimpent et les factures des restos qui peuvent nous surprendre une fois le repas terminé, les fins de mois sont parfois quelque peu ardues. Question de redonner un peu à la communauté et d'encourager certains gestes, il existe des subventions et de l'aide financière que tu peux demander à la Ville pour te permettre de réduire tes dépenses annuelles.
Eh oui, dans le cadre d'un programme de transition écologique, la Ville de Montréal offre des rabais de 50 % sur plusieurs produits réutilisables du quotidien. Tu peux aussi obtenir une carte qui te permet de bénéficier de toutes sortes de rabais sur des entrées et des services. Si tu désires faire le grand saut et acheter une demeure, sache aussi qu'il existe un programme pour réduire certains coûts inclus avec l’achat. Bref, tu peux tirer profit de différents avantages. Il faut juste les connaître, puis en faire la demande!
Les couches lavables pour bébé
Pour les petites familles, quelques produits d'hygiène réutilisables pour bébé sont remboursables par la Ville, et ce, dans certains arrondissements. Ainsi, si tu fais l'achat de couches et inserts (en achat ou en service de location), de culotte d'entraînement ou de couches-maillots, tu pourrais te faire rembourser 50 % de ta facture d'un minimum de 50 $. Les parents peuvent se faire rembourser jusqu'à 180 $ maximum par année. Une preuve de résidence et d'achats est requise pour faire la demande.
Pour faire ta demande de subvention
Les produits d'hygiène féminine
Dans le but d'encourager la transition écologique, la Ville rembourse 50 % des coûts de produits hygiéniques féminins, mais, encore une fois, seulement les réutilisables. Si tu utilises des coupes menstruelles, culottes, des serviettes ou éponges hygiéniques lavables ou que tu achètes des tissus pour confectionner des serviettes hygiéniques, tu peux demander un remboursement sur une facture de 60 $ maximum, et ce, au deux ans seulement. N'oublie pas de vérifier si ton arrondissement te permet d'en faire la demande.
Pour faire ta demande de subvention
Les culottes pour fuite urinaire
Vivre avec un problème d'incontinence peut être un stress au quotidien. C'est pourquoi la Ville offre aux personnes qui vivent avec ce genre de tracas de rembourser une partie du coût des culottes réutilisables pour fuite urinaire ou des couches pour adulte. Ainsi, 50 % des frais sont indemnisés, pour un maximum de 75 $. La facture présentée devra aussi être d'un minimum de 30 $ pour que ce rabais puisse s'appliquer. Ce n'est pas tous les arrondissements à Montréal qui offrent cette subvention, alors n'hésite pas à vérifier sur le site Internet de la Ville.
Pour faire ta demande de subvention
La carte accès Montréal
La carte Accès Montréal te permet de profiter d'une panoplie d'activités à rabais. Spectacles, tarifs réduits pour location de bixi, billets pour des parcs, loisir et sports, musées, tu peux même obtenir des rabais sur des entrées pour le spa! La carte est au coût de 9 $ et peut être demandée en ligne ou en personne dans les bureaux d'Accès Montréal.
Pour en faire la demande
Un arbre à bas prix
Afin de verdir Montréal, la Ville offre la possibilité à ses résident.es d'acheter des arbres à planter sur leur terrain, et ce, à faible coût. Bonne nouvelle, ce programme est offert dans tous les arrondissements de l'île.
« Vous pouvez choisir votre arbre parmi une quarantaine d’essences offertes à bas prix », peut-on lire sur le site Web de la Ville. Il y a même, dans certains secteurs, la possibilité de demander une livraison et un service de plantation à petit prix. Pratique si tu avais justement besoin d'un peu d'ombre dans ton jardin.
Pour en faire la demande
Programme d'acquisition d'une première maison
Si tu rêves de t'acheter une maison dans la métropole, mais que tu clignes des yeux à la vue des chiffres exorbitants sur les pancartes d'annonce immobilière, sache que la Ville offre la possibilité d'obtenir une aide financière pour les premier.ères acheteur.euses. Les bénéficiaires du programme pourraient ainsi acquérir un montant forfaitaire à l'achat d'une propriété neuve et un remboursement des droits de mutation si la propriété est déjà existante.
Pour en faire la demande