Four big moments from Tuesday’s Fort Erie mayoral debate

Four mayoral candidates faced off Tuesday night in Fort Erie’s first debate in the 2026 municipal election.

Presented by the South Niagara Chambers of Commerce and the Niagara Association of Realtors, the debate was moderated by Kevin Jacoby in front of a densely packed crowd at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 71 and broadcast by Fort Erie Radio.

Mayor Wayne Redekop, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term, faced Regional Councillor Tom Insinna, Mike Campbell and Juan Liu.

With less than four weeks left until election night, candidates left nothing off the table, from health care to housing to whether their rivals are too old for the job.

Liu made the night’s most serious accusation, alleging that town officials retaliated against her family for criticizing local government, which she called “political persecution,” though she offered no evidence during the debate.

Here are the top four moments from the debate.

Insinna says town has ‘burned’ bridges with Niagara Health

All four candidates agreed Douglas Memorial Hospital should keep offering urgent care after Niagara Health opens the new South Niagara Hospital in 2028.

Redekop has led the town’s fight to keep the Douglas urgent care centre open. He won unanimous regional council support for Fort Erie’s petition to the province.

But Insinna argued the town’s leadership has damaged its relationships with Niagara Health and the province.

“Unfortunately, right now, the bridge has been burned between NHS and our town and between the province and our town.”

Insinna argued that the next mayor must negotiate by “talking, not yelling or screaming or pounding your hand on the desk.” He did not mention Redekop by name.

Redekop rejected the accusation: “The bridges haven’t been burned.”

He noted the town has presented its plan for Douglas to Ontario health minister Sylvia Jones and Niagara Health in formal meetings this year.

No agreement on why homes aren’t getting built

Insinna said developers have told him they avoid Fort Erie because of red tape and waits of one to two years for permits.

Redekop countered that the town has already approved or draft-approved about 3,500 homes. He blamed inflation and uncertainty over development charges for keeping builders on hold.

“Unless you’ve driven around the town, I guess you wouldn’t know that there are housing developments taking place in every part of this community,” Redekop told Insinna.

Campbell argued the town should stop approving new homes until its infrastructure catches up: “We have too much going on around this town. It needs to stop.”

Liu promised her “modular homes” would cost “about around $8,000” each and residents would pay no property tax. She did not explain how the town would pay for services.

She also proposed a 3,300-metre structure she called the “Sky Mountain,” which she described as holding “about 640,000 units.”

Campbell, Insinna go after Redekop’s jobs record

Redekop took the opportunity to point to new industrial investment in Fort Erie.

He pointed to the roughly $100-million plant Siltech opened on Pettit Road last year. Redekop added that aircraft builder De Havilland, which bought longtime Fort Erie parts maker Fleet Canada in 2025, has been “on a hiring binge.”

But Campbell took aim at how few jobs those projects created. He told the room the 210,000-square-foot Siltech building only employs roughly 50 people.

“That’s not industry to me,” Campbell said. “Industry is where you have workers.”

Insinna questioned what Redekop has delivered in his 12 consecutive years in office: “And we have how much development? I’m sorry, that doesn’t cut it.”

Redekop responded that the town is working with colleges, employers and the province to train more local workers.

“We can’t attract new businesses [or] facilitate the expansion of existing businesses unless they’ve got the workforce,” he said.

Liu argued her system of “political democracy, economic democracy and moral democracy” could “save about two billion in the first month.” She did not say where the savings would come from.

The unavoidable: groceries and taxes

Insinna promised a line-by-line review of town spending under the slogan “savings first, taxes last.”

He recounted how an older couple living on pensions told him rising taxes have forced them to cut back on groceries.

“You’re making a choice between groceries and taxes. That’s not right,” Insinna said.

Redekop pointed out that Fort Erie has the second-lowest municipal taxes in Niagara, and about half of every local property tax bill goes to the Niagara Region.

Campbell complained that some homeowners pay more than neighbours with similar houses, likening it to “getting robbed.” Redekop blamed the gap on property assessments, which the province has not updated since 2016.

Liu said that governments “are corrupt and they waste,” then made a challenge to her fellow candidates: “Can you just promise for free tax or reduced tax in three months? I can.”

Much of the audience–consisting of many local council candidates and community leaders–clearly backed either Insinna or Redekop but grew restless toward the end of the night. Liu’s proposals were, at times, followed by murmurs from attendees.

The winner of the October 26 election will be Fort Erie’s only representative on Niagara regional council. The province eliminated the town’s elected regional seat, which Insinna has held since 2018.

Online voting opens October 5 at 10 a.m. and closes on election day, October 26, at 8 p.m.

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