2026 Electoral Candidates – Questions & Answers
These questions and responses are taken directly from The Fenelon Falls and District Chamber of Commerce website. Responses are presented with mayoral candidates first, alphabetically by last name, followed by the Ward 3 candidates. Candidate responses are reproduced as submitted. All seven candidates were asked to participate and the following are the responses that were received.
Question 4 – Arts & Culture
a) Kawartha Lakes' Cultural Master Plan is currently being updated. What role do you believe arts and culture should play in the municipality's economic development and downtown revitalization strategy, and would you support continued or expanded municipal investment in cultural organizations and initiatives, including multi-year funding where appropriate?
Mayoral Candidates
Ron Ashmore
I support arts and culture. We need to recognize that this is a large and growing sector of our economy. I have supported many local arts and culture venues for years in my Ward and the city as a whole.
Matthew Flynn
Unfortunately, the visual arts and culture of the area is not a substantial enough draw to be a major fixture in the economic plan or revitalization strategy. This isn’t from a lack of funding or promotion; it is simply a lack of interest from the average person. Including the arts in festivals, fairs and events is a resounding yes as is featuring them as part of the area, but building a plan around them as an economic boon is not feasible. They should receive assistance from the municipality but not be a corner stone for future plans. Performing arts however can and does draw a major crowd to the area, but is largely artist dependent. Music festivals held at the LEX are a large draw, as are artists that perform at local venues, theatres and spaces. Plays, musical numbers and dance recitals also draw large crowds. Performing arts of this nature should be included in future plans as a draw for tourism to the area, and places like the Grove theatre or the Academy theatre should definitely receive municipal funding.
Doug Ford
I have publicly stated that I would like to see our municipality grow to be a premier hub of entertainment in central Ontario. I want to take a page out of Oro Medonte’s Book as they have set an example in doing this at Burls Creek. They host Boots and Hearts and numerous other top-tier events that provide provides significant income to their municipality. This year, the North Of Nowhere festival attempted to secure, long-term venue access here in the Kawartha Lakes, but the current council denied them any guarantees. I believe this festival has the potential to become the next Boots and Hearts and if I’m elected as mayor, I will secure this and pursue other festivals and events to consider Kawartha Lakes first.
Charlie McDonald
Arts and culture are not just about entertainment, they are part of our economy and our downtowns. They attract visitors, support local businesses and help create vibrant communities. I support strategic municipal investment and partnerships where there is a measurable community and economic benefit, including multi-year funding where appropriate.
Ward 3 Candidates
Jim Greensides
Keeping our culture alive is important. Keeping our small town feel. Do more events to fund this plan exhibits, plays, car & truck shows etc.
Mike Perry
Arts and culture are good in and of themselves for our personal enjoyment, expression, and development.
They are also key to economic development. I am a co-founder of the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes which helped manage founding donations to the Grove Theatre and now hosts the Fenelon Falls Community Fund that has provided funding for arts and culture projects. As our Councillor, I have a voting record in favour of our local arts and culture, including the Cultural Facilities Operational Support Grant program which was designed specifically to help local organizations receive operations funds which are often difficult to obtain.
I have supported our own Grove Theatre, for example, here in Ward 3, and the Fenelon Arts Committee’s Downtown Sculpture Exhibition, including from the Fenelon Chest Fund. And I have also worked to keep our museum and 100-year volunteer-managed local cemetery in local hands, and I vote to protect significant heritage buildings.
I support continued and expanded investment, including multi-year funding, and voted in favour of the current, multi-year operations fund. Stable funding lets groups plan, hire and bring in other funders. The updated Cultural Master Plan should be tied directly to our downtown and economic development plans.
b) Kawartha Lakes' tourism economy is often associated with lakes, cottages and outdoor recreation. What role should arts, culture and local events play in the municipality's tourism strategy, and how would you measure whether tourism investment is translating into increased visitation, foot traffic and revenue for local businesses?
Mayoral Candidates
Ron Ashmore
We need to accurately measure the impact of arts and culture. It has a very positive impact on or local economy. Whether it be a local artisan or a large theatre indoor or outdoor we need better track this as well by our tourism dept. We need to be more aggressive at this as a city
Matthew Flynn
Local events are a major draw for tourism, but are dependent on the event. “Cowgirl shopping” and similarly themed evening activities are not major draws. Large scale things like car shows, music festivals and block parties tend to draw crowds. Consistent weekend markets for art, food and small performances can draw in people but is heavily dependent on vendors and niche ideas. People want to do things that can be accessed for the majority of the day, rather than a couple hour window. Aside from the obvious visual check for the amount of people, a survey/questionnaire could be distributed to see if people see an increase in traffic, and if new customers are coming in.
Doug Ford
This question seems prejudiced against lakes, cottages, and outdoor recreation. I believe that when people come to this area to the cottage, they don’t just want stereotypical entertainment. Having a variety of things for people to do whether it’s on the lake or trail at night they may want to try something else. Having art and cultural events, complement all of the other activities that are enjoyed within the municipality.
Charlie McDonald
We need to expand the tourism story beyond our lakes and cottages. Arts, culture, festivals and local events can bring people downtown, extend the tourism season and encourage visitors to stay longer. In the last two years we have engaged a short term rental licensing for CKL and it has been able to address gaps on where to stay when you are in cottage country and we must continue to engage local partners and market together.
Ward 3 Candidates
Jim Greensides
If you do more in the community the amount of people attending will give you your answers.
Mike Perry
Arts, culture and local events should play a central role in the City’s tourism strategy. The City’s Destination Development Plan expired last year so needs updating. This presents an excellent and timely opportunity to specifically include arts, culture, and local events in tourism planning, policy, and initiatives.
The City's Destination Development Plan expired last year, and it set goals without baselines or targets. We need to update this Plan next term of Council and fix that: set baselines and measurement indicators, including for: downtown foot traffic; accommodation and short-term rental occupancy; event visitor spending; and visitor origin. Results should be reported annually to Council and our local Chambers. I can commit to working with the Chamber, RTO8 and the City's tourism office on this, using the recent Chamber and Downtown Revitalization surveys as a starting point.
Every tourism dollar should come with a short report back to Council and the Chambers. If something isn't working, we change it.
In this way, I have helped as Councillor in ensuring arts and culture events have been easier to run by helping with timing of permits, sharing equipment, promoting events, funding them reliably, and letting local organizers lead. I will continue this work if returned to Council.
Should you have any questions about arts and culture in Fenelon Falls and the surrounding area, please reach out to the FAC anytime.
The FAC would like to acknowledge The Fenelon Falls and District Chamber of Commerce for all their hard work and unwavering support of our community. Thank you!