As reported in the Banner last week, North Perth has retained a consultant to perform a council composition and ward boundary review for the municipality.
In laymen’s terms, that means the third-party consultant will look at whether council is too big or too small, and whether the boundaries of the current wards (Listowel, Elma and Wallace) are fair.
This review will be done, with the new composition and ward boundaries coming into effect for the 2026 municipal election.
Personally, I think this review is long overdue.
If you look at the current composition of council, it is fair if you look at it purely as three wards. The Listowel and Elma wards each have three councillors, and the Wallace Ward has two. The mayor and deputy mayor are elected at-large.
With that said, to say that the population of the Elma Ward and the population of the Listowel Ward each deserve the same amount of elected councillors is unfair. One look at this municipality will tell you that there are far more people living in the Listowel Ward than there are in the Elma Ward.
According to the information published by the municipality on yoursaynorthperth.ca, 61 per cent, or 9,460 people, live in the Listowel Ward. The Elma Ward makes up 25 per cent, or 3,937 people. Wallace Ward houses the remaining 14 per cent, or 2,151 people.
Based on the current composition, logic would tell you that more councillors are needed for the Listowel Ward.
So the question is, do you add more seats to council or do you take seats away from other wards?
I don’t think there is an appetite from the ratepayers of North Perth to add more members to council.
At the same time, is it fair to reduce the representation that the Elma and Wallace wards already have in order to give Listowel a more appropriate share of the elected representation?
It’s a tough question, and one that hopefully the consultants will provide a clear answer to. That is their job, after all, to find the answers to hard questions such as this.
In my opinion, as someone who follows North Perth council but does not pay taxes in North Perth (I live in neighbouring Minto), there are four possible solutions:
change your council composition to four Listowel Ward, two Elma Ward and two Wallace Ward seats;
add two additional seats, making 10 councillors – five for Listowel Ward, three for Elma Ward, and two for Wallace Ward;
remove the deputy mayor position and replace it with a councillor position, giving that spot to the Listowel Ward; or
eliminate the ward system all together and elect eight councillors at-large.
I know none of these are ideal – some include removing positions, some add positions, and some remove the beloved ward system. Personally, I believe the ward system may be past its prime.
From what I understand, you don’t have to live in the ward you are seeking election in, so what is the purpose of it? As voters, we should be seeking the best qualified candidates for the positions, regardless if they live on a farm in the former Wallace Township, in a home in Atwood or Monkton, or an apartment in Listowel.
Perhaps the easiest way to solve this dilemma is to remove the perceived problem – the wards – and elect eight councillors at-large from the Municipality of North Perth.
But that’s not a choice for me to make. It’s for the consultants, current elected officials, and for ratepayers of North Perth.
You can provide feedback at yoursaynorthperth.ca.
Speaking of seats…
As some of you may recall, last summer in this space I wrote about my experience coaching a ball team who played a game at the Memorial Park ball diamond. Specifically, I commented on the seating, or lack thereof, provided for players and fans.
On Monday night, I was once again back at the diamond coaching a Minto U9 softball team against a Listowel U9 team. And I am happy to report that there was more seating than last year provided for everyone.
And the seating didn’t include any artwork of the male anatomy or four-letter words.
Kudos to the town’s recreation department for adding the extra seating. It made a nice night at the ball park that much more enjoyable.
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Mike Wilson is the editor of the Listowel Banner. Comments and feedback are welcome at mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com.
