Mayor Doug Elmslie champions growth and community spirit in Kawartha Lakes

This is the final story in Kawartha Lakes Weekly’s series on municipal elected leaders. In addition to the mayor, we sat down with councillors from seven wards about the issues most important to their residents. Only Ward 1 Councillor Emmett Yeo did not respond to interview requests.

Doug Elmslie has been mayor of Kawartha Lakes since his election in 2022. Throughout his time in office, he’s seen a lot of issues arise – and the incredible growth this area is experiencing has been among the most important issues he has been dealing with.

Together with council, the city has been tasked with preparing for ramped up growth to the point where he believes that by 2035 the city will be home to more than 100,000 people.

“The upgrades to Colborne Street, Kent Street, Lindsay Street, all of that is preparing for that kind of growth,” Elmslie said. While construction across the city has led to frustration among residents, Elmslie says it’s necessary. “When all those home are built, we’re able to move people around and we have the infrastructure to look after them right.”

Some are hesitant about the pace of growth, but Elmslie said there are benefits. “As we get a larger population, the cost of running the city will spread over a larger population. Therefore, you’re going to see things like water and wastewater rates stabilize.”

And while Elmslie can’t promise taxes won’t go up, the city is making long-term plans for debt, taxes and reserves. “We’re going to get taxes at a manageable level,” he said.

As noted by many councillors who spoke to Kawartha Lakes Weekly, a lot of money has been invested in parks and community centres across all wards. “We’ve been able to continue to upgrade our parks and recreation facilities and trails and look after the softer services that people depend on that makes a place worth living,” Elmslie said.

A major issue that council has been dealing with is healthcare. Despite being a provincial issue, many municipalities across the province have had to take matters into their own hands to ensure residents are receiving adequate care.

Elmslie said that over this term of council $25 million will have been spent on healthcare. This includes money to Ross Memorial Hospital’s building fund, $17 million for the Coboconk Wellness Centre and $2 million to the health unit every year.

The mayor said that the provincial government is aware of the situation but still the municipality is the one funding after-hour clinics. “When you look at the wait times for emergency rooms that’s five, six, seven hours, and then you’re going to add to that by not funding these after-hours clinics?” It’s a situation that demands the city be involved.

Kawartha Lakes has also put a lot of money into their paramedics at home initiative, which sees paramedics going to homes of primarily senior citizens who live alone to ensure they have food and are taking their medication. Hospital visits are costly, the mayor said. And the cost to re-admit a patient to primary care setting like Ross Memorial Hospital is $6,000-8,000, meaning it’s more cost effective for paramedics to check in on them.

Elmslie is proud of these accomplishments council has made, of building infrastructure for growth, putting money into parks and rec centres and addressing the need for healthcare. He makes it clear these aren’t his achievements, “they’re councils’ accomplishments, and I think we’ve set a benchmark for future councils.”

He praises councillors for their ability to express their differences in a respectful way and “when we are faced with a large issue, they’ll debate it and they’ll argue about it…at the end of it all, they’ll get together and do what we believe is the right thing.”

Alongside councillors, Elmslie praises the employees at city hall. “I find that city staff are a dedicated, hardworking group of people.”

The mayor is also hoping to see highways expanded. “Right now, we only have two lane highways to join us. It becomes very difficult for large organizations to move in,” he said, saying that large businesses would rather drive to Peterborough where it reaches more traffic.

While there have been challenges throughout his term as mayor, Elmslie also reflects on the strength and spirit the community has shown in difficult times.

When the ice storm hit in March, Elmslie said it was a memorable time to see everyone coming together. From the more than 5,000 hydro workers who came from all across the country to clear the damage, to the residents who “were so resilient through the whole thing when they didn’t have power…they stepped up to help their neighbours and their friends.”

It’s one of many moments that makes him proud of the city.