1997 Ontario municipal elections explained

The 1997 Ontario municipal elections were led in all municipalities across the Canadian province of Ontario on November 10, 1997, to elect mayors and reeves, councillors, and school trustees. There were also referendum questions in some municipalities.

The most closely watched contest was in the newly amalgamated city of Toronto, where Mel Lastman narrowly defeated Barbara Hall to win the mayoralty. In other results, Hazel McCallion was re-elected in Mississauga, Bob Morrow was returned in Hamilton, and Dianne Haskett was elected in London.^[1]

Elected mayors

• Ajax

Steve Parish^[2]

• Barrie

Janice Laking^[2]

• Brampton

Peter Robertson^[2]

• Brantford

Chris Friel (details)

• Burlington

Robert MacIsaac^[2]

• Cambridge

Jane Brewer^[2]

• Chatham-Kent

Bill Erickson

• Clarington

Diane Hamre^[2]

• Cornwall

Brian Sylvester^[2]

• Gloucester

Claudette Cain^[2] (details)

• Guelph

Joe Young^[2] (details)

• Halton Hills

Marilyn Serjeantson^[2]

• Hamilton

Bob Morrow^[2] (details)

• Kanata

Merle Nicholds^[2] (details)

• Kingston

Gary Bennett^[2]

• Kitchener

Carl Zehr^[2]

• London

Dianne Haskett^[2]

• Markham

Don Cousens^[2]

• Mississauga

Hazel McCallion^[2]

• Nepean

Mary Pitt (details)

• Newmarket

Tom Taylor^[2]

• Niagara Falls

Wayne Thomson^[2]

• North Bay

Jack Burrows^[2]

• Oakville

• Oshawa

Nancy Diamond^[2]

• Ottawa

Jim Watson^[2] (details)

• Peterborough

Sylvia Sutherland^[2]

• Pickering

Wayne Arthurs^[2]

• Richmond Hill

Bill Bell^[2]

• Sarnia

• Sault Ste. Marie

Steve Butland^[2]

• St. Catharines

Tim Rigby^[2] (details)

• Stoney Creek

• Sudbury

Jim Gordon^[2] (details)

• Thunder Bay

Ken Boshcoff^[2]

• Timmins

Vic Power^[2]

• Toronto

Mel Lastman^[2] (details)

• Vaughan

Lorna Jackson^[2]

• Waterloo

Joan McKinnon^[2]

• Welland

Dick Reuter^[2]

• Whitby

Marcel Brunelle^[2]

• Windsor

Mike Hurst^[2] (details)

Elected regional chairs

• Hamilton–Wentworth

Terry Cooke

• Ottawa–Carleton

Bob Chiarelli (details)

• Sudbury

Peter Wong

• Waterloo

Ken Seiling

Results

Lakefield

1997 Lakefield election, Reeve of Lakefield

Candidate	Total votes	% of total votes
Bob Helsing	663	89.23
Bill Wellman	80	10.77
Total valid votes	743	100.00

Source: Bill Hodgins, "Battle on for Lakefield pair," Peterborough Examiner, 6 November 2000, B3.

References

1. Murray Campbell and Susan Delacourt, "Ontario Municipal Elections," Globe and Mail, 11 November 1997, A1.
2. News: Ontario elects mayors. November 11, 1997. A4. Brantford Expositor. January 3, 2022.