"You learn a lot about a town walking it every day. I've spent years asking questions about how NOTL spends its money — I'd like to ask them from the council table, and get answers residents can actually see."

— Steve McGuinness

That's why Steve is running: to open the books at Town Hall, to protect what makes NOTL's neighbourhoods worth living in, and to give this community a councillor with the time to do the job properly.

Celebrating Our Heritage. Creating Our Future.

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Big Ideas. Real Impact.

VOTE STEVE MCGUINNESS.

Big Ideas. Real Impact. VOTE STEVE MCGUINNESS.

Your Questions, Answered

This page is a living document — check back for frequent updates and a list of upcoming event appearances as the campaign progresses. As always, we want to hear from you. What do you think the key issues are? What questions do you have that should be on the ballot this fall? Email us and let us know.

  • I'm a retired Chartered Professional Accountant and a Niagara-on-the-Lake resident. I spent my career on Bay Street reading budgets, testing assumptions, and answering to boards that expected straight answers. I'm not a politician. I'm running because the Town's finances should be as easy for residents to understand as they were for the people I reported to. And as a retiree, I can give this job what it requires.

  • Because the job is mostly about money. Council approves a budget of roughly $72.2 million, including rate-supported utilities (water and wastewater). Each year, Council sets reserves and votes on every major spending decision. Most councillors rely on staff to interpret those numbers. I will not simply rely on staff. I can read them myself. And I can explain them clearly to you.

  • Because the people who pay for this town should be able to understand what they're paying for. I've spent years reading the Town's budgets and reports and writing about what I found. I'd rather do that job at the council table, with a vote — bringing the financial discipline of a career on Bay Street to how NOTL spends your money, protecting the neighbourhoods that make this town worth living in, and giving the job my full time.

  • No. This is my first campaign. I'm not a career politician, and I don't intend to become one. I'm a resident with a specific skill set the Town needs right now.

  • I have written regularly for The Lake Report and I answer every letter those columns bring in. I'm also a member of the NOTL Residents Association. For years I've been doing in public what I'd do on council: reading the reports, asking the questions, and explaining to residents what I found.

  • No. I'm running as an independent candidate, and I'll vote on every issue on its merits.

  • Email votestevemcgnotl@gmail.com. I read every message and respond personally.

  • My campaign is built around three commitments:

    Open the Books — real transparency and accountability for how the town spends your money;

    Protecting Neighbourhood Character — defending NOTL's communities from over-tourism, short-term rental abuse and development that doesn't fit; and

    A Full-Time Councillor — I'm retired, and this job will get all of my time. Everything else I'll do on council — on flooding, the airport, parking, taxes — flows from those three. Read more on each below.

Open the Books: Fiscal Transparency

  • It means you should be able to see where every tax dollar goes without needing an accountant to translate. Right now the budget documents are hundreds of pages written for staff and auditors. I'll publish a plain-language explanation of every budget and every major spending decision — something I can do as one councillor, starting my first month.

  • No. I'm saying it's hard to find. There's a difference. Town staff produce the information the law requires. My job would be to make it readable, and to ask the questions a resident would ask if they had time to read all of it.

  • Three things I can deliver myself without needing a majority: a plain-language guide to the 2027 budget; a public running list of every reserve fund and its balance; and a written explanation after every major capital vote of what it costs and why I voted the way I did.

  • Part of every NOTL tax bill pays for things the Province requires the Town to do without fully funding them. I'll push for the Town to publish, in plain language, exactly what those downloaded costs are each year. So residents can see the number, and so NOTL can make its case to Queen's Park with facts instead of complaints.

  • I've spent time at doors in all five of our communities and the rural area, listening to residents whose homes flooded. The first question they ask is: what has the Town spent on stormwater, and what did we get for it? Nobody can answer that easily from public documents. That's the problem. I'll make the stormwater spending record public and readable, and push for the Stormwater Master Plan to be the basis of funding decisions — not the other way around.

  • I'm not against the airport. I'm for a real business case. A project of this size needs projections a CPA would sign off on: who pays, what the revenue assumptions are, and what happens to taxpayers if the assumptions are wrong. I haven't seen that yet. Until it exists, I won't vote to commit Town money.

Protecting Neighbourhood Character

  • Each of our communities — Old Town, Virgil, St. Davids, Glendale, Queenston and the rural area — has its own character, and each is under pressure from development, tourism and short-term rentals in different ways. Protecting character means the Town's rules actually reflect what residents of each community want, and are enforced.

