Caledon’s next mayor inherits a town divided over how far growth should go
On a chilly Monday at the beginning of October, Caledon resident Al Axworthy carefully drove past a line of trucks to one of the 12 parcels of land former mayor Annette Groves prematurely rezoned using her strong mayor powers, opening the door to 35,000 new homes — three times the provincial target — with little public consultation.
As he passed the intersection of Queen and King streets in Bolton, Axworthy recalled standing there with Groves in 2022, protesting Highway 413.
“And now she’s been out there with Doug Ford saying this is the greatest thing; we need this,” he said. He paused, before continuing: “I voted for her.”
In the 2022 municipal election, voters were desperate for change, having witnessed the damage done by previous mayor Allan Thompson, who had quietly pushed warehouse development in the Greenbelt, violating several environmental and land-use planning policies.
Thompson was part of a majority group of pro-development council members that included Jennifer Innis. Both of their families have significant land interests and will profit handsomely from the construction of sprawling subdivisions on vast tracts of farmland.
Innis ran for mayor in 2022 to replace Thompson, with his blessing, but was quickly confronted by a fierce anti-sprawl, anti-413 Highway, anti-freight village campaign that swept Groves into the mayor’s office.
Groves and Innis had opposed each other on growth-related votes for more than a decade, and the rookie mayor vowed four years ago to make good on her sacred campaign vow to keep development in check and protect Caledon’s verdant stretches of beloved greenspace from rapacious developers.
Christina Early and Mario Russo are among the 2026 municipal election mayoral candidates who have served on council. (The Pointer files)
Groves seemed like an obvious choice to lead Caledon with diametrically opposing views to Innis: One promised more walkable communities, transit, climate-conscious planning and protection for rural and environmentally sensitive lands. The other favoured a more conventional suburban expansion, with sprawling subdivisions, car-dependent neighbourhoods and Highway 413 cutting through the Greenbelt.
“I will ensure that developers do not plan our community but the people plan our own community and our future,” Groves said, pledging “growth will pay for growth” and infrastructure will be “in place before development happens”.
Using her past record of voting on key council land use issues, she promised to continue pushing back against urban sprawl-inducing ministerial zoning orders (MZO). She described the provincial government tool that overrides local planning authority as an “undemocratic” approach that “circumvents the public process”. Groves said the use of MZOs leads to poor planning that favours private interests, pushing warehousing and distribution centers and a stifling “freight village” future for Caledon that would force large property tax increases.
Almost immediately after her election, with Caledon voters filled with hope for their future, Groves tore up her sacred promises and threw them in the dustbin.
Her four-year tenure was effectively managed by a group of powerful developers, who literally wrote Caledon’s planning policies under Annette Groves’ name.
Following intense public backlash, Groves announced her retirement on April 24, leaving behind a “legacy undone by terrible decisions” that failed to guard the unique character of the rustic villages and hamlets and rolling spaces she once vowed to protect.
“They [council] gifted the Town of Caledon to the developers…She ran on a strong public interest platform, and to do the exact opposite was such a betrayal to so many people,” Cheryl Connors, a Ward 4 councillor candidate who has worked tirelessly for years, advocating for controlled development and the protection of Caledon's green spaces, told The Pointer.
“It also makes it really hard for anyone who wants to enter public service in the future because it feeds this jaded sentiment that politicians just say whatever it takes to get elected.”
In a move that stunned residents across Caledon who had just voted for her, Groves brought forward 13 bylaw amendments shortly after her election. Without any public consultation, the zoning changes would add about 100,000 residents to the town, more than doubling Caledon’s current population.
It was a jaw-dropping move that left the mayor’s supporters feeling utterly betrayed after they had been led to believe Groves would do the exact opposite. Instead of standing up to developers, she was suddenly taking her marching orders from them.
It was soon learned that the amendments Groves dropped from nowhere onto the legislative agenda had not been written by planning staff governed by the Town’s official plan and the Region of Peel’s growth master plans. They were written by a development lawyer representing one of the building consortiums that stands to make huge profits from the construction of residential subdivisions.
Map of the 12 parcels (there were originally 13) of land approved for rezoning to accommodate 35,000 new homes after the exact same pieces of land were bought by developers along and around the 413 Highway route. Some of the parcels are in protected Greenbelt areas and other highly sensitive greenspaces that would be devastated by sprawling subdivisions. (Town of Caledon)
Hundreds of residents filled Caledon Town Hall in 2024, in opposition to the proposed zoning changes Annette Groves pushed onto the planning agenda out of nowhere. (Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer Files)
Axworthy shook his head that day, two weeks ago. He recalled the faith he put in Groves. He continued driving along Columbia Way toward the A8 parcel, one of the dozen that was eventually approved for massive new development. He passed the site without realizing it—something was different.
“Is that a new building?” He seemed astounded, his eyes wide with confusion.
The once-green, open farmland had become ‘unrecognizable’, with trees cleared away to make room for a Solmar development office suddenly standing next to the road.
“It was completely different.”
On October 5, Democracy Caledon volunteers and residents surrounding the A8 parcel of land, approved for sprawl development by Caledon council, gathered to discuss concerns about unchecked development. (Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)
Just as a bulldozer’s engine rumbled on the site, its warning beeps piercing the air, its metal bucket scraping and digging into the ground, Bolton resident Marnie Singleton, who lives steps away from the A8 parcel, joined Axworthy.
Singleton, who has lived in the area since 2009, recently retired. After years of work and time spent away from home, she was looking forward to enjoying the changing fall colours from her window: “That’s always been a beautiful part of my life.”
She had little idea what was coming until one day while driving home, she noticed that the row of trees on the A8 parcel had disappeared.
“That broke my heart.”
“I know it will provide homes for a lot of people…I just don’t understand why they have to take the trees down outside the tree line or outside the fence line.”
Her biggest concern? “Losing farmland”.
Marnie Singleton (left) has lived in Caledon all her life and is already considering moving if sprawl continues. (Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)
While she understands Caledon needs new housing to accommodate the projected 300,000 residents by 2051, Singleton questions whether the town’s existing infrastructure can cope with the cumulative demands of development.
“Further down this road is the Townline between Caledon and Vaughan, and there’s an intersection there that they’re [Town staff] predicting is going to be overwhelmed by the volume of traffic that this site [A8] is going to create,” Axworthy noted.
There is already congestion along Townline Road and Highway 50 “in the mornings”, especially, Singleton added. “Add snow to that mix? It’s a recipe for a disaster”.
“They are going to add 122,000 people to Caledon, a town that currently is 80,000…the road infrastructure as it exists, there are bottlenecks with 80,000. What’s going to happen when they throw another pair?,” Axworthy added.
On October 19, he headed to the final mayoral debate hosted by the Caledon Chamber of Commerce at Caesar’s Centre in Bolton, and settled in a chair, ready with a pen and notebook to take notes.
For 45 years, Caledon’s rolling hills, wildlife and a deep love for the community have shaped his life. In 2024, he decided to volunteer with Democracy Caledon, a non-profit advocacy group formed to oppose Groves’ use of strong mayor powers and council fast-tracking large-scale urban development and pre-zoning agricultural land without heeding public concerns.
Like many residents, he now faces a difficult choice at the ballot box after Groves’ turbulent tenure and retreat from her promise not to sell Caledon to developers: council veterans Christina Early and Mario Russo, or newcomers Alan Hart, Jagdeep Sacha and Manjit Bhondhi Saini.
“This election is going to be a turning point for this town,” Axworthy said.
“If Russo wins, what we love about Caledon is gone.”
The seeds of his frustration were sown in June 2024 when council voted on the 12 zoning bylaw amendments, drafted by developer lawyer Quinto Annibale, paving nearly 5,000 acres of agricultural land, the largest development plan in Caledon’s history.
Russo was among the councillors who voted in favour of the amendments despite the Region of Peel estimating that servicing 13,000 housing units alone (about a third of what Groves forced through for the developers who wrote her 12 approved amendments) would cost approximately $6.2 billion for water infrastructure and $6.7 billion for wastewater infrastructure.
There was no fiscal plan completed to determine who will pay for this infrastructure or the impact it could have on Caledon taxpayers who may be forced to pay for the maligned plan, which has been compared to the PC government’s Greenbelt scandal that has been under RCMP investigation for over three years.
Only councillors Lynn Kiernan, Dave Sheen and Christina Early opposed the bylaws.
Results of the vote to approve 11 of the 12 Zoning Bylaw amendments (the 12th was passed later). (The Pointer files)
Early was asked about the 35,000 new units pushed through by Groves and a majority of council members earlier this term and if she would change course as mayor.
“Approving 26 years of growth in one term of Council without ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place was not a decision I could support,” Early told The Pointer.
“We cannot simply reverse decisions already made, but we can ensure future decisions are better planned, financially responsible and made with residents’ interests first."
It’s unclear why she would not reverse the decision, which Caledon residents overwhelmingly rejected. It would be well within her power as mayor to tear up the 12 amendments Groves pushed through to build 35,000 new homes.
“Growth should strengthen our communities, not overwhelm them,” Early said.
Russo was asked the same, regarding his decision to support the 35,000 new homes and whether he would make a decision on the issue differently as mayor.
“I will support slowing or delaying further approvals and development phases where infrastructure cannot support them,” he said.
“I will use holding provisions, subdivision conditions and development agreements where legally available to tie development to demonstrated servicing and road capacity.”
Former minister of municipal affairs and housing Paul Calandra, the Region of Peel and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority all stated the pre-zoning was premature.
Town staff reassured the bylaws included holding provisions that require future secondary plans, infrastructure servicing confirmations, and environmental studies before the legislation can be ratified into official planning policy, triggering construction.
“I supported the June 2024 zoning by-laws, with holds,” Russo said.
“Those lands were already inside Caledon’s urban boundary or existing settlement areas. Further planning and servicing requirements remained after the zoning approvals.”
Critics who reject Russo’s stance, that a terrible, developer-driven decision which he supported can now somehow be responsibly controlled, saw the vote as a starting point for a 4–5 voting bloc.
Residents want the bylaw amendments torn up. Full stop.
In December 2024, Democracy Caledon filed a notice of application against the Town of Caledon in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice challenging the zoning bylaws for violating section 24 of Ontario’s Planning Act and section 273 of the Municipal Act, 2001 by failing to conform to the official plans of Caledon and the Region of Peel. The group had their hearing in May this year; Justice Rosemarie Juginovic did not issue a decision, instead reserving her ruling, which could take several months.
Trumpeter swans, once nearly extinct in Ontario due to overhunting and habitat loss, were spotted during a post-rehabilitation inspection by the Ministry of Natural Resources in 2023. (First Photo: Anushka Yadav/The Pointer, Second Photo: Ministry of Natural Resources)
In less than two weeks, the motion was voted on, after only three residents were able to voice their concerns during a public question period with only Sheen, Kiernan, de Boer and Early opposing.
Among the council members who voted in favour, Ward 5 councillor Tony Rosa received a $1,200 campaign contribution from Nicola Cortellucci. Ward 1 Councillor Christina Early received the same amount (she voted alongside the residents in opposition), according to the Town’s 2022 candidate results and financial statements.
Early said her 2026 campaign is not being funded by developers, unlike the 2022 municipal elections when she received $14,900 (42.4 percent) from donors connected to the development and construction industry, according to A Better Caledon report card prepared by Caledon resident Katherine Wilson. For Russo, the share was higher: 57.6 percent.
The motion for Swan Lake was passed in a vote on May 20, 2025 around 9 p.m., during a meeting where only three residents were able to raise concerns during the question period, and amendments were added to require traffic, water and other related studies. (Town of Caledon)
“In May 2025, I supported the amended motion establishing a conditional process requiring studies, public consultation and a further report to Council before an agreement could be entered into,” Russo explained.
Swan Lake neighbours Anna de Langley(left), Jennifer Casu-Morin(center) and Swan Lake advocate Keirstyn Parfitt, running for Ward 1 councillor this election, made efforts to spread awareness of the issue, speaking at council meetings and engaging the community to protect local water features and farmland. (Alexis Wright/The Pointer)
Two months later, the Town proposed to revise its fill bylaw—a connection that many saw as more than just a coincidence.
The existing fill bylaw restrictions made Swan Lake, zoned extractive industrial, ineligible for a fill permit.
On the other hand, the Town’s draft Site Alteration Bylaw, meant to modernize the 18-year-old fill regulations, included ambiguous language with frequent use of “may” and “shall,” a fragmented public notification process, all of which undermine clarity and public engagement while giving the commissioners of engineering, public works and transportation the power to approve permits, decide if public meetings are required and override Council approval for large projects.
After months of media reports, fierce public pressure, packed Town Hall meetings and provincial support for Swan Lake by Liberal MPP Ted Hsu, council temporarily halted the plan to allow the developer to fill the lake with construction waste following a motion brought forward by Russo.
Both him and Early committed to opposing filling Swan Lake and will not be supporting the proposal’s revival.
“The next mayor has to do their job and work for the constituents of Caledon,” Belain Farm owner Anna de Langley, whose property borders Swan Lake, told The Pointer.
“We don’t want any more strong mayor powers. We don't want flip-flopping on things like the 413. We want someone that actually cares about the residents, and cares about the farmland and will protect it.
“It's like the mistakes of the farmers 30 years ago that sold to all these aggregate people and developers; now it's all coming to fruition, and we’re the ones paying the price.”
During the debate, all five candidates stated that they reject the use of strong mayor powers.
Early and Russo also say they oppose the proposed CBM blasting quarry that plans to extract up to 2.5 million tonnes of limestone, sand, and gravel annually from below the water table using controlled blasting—completely altering the landscape in the town, already scarred by the aggregate industry’s moonscapes and trucks that jam roads throughout the town.
In April, Early successfully put forward a motion proposing to update a 2024 vibrations and nuisance bylaw and build stricter noise standards to protect residents and businesses 24 hours a day from loud vibrations from industrial sites, pits and quarries rather than only during designated nighttime hours; it was unanimously approved.
However, the decision was in direct contrast to Early’s 2020 vote in favour of a pit expansion — the James Dick/Erin pit, which doubled an existing pit in Erin and eventually encroached into Caledon.
Ian Sinclair and Annette Groves were the only two councillors to vote no to the James Dick/Erin pit expansion. (The Pointer files)
She said she did not believe she had voted for the pit expansion while defending the EA as a ‘potential good decision’, adding that she recused herself from related matters due to her family’s property being affected by the proposed highway corridor—however, that was after voting to fast-track the assessment.
A year later, when Russo was serving as Regional Councillor for Wards 4, 5 and 6, he voted against a motion to disavow former mayor Allan Thompson for securing a provincial zoning order for a 502-acre warehouse development (that engulfed six homes) without council or public support—Early voted in favour. However, both of them opposed a motion seeking records of communications between Thompson, Town staff and the province about MZOs from July to December 2022.
Jagdeep Sacha, Manjit Bhondhi Saini and Alan Hart are three rookie candidates running for Caledon mayor. (Photos: campaign websites, Graphic: The Pointer)
During the debate, mayoral candidate Jagdeep Sacha said he has heard residents complain about “very high” taxes already; he plans to address that by focusing on generating employment and business opportunities.
Manjit Bhondhi Saini wants to do a line-by-line budget review to protect taxpayers and essential services, and identify infrastructure gaps tied to approved growth, if elected.
Alan Hart argued that a fresh pair of eyes and leadership is exactly what Caledon needs to avoid being “known as the warehouse and trucking hub of Canada”.
