City services
13:01
Keeping city facilities in good repair
The moderator cited a building review that found more than half of city facilities in poor to very poor condition.
How should the city address its aging facilities?
Eight candidates for mayor, one wide-ranging conversation about Welland's future. Watch the full YourTV Niagara forum, or jump straight to the topics you care about.
Election Day is October 26, 2026. Every timestamp below opens the recording at that point.
YourTV Niagara brought all eight mayoral candidates together to discuss the choices facing Welland and Niagara. The full forum runs 2 hours 38 minutes.
The questions moved between city responsibilities and regional or provincial decisions. These recurring themes help connect the individual answers.
Taxes, aging facilities, water and wastewater costs, development charges, reserves, and future infrastructure funding.
Housing targets, the canal proposal, regional corridors, transportation, and the infrastructure needed to support new homes.
Downtown activity, homelessness and addiction, public safety, roads, recreation, and the condition of public facilities.
Niagara College, Brock University, business attraction, sports tourism, and making the city's assets work harder.
Preparation, respectful debate, accountability, advocacy, and the mayor's role on City and Regional Council.
Near-term priorities, practical tools, working with partners, and following through on results.
Select a time to open the video at that point. Each card summarizes the question and discussion; watch the recording for every candidate's complete answer.
The moderator cited a building review that found more than half of city facilities in poor to very poor condition.
How should the city address its aging facilities?
Candidates discussed the proposed canal-side development and the scale of growth it could bring to Welland.
What concerns, if any, do you have about a proposal of up to 4,500 homes?
How post-secondary institutions might help create opportunities across Niagara.
What partnership opportunities could help deliver economic growth?
The impacts residents see in public spaces, and approaches involving service partners, safety and support.
What is your plan to address the situation?
A question about the mayor's role in maintaining decorum opened a discussion about how elected officials work together.
What should happen when standards are not met?
East Main Street and the downtown core, including ways to bring people back and support local businesses.
What initiatives could boost foot traffic and reduce vacancies?
How Welland's facilities and other municipal assets could support recreation, visitors, and local businesses.
How can key assets help sports tourism and community recreation?
Municipal tools for attainable homes while keeping private investment in the picture.
How can Welland encourage more affordable homes?
Manufacturing, commercial and technology businesses, and the conditions that help employers choose Welland.
How would you attract new investment and jobs?
With water and wastewater largely managed by the Region, candidates were asked what changes they would advocate for.
What could help reduce the cost residents pay?
Each candidate identified which investments and services they would put first.
What investments would you prioritize as mayor?
Welland's housing targets and continued eligibility for the provincial Building Faster Fund.
How can the city keep meeting targets and protect funding?
How regional transportation infrastructure should keep pace with growth along major corridors.
How should Welland advocate for transportation needs?
Specific road or traffic improvements candidates would advocate for as mayor.
Which projects should be moved forward?
Using future development-charge revenue to help fund large wastewater projects.
What should be checked before committing future revenues?
Each candidate's final chance to explain what they would bring to the role.
Jump to each closing statement in the candidates section below.
Jump to each candidate's opening and closing statement, in the order they spoke. Names follow the City of Welland's registered candidates list.
About this guide: topic notes and timestamps are based on a speech-to-text transcript and the original video. Summaries are paraphrases, not quotations or endorsements. For full context, watch the source recording.
Election Day is October 26, 2026. Advance voting runs October 17 to 25 at Seaway Mall and the Welland Public Library. Check the City of Welland for official dates, locations and candidate details.