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.
A cat sits on a bench outside the Kariye mosque in Istanbul, Turkey Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Mon honnête expérience: j'ai essayé la DivaCup pendant une semaine
J'avais aucune idée c'était quoi une coupe menstruelle, jusqu'à ce que je tombe sur cet article: Tout ce que tu dois savoir sur la DivaCup et que tu n'as jamais osé demander.
Perso, j'ai eu super envie de l'essayer quand j'ai compris à quel point c'est mieux pour l'environnement et qu'il n'y a rien de toxique pour le corps contrairement à certains produits hygiéniques.
Ma première semaine a toutefois été toute une expérience! Voici un compte-rendu et certains mythes mis au point:
La première fois
J'ai trouvé l'insertion super facile. J'ai lu les instructions fournies avec la coupe et je n'ai pas overthink l'affaire. Au début, le feeling c'est comme un tampon mal inséré mais après quelques mouvements c'était assez confortable.
Puis, j'ai eu la mauvaise idée d'aller lire des reviews en ligne, surtout parce que je me demandais comment l'enlever. MAUVAISE IDÉE. Bien entendu, le premier commentaire que j'ai lu était d'une personne qui a donné 0/5 au produit sur leur site, et qui a fini à l'hôpital pour sortir la coupe.
Je crois que les commentaires des acheteurs étaient classés du pire au meilleur, car j'ai lu des histoires d'horreur pendant une dizaine de minutes. Après avoir presque fait une crise d'angoisse, je me suis précipitée dans la salle de bain pour retirer la cup.
Puisque j'étais paniquée et que je n'avais pas vraiment lu comment l'enlever, j'ai juste essayé de tirer sur la tige qui dépasse. Pas une bonne idée, surtout pas avec des ongles super longs. (Note importante: les ongles courts c'est mieux pour l'enlever).
Finalement, j'ai semi-honte de dire que je me suis couchée au sol dans une position d'accouchement pour l'enlever. Après ce moment, je me suis dit PU JAMAIS. Puis, mon chum m'a dit que j'étais un peu épaisse d'avoir payé 40$ pour l'avoir utilisé une seule fois.
Je suis donc allé regarder des vidéos sur Youtube pour savoir comment l'enlever facilement. Je tiens à remercier cette fille de ses instructions très claires et quasi relaxantes:
Deuxième fois
Donc la même soirée, j'ai fait une prise 2. L'insertion a été aussi facile (les filles sur YouTube disent que tu dois vraiment te détendre et c'est vrai, sinon ça rentre pas!), mais je n'étais pas certaine qu'elle était ouverte. Je suis allée au lit avec, pour me réveiller en pleine nuit prise de panique, de peur qu'elle ait bougé dans mon sommeil et que je finisse à l'hôpital.
Je suis donc allée l'enlever pendant la nuit en suivant les instructions de la fille dans la vidéo (tu peux l'enlever comme un tampon pendant que tu es assise sur la toilette) et ça a été super facile.
Jour 2
Le lendemain matin, je ne me suis pas sentie game de la porter pour aller au travail. Tu dois la vider/laver aux 10-12 heures environ, et je ne savais pas quand j'allais être de retour chez moi. J'ai lu en ligne que tu peux juste la vider et la nettoyer avec du papier de toilette rapidement si tu es dans un lieu public, mais ça me tente boff.
À ma surprise, en arrivant chez moi le soir même, j'ai eu super hâte d'enlever mon tampon et de remettre la cup. Il n'y a zéro odeur avec la coupe, ni débordements (si elle est bien mise), contrairement à la corde dégueulasse.
Je l'ai enlevé avant d'aller prendre ma douche (succès encore une fois) et ce n'était pas dégueu du tout à vider. C'est définitivement pas pire que de voir le contenu d'une serviette sanitaire. Cette nuit-là, j'ai dormi comme un bébé et le lendemain matin, elle n'avait pas bougé du tout et il n'y avait aucune fuite.
Le reste de la semaine
Je suis rendue super à l'aise de la mettre (position debout comme un tampon c'est plus facile, tu dois juste la plier en 2) et l'enlever, mais je n'ai pas encore été game de la porter en dehors de chez moi à cause du nettoyage. Je crois sincèrement que c'est plus confortable qu'un tampon et on ne la sent pas du tout quand on marche ou on s'assoit.
Verdict
Fini à jamais les serviettes pour dormir! Le confort total pendant la nuit, avec des pyjamas ou sous-vêtements cutes. Je vais définitivement la porter à l'extérieur de la maison lors de mes prochaines règles. La période d'apprentissage dure environ 3-4 jours, donc ça ira mieux le mois prochain. C'est un bon investissement pour un an, car je dépensais environ 10$ par mois en produits. Toutefois, je vais sûrement avoir encore quelques tampons en back up lors les journées où je n'aurai pas accès à un lavabo dans un endroit privé.
Mythes qui ne sont pas vrais: