Barrie mayor is not quite sure why he was elected vice-chair of the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) caucus.
“I’m the wrong guy to ask!” jokes Alex Nuttall, who will London Mayor Josh Morgan when his two-year term begins in December. “But I’m looking forward to working each of the other mayors to continue to push for solutions to the problems we’re all facing.”
The former MP was chosen for the role by leaders of Ontario’s 29 largest cities, who make up the membership of the OBCM, during a closed-door meeting in Markham on Friday.
Nuttall acknowledges that part of the reason he was able to win over his peers might have been because Barrie is making headway on issues faced in all the major centres across the province. “Homelessness, is right at the top of the list — along with lawlessness as well as providing help and treatment for those affected by addictions and mental health concerns.”
At the same event, the caucus also passed a motion calling for co-ordinated efforts between municipalities and provincial and federal governments to manage the growing number of encampments popping up in city parks, including by improving access to shelter and mental health services.
“It’s such a huge issue!” says Nuttall. “For the city of Barrie, we’re facing not being able to ensure that kids’ play spaces are kept safe and clean.”
The motion also urged the federal and provincial government to accept “intervenor status” in court cases affecting cities’ ability to manage encampments. “It says a lot when you have the largest municipalities coming together to ask the province and federal government not to let this be an ad hoc issue settled by courts. It is something that requires a comprehensive approach to be taken across the province and the country.”
Judged against the mayor’s other political achievements, his election as vice-chair seems relatively modest laurel. The 39-year-old got his start in politics more than two decades ago when he served as Barrie’s junior mayor for a two-week term. After turning 21 in 2006, the Liverpool-born politician, who has lived in Barrie since immigrating to Canada in 1989, was elected as the city’s youngest-ever councillor.
At 30, he was one of a very few new Conservative candidates to win a seat in Parliament during the same election that saw Justin Trudeau’s Liberals swept to power. He was later named as the opposition’s youth, sports and persons with disabilities critic.
While the ex-MP may believe the power to solve issues related to encampments rests in provincial and federal hands, his personal ambitions remain decidedly local. Asked if he would ever consider returning to Parliament, the normally gregarious Nuttall responds with an uncharacteristically curt “no.”
After some prodding, he acknowledges feeling annoyed by politics as it plays out on the national stage. “When you look at the federal side, there’s a lot of partisanship and bickering. I’m somebody who has always been focused on solutions and getting past problems that exist.”
It is also clear he prefers discussing what drew him toward Barrie rather than away from Ottawa. “Working on council as mayor, I am, for the first time, finding my work incredibly fulfilling. . . . I love a good, well-run meeting and working with my colleagues.”
Nuttall says that while he may not have any desire to accomplish more on the federal stage, he still has quite a bit left on his municipal to-do list. “Barrie’s such a beautiful place and such a wonderful one to raise a family in. We’re just missing a few things.”
The mayor places a university at the top of that list. While efforts to build a campus in Barrie date back more than 30 years, none have succeeded. It is now the third-largest municipal centre in Ontario without one, after Burlington and Richmond Hill.
“That would be something we need to double-down on at council so that we can ensure our young people don’t have to leave town to become educated and successful, should they choose to go down the university route rather than the college route.”