Trucks laden with aggregate are part of Caledon residents’ everyday commute. (Anushka Yadav/The Pointer)
Early wants to shift Caledon’s current approach from logistics to attracting commercial businesses while creating “complete communities” and easing barriers for agritourism—an area where Russo wants to invest as well, with the addition of investment in research and development, healthcare and post-secondary education instead of ‘pigeonholing’.
Despite being one of the GTA’s fastest-growing municipalities, Caledon remains car-dependent, with limited public transit and heavy trucks hauling concrete and aggregate along its roads — traffic that has claimed residents’ lives and left families fearing for the safety of their loved ones.
When Connors asked if any of the candidates would impose a moratorium on further truck-dependent industrial development until measurable safety improvements are in place, Early and Russo stopped short of committing to one, instead pointing to infrastructure upgrades, truck enforcement and local traffic solutions. They also pledged to address congestion along Highway 50.
“I believe the province should seriously examine how Highway 407 could be better utilized to relieve congestion across the region,” Early added.
As Caledon heads toward election day on October 26, a simmering undercurrent of discontent has hardened into a deep community divide as Early and Russo supporters trade accusations—rooted in a fear of preventing a “Groves 2.0”.
Candidates were also asked how they planned to prevent a potential 73 percent tax increase for Caledon households — $80 million annually in new costs — when 1,620 kilometres of regional roads are transferred to the Town of Caledon on July 1, 2027.
Russo believes Caledon “should not accept” a transfer that would cripple the town financially; the province must adequately “subsidize” to cover the costs as the population grows, especially since the roads serve traffic beyond Caledon’s borders for movement of goods.
“I joke that I might have to put a border crossing or a literal turnstile at Mayfield Road and Highway 9,” Russo said.
Early called out Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish’s claims that she would save $30 million and use those savings to help keep taxes down. While there has been discussion about the province subsidizing municipalities, municipalities don’t know what those figures would be yet.
“I do not think we have a complete picture of what the July 2027 transition will look like,” she said, noting that CAOs are still crunching those numbers.
“I would be lying if I told you I could say exactly what the financial impact would look like right now.”
She argues the first priority must be to determine the total costs and financial implications, and then work with both Brampton and Mississauga as well as Queen’s Park to ensure the transition can happen without placing an unreasonable burden on taxpayers.
Whoever fate and voters have in store for Caledon, ecoCaledon co-secretary Betty de Groot wants the “next mayor to know that this is a community that cares, that has their eyes open and is alert to what the environment needs”.
“We don’t like being outwinked. We like honesty…the way things have gone, especially in that last term, we don't like to be lied to,” she told The Pointer.
“We want to know what we’re signing up for, and we want to believe in the people’s word even after the election.”
Former Ward 1 councillor Lynn Kiernan, who is not seeking re-election, reflected on her eight years in office that gave her a “ringside seat” to “one of the most consequential and difficult periods in Caledon’s municipal history” — “a clear example of why Caledon needs a change of leadership”.
“I have watched our community confront extraordinary growth pressures, significant changes in provincial policy, the introduction of strong-mayor powers and a changing relationship between Council and senior administration,” she said in a statement.
“I have also seen something more troubling: a deterioration in the respect and collegiality that should underpin good local government.
“In my view, this culture was set and supported by Mayor Groves and [her hire] CAO Nathan Hyde.”
She criticized the former mayor for fostering a culture that discouraged dissent and marginalized councillors who challenged decisions.
Kiernan observed a majority voting bloc was becoming a means of silencing opposition rather than advancing policy. At times, she experienced it too.
“Residents should not be fooled again by promises of accountability, collaboration and respect if the conduct and culture of the past four years are allowed to continue,” she said.
“Caledon will continue to grow and change. There will be difficult votes and passionate disagreements. That is democracy. But respect should never depend upon agreement.
“Public service should be demanding. It should never have to be demeaning.”
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