With just over a year to go before the 2026 Barrie municipal election, Mayor Alex Nuttall says he has begun discussing a possible re-election campaign with his family.
“I think it will come in time — it’s a conversation in my household right now,” he said.
Nuttall was elected mayor on Oct. 24, 2022, defeating then-deputy mayor Barry Ward. The next election is scheduled for Oct. 26, 2026.
While his attention remains on the day-to-day work of leading the city, Nuttall said any decision to run again will come down to what is best for him and his family.
“It has to feel like it’s the right choice for me and my family,” he said.
“If it’s the right place for me to be, I’ll run. If we feel it’s time to give someone else the opportunity to serve, then that’s what I will do. But I do love what I do, and I love this city.”
If he seeks a second term and wins, Nuttall said he wants to see through major projects and priorities launched during his first term.
“A lot of it would be implementation — we took a big course change over the past few years, trying to focus on order and safety throughout the city,” he said.
“Then there are big projects like getting the new performing arts centre started and completed on the waterfront, Lakehead University coming downtown, Georgian College expanding into the downtown, the new south-end recreational complex, housing developments and more. I would want to make sure all of these get implemented in a way that makes sense for the people of Barrie.”
He added that economic growth would be another focus.
“I think the next four years need to focus on making Barrie a destination for industry to choose,” he said.
“We need to get big companies to come here, provide good-paying jobs for our residents and continue fighting to keep taxes low and ensure there is a strong quality of life here.”
Looking back on his first term, Nuttall said time management has been one of the biggest lessons.
“A big lesson for me is timing is everything,” he said.
“If you are doing the right thing at the wrong time, it becomes difficult to push things uphill. You have to pick the right thing at the right time — that’s the secret sauce.”
Nuttall entered Barrie municipal politics in 2006 when he was elected as a city councillor and was re-elected in 2010. He later served as the Conservative MP for Barrie–Springwater–Oro Medonte from 2015 to 2019.
