Pauline Stevenson will represent Ward 1, while former councillor Arif Khan is returning to council after winning in the newly drawn Ward 4 in the 2026 municipal election.

Stevenson won Ward 1 with 2,038 votes, or 43.12 per cent. Shaughna Ainsworth finished second with 1,027 votes, followed by Stefano Agostino with 892 and Brent Bowser with 540. Christian Cadera received 117 votes, while Hafiz Rahman received 112.

She said her son was the first to tell her she had won as she and her family waited for the results.

“It was my son that told me,” she said.

“I was sitting on the couch and then he had this look on his face – he said, ‘Oh, Mom, you crushed it!’ It was a sense of relief.”

Stevenson said the victory followed months of campaigning and that she was grateful for the confidence residents had placed in her.

“I’m honoured to have the trust of the people that have elected me – it was a culmination of all of these months of such hard work,” she said.

“It was such a wonderful experience regardless. To know that I won with so much confidence of the people that I’m there to represent was really heartening for me.”

She said she was looking forward to working with the incoming council, describing its members as experienced and capable of delivering results for the city.

“I’m ready to join this team. I think that I was sort of built for this – I’m excited to get started,” she said.

“Ward 1 has some unique and different needs than the rest of Barrie, but I’m excited to be part of a good team that’s going to bring forward some really great things for the entire city.”

Meanwhile, Khan won Ward 4 with 1,801 votes, or 41.34 per cent. Lori Galeazza finished second with 1,161 votes, followed by Matthew Corbett with 665, Iradat Ahmad with 552 and Patrick Harriott-Stewart with 178.

Khan previously represented Ward 8 from 2012 to 2018. He said his return to municipal politics was driven by memories of serving residents and a desire to help guide Barrie’s continued growth.

“One of the things that really drove me forward was recalling the amount of joy I got when I had the privilege to serve from 2012 until 2018,” he said.

Khan said returning to public service brought back familiar feelings and renewed his enthusiasm for contributing to council discussions.

“It’s the muscle memory that comes back, and the sentiment and emotion that comes back with knowing you are able to serve people,” he said.

“And to be part of the constructive conversations – how do we evolve and grow with this city in a responsible, thoughtful, heartfelt way that is going to be productive.”

Khan also emphasized the importance of turning council discussions and campaign promises into measurable results.

“I love results – I love measurable results,” he said.

He pointed to the challenges facing the city and the determination required to move priorities forward.

Mayor Alex Nuttall also secured a second consecutive term, winning 66.62 per cent of the vote. All eight incumbent councillors – Robert Thomson, Craig Nixon, Amy Courser, Nigussie Nigussie, Gary Harvey, Jim Harris, Sergio Morales and Bryn Hamilton – were re-elected.

Voter turnout in Barrie was 30.21 per cent.

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