Kevin Davis, Mayor for the City of Brantford, used his strong mayor powers to officially provide direction to City staff, under section 284.3 of the Municipal Act, 2001, to explore the potential of amalgamation between the City of Brantford and the County of Brant on Thursday, January 2, 2025.
His newest announcement, which was released on social media website, Facebook, said that the study is intended to “provide valuable information to assist the City in building a brighter, more connected future for the region while also addressing key concerns facing the citizens of Brantford.”
The evaluation will take into consideration services that have historically been shared between the County and the City such as housing, paramedic services and recreation, as well as transportation.
“Over and over, citizens of Brantford have voiced their concerns and need for better transportation planning to connect West Brant with the 403 and other parts of the city. This issue remains a paramount concern for residents, particularly in the South West portion of the City, where enormous growth has been experienced,” read Davis’ statement. “The City has attempted, on several occasions to work with the County to resolve this regional issue [transportation] working collaboratively. This has included joint delegations with the Ministry of Transportation, which the County refused to participate in. Refusal to work together and plan alternate solutions has left the City with no solutions outside of Oak Park Road”
Davis went on to say that there have been several attempts to resolve differences between the two municipalities, including reestablishing a Joint Services Committee back in 2023, but that the County has “refused to further participate.
“There have been a number of attempts to resolve differences and to chart a more equitable and efficient way forward between the two municipalities. These attempts include resurrecting the Joint Services Committee, a committee intended to include representatives and staff from both communities, working collaboratively to identify and resolve key issues impacting both municipalities,” read the statement. “Last spring the County voted to dissolve this committee and refused to further participate in elected officials reviewing an expansion of the services to be provided jointly or cooperatively. The City attempted to establish a similar committee in 2019: The County of Brant voted against establishing or joining at that time as well.”
Davis’ statement said that another area that deserves a closer examination is aquatic services.
“Currently, more than 30 per cent of those using the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre Pool are County of Brant residents, as there is no indoor pool in the County. However, County residents do not contribute through their property taxes to the annual $1.5 million operating deficit for this facility,” said Davis. “This creates an imbalance where City taxpayers are covering the costs of this shared resource. Addressing this could help ensure a fairer and more sustainable approach to delivering this valuable service.”
He said that the “thorough, independent review,” which should be completed by the fall of 2025, is only the beginning of a “thoughtful and collaborative” process to explore the potential benefits of regional amalgamation as both communities continue to grow.
“We must move beyond invisible boundaries and consider the benefits a regional approach can offer to our residents,” said Davis.
According to the Mayor’s 2025 capital budget summary, the evaluation is set to cost $75,000, to be financed by the reallocation of funds from the existing 2025 budget.
In response to Davis’ statement, David Bailey, Mayor for the County of Brant, took to social media on Friday, January 3, 2025, to reassert that the County is unequivocally opposed to amalgamating with the City.
“The County of Brant is a prosperous, growing and thriving community. It is not particularly surprising that Mayor Davis would like to be a part of what we have here; however, his tactics are unproductive and misguided. There is nothing thoughtful or collaborative about this approach [Davis’ study],” read Bailey’s statement. “I will repeat, that the County of Brant is unequivocally opposed to consideration of amalgamation with the City of Brantford. It is interesting that Mayor Davis states that such consideration needs to be based on facts, as many of the statements he makes are factually incorrect and/or blatantly false.”
Bailey went on to say that while Davis has stated that attempts to work together have failed in the past, on the contrary, there has in fact been a history of successful partnerships between the City and the County.
“We are always open to exploring new ventures with our neighbours, all our neighbours, when they are in the best interest of our residents,” read Bailey’s statement. “To say that the City was rebuffed by the County when it comes to Joint Services is categorically false. Because Mayor Davis did not get what he wanted (land), out of the committee structure, does not translate into the County being uncooperative.”
Bailey continued to say that any joint services or initiatives should accomplish three goals: common interest, mutual benefit and cost effectiveness.
“Simply put, not every problem which the City wants to address is the responsibility of the County to solve and vice versa. When an issue does meet all these criteria, we are absolutely at the table to explore. Moreover, meaningful partnerships are moored in mutual respect, civility and equity,” read Bailey’s response. “The County will not be strong-armed into initiatives simply because the City wants them. In response to these stated values, Mayor Davis has replied ‘Frankly, who cares who’s respecting who?’ The answer is simple; respectful and civilized people do. Those concerned about equitable and sustainable solutions do. …The County of Brant does.”
Bailey said that amalgamation is a complex and serious undertaking, a process that is led by the province, not a single municipality without a willing partner.
“The County respectfully suggests that rather than spending taxpayer money on creating a one-sided business case to take over his neighbour, Mayor Davis could focus on truly making the region more successful by investing in the existing shared services which need attention,” read Bailey’s statement. “As always, we remain open to fair and transparent dialogue with the City of Brantford as one of our partner municipalities.”
Along with his social media statement, Bailey also suggested that it may be time to get local MPPs involved and find out their thoughts on the potential of amalgamation. He provided contact information for Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford County; Will Bouma, MPP for Brantford-Brant; and Brian Riddle MPP for Cambridge.
As well, County Councillors Steve Howes, Lukas Oakley and Jennifer Kyle, all took to Facebook that same week to provide their constituents with their thoughts on the matter.
“The Brantford Mayor can commission whatever studies he wants. The thing about studies is, A) you hire the consultant you feel is most likely to deliver a report that provides the outcome you’re looking for, so heads up, the report will likely say it’s a good idea. But B) Study results are only as good as the information used for the analysis to create the final report; The county is not interested in participating, so what accurate facts can be gleaned without willing parties providing the information needed from both sides?,” said Kyle in the video posted to Facebook. “Contrary to the Brantford Mayor’s story that the county refuses to work with them, we absolutely do partner with the City on things where there is common interest, mutual benefit for residents and cost efficiencies.”
She continued to say that, unlike the City, whose only neighbour is the County, Brant has six other neighbours that border it, eight if you include the upper tiers of Oxford County and Waterloo Region, as well as Six Nations of the Grand River.
“Just like we work with the City when it makes sense, it’s important to build relationships with all of our neighbours and find efficiencies and solutions to common challenges. Given they’re almost all rural municipalities like us, we have a lot in common, and working together benefits residents on both sides of the border,” said Kyle. “I happen to live in a corner of the County, where we see successful boundary agreements in action daily with Blanford-Blenheim and North Dumfries. Snow removal, fire services and policing are great examples. This cooperation streamlines the services and saves on the cost for you, the taxpayers, and can only happen through maintaining strong relationships built on mutual respect and the shared goal of making life better for our residents; we will continue to work with all of our neighbours cooperatively and in your best interest.”
Kyle went on to also speak about the province’s involvement in a potential amalgamation.
“Amalgamation can only happen by authority of the provincial government. Given some historical amalgamations that are still unpopular, as well as recent talks of amalgamation with other municipalities that had to be walked back in the 11th hour, there’s not likely appetite from the province to force amalgamation on two municipalities when one’s not on board,” said Kyle. “This is good news for us in the County, because, just to be clear, the County of Brant has zero interest in amalgamation. What I would say, however, is that it never hurts to seek reassurance from your provincial officials. There’s very likely an election coming in the near future, so this should be a question for all candidates, and remember, we have three ridings in Brant.”
She then urged residents to reach out to the current MPPs and find out what their position is on amalgamation.
“County residents should be making voting decisions fully aware of those positions when we head to the polls,” said Kyle.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
