Let’s take a step back…
On February 21st, during the 2025 Ontario snap election, our Mayor of Orillia, Don McIsaac, endorsed Progressive Conservative candidate Jill Dunlop. McIsaac was one of an unprecedented number of Mayors to have endorsed and campaigned for the ruling party.
When media requested a follow up from McIsaac stemming from public backlash to the violation of this democratic norm, he declared “no comment”. This lack of transparency would mark the start of a new era for democracy in Orillia. Citizens, long used to “no comment” from provincial and federal members of parliament on critical issues, were rightfully disturbed to see such an attitude overtaking our local democracy. If Dunlop/Ford were so great, why not take the opportunity to explain this endorsement? Why no comment? What was offered or threatened to make way for such mayoral endorsements?
Fast forward to March 30th…
An historic ice storm gripped the entire region, leaving 35,000 residents of Orillia without power (and tens of thousands more in the surrounding Townships and First Nation). People were freezing, starving, basements were flooding. Hydro One called it the most severe weather event it has faced since the ice storm of 1998.
While Mayor McIsaac was vacationing in Florida, Councillor Tim Lauer declared a State of Emergency for the City of Orillia.
Then came the Strong Mayor Powers…
While many Orillians remained without power – the Mayor’s power surged. On April 3rd, 2025, in response to Mayor McIsaac’s request as head of council for Strong Mayor Powers (SMPs) to “help manage the significant impacts and power outages within the municipality resulting from recent ice storms,” Minister Flack wrote a letter to Mayor McIsaac granting Strong Mayor Powers, to remain effective until June 30, 2025.
Nothing could have prepared us for what came next
On April 7, 2025, just 4 days after being granted the SMPs, Mayor McIsaac told Council in a letter that he is using his SMPs to rescind the appointment of Trevor Lee as the new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Orillia. Lee was scheduled to start April 14th. Instead, Mayor McIsaac used his SMPs to appoint the city’s current deputy CAO/solicitor, Amanpreet Singh Sidhu, as the new CAO, effective immediately.
SMPS & Sidestepping democracy
The dangers of Strong Mayor Powers are clear. Allowing a single individual to override council decisions and make unilateral appointments erodes municipal democratic governance. They strip power from citizens and their duly elected councillors midway into their term —councilors who represent the diverse voices of our community—and concentrate authority in one office, often behind closed doors. This top-down authoritarian style of governance reduces collaboration, transparency, accountability, and encourages impulsive, politically motivated decisions that may not reflect the public interest.
Worse still, these powers are part of Premier Doug Ford’s broader, anti-democratic agenda—a calculated effort to sidestep local democracy and centralize control under the guise of “efficiency.”
Like Ford’s Greenbelt scandal, Strong Mayor Powers have nothing to do with housing – the capitalist housing crisis is a pre-text to further concentrate power in the hands of his wealthy and well-connected friends. We don’t want a dictatorship, we want democracy.
So many issues and questions…
Mayor McIsaac’s rationale for shockingly rescinding the CAO job offer to Trevor Lee remains a mystery and likely remain one as it is now a confidential legal matter. Mr. Lee had no role in the city’s response to the ice storm emergency. He had undergone a thorough recruitment process and was determined by council to be the best candidate for the job. He even quit his old job as the Deputy CAO for Guelph, listed his house for sale and began his on-boarding as Orillia CAO. Mayor McIsaac was quoted in support of his appointment less than a month ago. What changed? Confident in his ability to avoid public scrutiny, McIsaac hung up abruptly on local media when pressed to explain.
Mayor McIsaac admitted in the April 7th Council Meeting that Deputy CAO/City Solicitor Amanpreet Singh Sidhu was actually out of the country during the emergency. If this was an act in response to the state of emergency why appoint someone to CAO who is not even here? This move obviously had no connection to the emergency, which was the justification for the SMP in the first place. As City Solicitor Mr. Sidhu apparently accepted this obvious scandalous appointment, despite the council division, community uproar and potentially costly legal implications that would result. This raises additional questions regarding Mr. Sidhu’s character, judgement and loyalties and his ability to command the trust and respect of over 200 city workers. This kind of controversy is the last thing Orillia needs as we recover from this emergency amid all the ongoing struggles we face.
No Need for Orillia SMPs
The provincial Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act sets the rules for such emergencies. It says that every municipality, by law, has to have an emergency plan in place.
When a municipality declares an emergency the Act says: “The head of council of a municipality may declare that an emergency exists in the municipality or in any part thereof and may take such action and make such orders as he or she considers necessary and are not contrary to law to implement the emergency plan of the municipality and to protect property and the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the emergency area.“
There seems to be nothing the Mayor did during the ice storm that he could not have done under this act.
Further, the intent of SMPs under provincial legislation is to address provincial priorities specific to the creation of housing. What does the ice storm emergency have to do with the creation of housing?
April 7th Council Meeting
Orillia City Councillors put Mayor McIsaac on the hot seat at the April 7th Council Meeting. When asked to explain himself, he was vague and could not provide a single specific example to support his actions (presumably because he doesn’t have anything specific to provide).
We saw the Mayor full mask off in this meeting. The way he spoke to his fellow colleagues, talked down to them, evaded accountability, bullied, and used a degrading and sarcastic tone countless times. This is not the kind of behaviour that should be tolerated in any workplace, especially our city centre. We would recommend watching the whole thing on the City of Orillia’s YouTube, beginning around the 3 hour and 6 minute mark.
Political Opportunism in Times of Crisis
Councillor Jay Fallis rightly pointed out to Mayor McIsaac that his request for SMPs is a political move during a time of crisis. The Mayor’s bid for SMPs during Orillia’s ice storm isn’t just tone-deaf—it’s straight out of Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine playbook. In the chaos of a city-wide power outage and a declared state of emergency, when residents are cold, vulnerable, and looking for leadership, the mayor is seizing the moment—not to unify, but to consolidate power.
Klein warned us about this exact tactic: using moments of public disorientation to fast-track political agendas that would otherwise spark outrage. Councillor Jay Fallis is right to sound the alarm—this isn’t just a sidebar, it’s a power grab cloaked in crisis. While the city tree canopy will regrow from this devastation – can we say the same for our democracy?
Thank you to these 7 councillors…
We thank the 7 out of 8 council members (Councillors Durnford, Leatherdale, Czetwerzuk, Fallis, Campbell, Lauer, and Cipolla) who voted yes on a motion prepared by Councillor Durnford calling on the Minister to rescind Mayor McIsaac’s SMPs, effective immediately. Ward 1 Councillor Whitney Smith was the only councillor who voted no to this, siding with Mayor McIsaac’s corruption.
Councillor Durnford called for a recorded vote, which begins at the 3 hour and 55 minute mark.
Call to Action
We have initiated an Orillia Strong Mayor Powers Petition & Voter Pledge, sign below! (Or click here to open in new window)