David Israelson
Special to The Lake Report

With the 2026 municipal election behind us, it’s already clear that one of the biggest challenges Niagara-on-the-Lake will face is the relentless effort by Premier Doug Ford to impose decisions on us. He’s either doing this directly or through his handpicked cronies at regional government.

Lord mayor-elect Vaughn Goettler (full disclosure, I supported him) has already identified dealing with our new regional government as a priority, and he’s right.

Before the election, Ford changed the structure of Niagara’s regional government, along with other regions, to make the system less democratic and less accountable to the people who will actually be affected by regional decisions — us.

Under the new system, Niagara-on-the-Lake will have just one of 12 seats at the region: the lord mayor.

Worse, regional council votes will be weighted by population, so Niagara Falls and St. Catharines will count for more than we do.

Worse still, the new regional chair will be appointed directly by the Ford government, not elected.

Let’s not pre-judge Ford’s choice too much yet, but the premier does have a habit of picking underqualified flunkies or rejected old pols to do his bidding.

This is only where the complications begin.

The Ford government has bold, ambitious plans for Niagara Region to become Las Vegas North, an enhanced tourist magnet that will be anchored by more casinos. It’s part of Ford’s Destination Niagara strategy that seeks to add billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs to the local economy.

Some of this is good stuff. We could all get behind if it weren’t for two things: signs of disturbing meddling by Ford and parts of the strategy that could bring irreparable change to Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Ford already tried to impose a new, giant Ferris wheel in stately Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls. He backed off after pressure by opposition MPP Wayne Gates and the public, and a promise by the owner of the Falls’ existing wheel to build a new, bigger one, not on green space.

Another problem with the Ford government’s Niagara regional vision is how heavily it relies on adding casinos.

Just after the Oct. 26 election, the province slashed the tax rate for gambling operators in Niagara as part of an effort to raise $3 billion in direct investment from the sector, along with another $600 million from the private sector over 20 years.

Everyone wants more investment and a strong, healthy Niagara tourism sector, including some casinos. But is adding more casinos a smart bet at a time when the existing ones see their customers switching to their smartphones to place wagers? I’d bet no.

The biggest problem in dealing with Ford and the new, less-democratic region will be protecting the history and heritage of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

One of the early flashpoints could be the province’s push to turn Niagara District Airport into a regional gateway; the province has already handed the airport nearly $10 million to study how to make it bigger.

A bigger airport may be good for the region, but not necessarily for Niagara-on-the-Lake. It could mean gobbling up some of our town’s precious farmland, paving wider, faster roads, having more planes buzzing over Virgil, adding more noise and pollution and potentially affecting drainage.

Voters in Niagara-on-the-Lake and elsewhere sent a message in the election.

They do not like the changes Ford has been making to weaken local decision-making and how the last council responded by making too many weak, unwise decisions. They want residents to come first.

That’s what our new lord mayor will have to tell the region, and the premier.

David Israelson is a writer and non-practising lawyer who lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake.