With the 2026 municipal election just weeks away, residents across St. Thomas, Central Elgin and Southwold will have an opportunity to meet the people seeking local office face-to-face.
The St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Municipal Candidates Meet & Greet next Wednesday, October 7, at the St. Thomas Memorial Arena Auditorium.
The free event will run from 5 to 8 p.m. and will use a trade-show-style format, with tables set up for candidates from the City of St. Thomas, Municipality of Central Elgin and Township of Southwold. Rather than a traditional all-candidates debate, residents will be able to move through the room and speak directly with the candidates they want to hear from.
St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce CEO Paul Jenkins says the format is intended to give residents the opportunity to have more personal conversations with the people seeking to represent them.
Jenkins says every candidate who filed to run in the three municipalities was invited to participate, although attendance is up to each individual candidate.
For the Chamber, the event is also about encouraging residents to become more familiar with how municipal government works and the issues that affect their communities. Jenkins explains why the Chamber sees an opportunity like this as an important part of community participation, beyond its role representing local businesses.
And with voters preparing to make decisions about who will represent them at the municipal level for the next term, Jenkins says he hopes residents will take advantage of the opportunity.
The Municipal Candidates Meet & Greet takes place Wednesday, October 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the St. Thomas Memorial Arena Auditorium.
There will be no debate, with the evening focused instead on individual conversations between candidates and residents. There is no cost for candidates to participate and no charge for members of the public to attend.
The event comes ahead of Ontario’s municipal election, set for Monday, October 26, 2026.
Written by: Kennedy Freeman
