Marianne Meed Ward Wins Third Term as Burlington Mayor

Marianne Meed Ward stays on as Burlington's mayor. She took roughly 25,025 votes on Monday, 44.29 per cent of the ballots cast, and became the first Burlington mayor since 1974 to win three elections in a row.

What happens first is money. "The first thing we will deal with is our budget," Meed Ward said. "We've heard real concerns about affordability but also real concerns around service cuts, so we're going to have some pretty intense conversations with the community about what that looks like."

She has not lost a race in Burlington since she joined council as a ward councillor in 2012, though the margin narrowed this time. In 2022 she collected around 30,000 votes. On Monday she finished about 8,000 ahead of Lisa Kearns and about 12,000 ahead of Rory Nisan.

Kearns, who came second, told her supporters the city has heard the call for real change, and said they have not seen the last of her at city hall. "We know I am going to be delegating on taxes, I am so excited," she said. "I cannot even wait for the budget." Nisan, who gave up the Ward 3 seat he held for two terms to run for mayor, said he was disappointed but gave it his best shot, and hopes the attention he put on the budget sticks with the new council.