Four New Councillors Join Burlington City Council

Burlington's next city council has four new councillors in its six seats. Mayor Marianne Meed Ward returns for a third term, and the group is sworn in at its first meeting on Monday, November 16 at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre.

Three wards had no incumbent on the ballot, with two councillors running for mayor and one retiring. Sean Campbell, co-founder and president of the charity Burlington Helping Burlington, took Ward 2 by 105 votes over outgoing Halton Region chair Gary Carr. Ward 3 went to Mark Carr, Gary Carr's brother, who sat on council for two terms in the 1990s and won by 263 votes. Olivia Duke, president of the Burlington Lions Club, took Ward 4 by 405 votes.

Ward 5 produced the upset. Alex Don unseated Paul Sharman, who had held the seat for four terms, 16 years in all. Kelvin Galbraith in Ward 1 and Angelo Bentivegna in Ward 6 both return for third terms.

56,863 of 160,089 eligible voters cast a ballot, a turnout of 35.5 per cent, well up from 27.6 per cent in 2022 though short of the 39.79 per cent in 2018.

The budget comes first. Meed Ward said the 2027 budget will mean what she called robust conversations with the community about property tax increases and the services residents want kept, and she plans to pair each new councillor with a veteran for mentoring. The proposed budget lands January 11, committee review is February 1 and 2, and final approval is scheduled for February 9. Full ward results are posted on the city's election results page.