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New Tecumseth’s mayor-elect Stephanie MacLellan vows to dive right into local issues

November 5, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

New Tecumseth’s newly elected mayor, Stephanie MacLellan, said she plans to “hit the ground running” when it comes to town issues, direction, and projects after she assumes office on Nov. 16.

MacLellan won the mayor’s seat in a landslide victory over incumbent Mayor Richard Norcross and newcomer Jaison Waldman in the Oct. 26 municipal election.  

She won with 7,100 votes. That was 61.79 per cent of the votes cast.

This was a historic decision for voters as MacLellan has become the first female mayor in the history of the town.

“I think my gut reaction is, it’s about time,” MacLellan said of having a woman in the role of mayor. “We have seen female councillors and female mayors (in other towns), just not here yet. I think it’s another ceiling that had to be broken, and I had the honour of breaking it. I hope it inspires young girls and women in our municipality to know that they have a place in local politics.”

She added, “Not only is this the first time we’ve had a female mayor in New Tecumseth, this is the first time we’ve had more women than men on council. We have five women and four men.”

This election has also demonstrated a new and different way that residents discuss town issues.

During her political campaign, MacLellan said she noticed that residents were far more likely to learn about issues through social media rather than in-person chats.

“When I was door-knocking, I found that not a lot of people wanted to engage at the door,” she said. “I found there was more conversation and engagement on social media, or people reaching out through social media.”

She managed to get her message across through in-person campaigning but also using social media as a platform.

The final results of the election proved to be a surprise for many local residents, as many people thought it would be a tight race for mayor with a close vote.

“I was confident going into the election,” explained Ms. MacLellan, reflecting on her thoughts prior to the vote. “I worked really hard, not just in my campaign, but in my full term. I was getting a lot of good feedback from the community. I was surprised at the votes when they came in. I was hoping to just break a double-digit percentage; I was hoping it would be 10, 11, or 12 per cent, but it turned out to be much more than that.”

When discussing the town issues with local residents, MacLellan found that the number one concern among people was road safety.

“I would say the number one thing that people are concerned about in the municipality is road safety,” she explained. “That includes speeding and speeding through neighbourhoods and things like that. People want us to pay more attention to traffic calming measures. That was definitely a huge theme in this election.”

The new Town Council will be sworn in during a ceremony on Nov. 16.

Ms. MacLellan said she knows the issues and won’t waste any time getting to work.

“I don’t ease into anything, I’m hitting the ground running,” Ms. MacLellan said of getting down to business when the new council officially begins their term of office. 

“On my first agenda you will see something about the OPA5, and you will see something about the MZO lands in Beeton. There’s only one new councillor, everyone else has at least four years on council, if not more, so it’s right to work. I enjoy the actual work so I’m diving right in.”

The first meeting for the new town council is scheduled for Nov. 16. However, since that day is also for inaugural and ceremonial purposes, the real first working meeting will take place on Nov. 23, in the council chambers. 

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