  • The Town has a licensing bylaw. The problem residents describe to me is enforcement, not the rules. I'll push to fund enforcement and report it publicly. That means accessible information on how many complaints, inspections, and fines. If the numbers show the bylaw isn't working, we should fix the bylaw.

  • Tourism pays a lot of our bills, and I won't pretend otherwise. But the costs of tourism — parking, traffic, noise, wear on infrastructure — fall on residents. Those costs should be measured and paid for by the visitors who create them. Transparent accounting of what tourism costs the Town is where that starts.

  • The Province has set housing targets and the Town has to meet them. My test for any application is simple: does it fit the community it's going into, and has the Town been honest about the servicing and infrastructure costs? I'll vote for developments that pass that test and against ones that don't. And I'll explain each vote in writing.

  • Heritage is why people come here and why many of us live here. I support the Town's heritage designation process and will push for the Heritage Permit process to be faster and clearer for homeowners, so protection doesn't become punishment for the people maintaining these properties.

A Full-Time Councillor

  • The pay is part-time. The job isn't. Council packages run hundreds of pages per meeting, and the councillors who read all of it are the ones who catch the problems. I'm retired. I have no side business to run, no other job, and no other board I sit on. This will be the only thing I do.

  • I'll hold open office hours in each community — not just Old Town, and I'll answer every email personally.

  • Yes, and every committee meeting I'm appointed to. I'll publish my attendance record so you don't have to take my word for it.

  • A monthly plain-language update on what council decided, what it cost, and how I voted. Posted online and emailed to anyone who asks.

Voting in NOTL

  • Election Day is Monday, October 26, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

    But you don't have to wait. Online voting opens Monday, October 5 at 10 a.m. and runs around the clock until Sunday, October 25 at 8 p.m.

    There are also two in-person advance polls:

    ·       Wednesday, October 7 (10 a.m.–8 p.m.) at Town Hall, 1593 Four Mile Creek Road,

    ·       Saturday, October 17 (10 a.m.–6 p.m.) at the NOTL Community Centre, 14 Anderson Lane.

  • Every eligible voter on the voters' list will receive a Voter Information Letter in the mail before October 5 with a personal PIN and the voting website. You'll enter your PIN and your date of birth, and you can vote from any phone, tablet or computer. You don't need to sign up for online voting in advance — the letter comes automatically. If it doesn't arrive, that usually means you're not on the list.

  • Check, update or add yourself at registertovoteon.ca. If you've moved, changed your name, or turned 18 since 2022, check early — if you're not on the list you won't receive your online voting letter.

  • Anywhere in town. NOTL uses "Vote Anywhere," so you can vote at whichever location is most convenient — you're not tied to a poll near your home. On Election Day, Monday, October 26 (10 a.m.–8 p.m.), the polls are: Holiday Inn Express, 524 York Road; Laura Secord Homestead, 29 Queenston Street; Crossroads Public School, 1350 Niagara Stone Road; St. Davids Public School, 1344 York Road; and the NOTL Community Centre, 14 Anderson Lane.

  • Yes. Online voting runs October 5–25 (see "How do I vote online?" above).

  • For in-person voting, bring your Voter Information Letter and/or one piece of government-issued ID that shows your NOTL address. The Province publishes the full list of acceptable documents — see the 2026 Voters' Guide (ontario.ca). For online voting, no ID is needed: you enter the PIN from your Voter Information Letter and your date of birth.

  • You can vote for up to 6 councillors.

  • No. We recommend you only vote for the people you want to support. In fact, voting for fewer candidates makes each of your votes count more. And a single vote for me alone is the strongest vote you can cast.

  • Glad you asked. You can put up a sign, knock on doors with us, make a donation, or just talk to your neighbours. All support is appreciated. Email votestevemcgnotl@gmail.com and tell us where you live — we'll get back to you right away.

  • Yes.  We appreciate your support.  Note that under Ontario's Municipal Elections Act, only individuals who normally live in Ontario can contribute (no businesses, unions or groups), there is a $1200 limit per contributor, and every contribution is receipted.

Got a question we haven't answered? Email votestevemcgnotl@gmail.com.

REACH OUT TO CONNECT

Steve wants to know your concerns and priorities for improving our town.

We are also happy to answer any questions.  

As well volunteer opportunities are available with our campaign to contribute time and talents toward making his campaign more impactful to your neighbours.

Please fill in the form below and we will get back to you.