Former RCMP Staff Sergeant Keith Milner to run for mayor

Keith Milner

Leah Bauer

Advocate Contributor

Another candidate has filed to run for mayor of Norfolk County. Keith Milner, a Port Dover local and a former RCMP Staff Sergeant has stepped into the 2026 municipal election race.

Milner grew up in Port Dover, and was attending Port Dover Composite School when he joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He then moved to Saskatchewan where he wrote his final high school exams from the barracks at just 19.

His career with the RCMP kept Milner busy and mobile - he lived in Saskatchewan for six years, but moved back to Ontario after being transferred to London. Milner then began his training in political intelligence which brought him to Toronto for 16 years. He worked for the RCMP for 39 years and since then he has moved back to Port Dover where he owns Bronte Shore Yacht Sales.

He believes that this experience, with a combined passion for his community, makes him the right candidate to represent Norfolk County.

“I'm a disciplined individual. I started training when I was 19 years old. I learned discipline. I learned responsibility, and I learned respect for the people. I've done uniform policing, I've done drug squad. I've political intelligence.”

Milner said he has “always been interested in politics” and his background in political intelligence with the RCMP proves that to be true. His interest in municipal government stems from his discontent “with the way our money is spent.”

“We are spending way too much money on projects that do not necessarily benefit Norfolk County,” he said. “The money is not being watched carefully, and as a result, the taxes are going up, but we are not seeing the return on value.” Milner has many issues and concerns with how things are currently being handled throughout Norfolk. When honing in on Downtown Simcoe he stated, “I think we need to use the funds to better address the situation that we have downtown, we need to redirect that money. There are many volunteer organizations working in the Downtown, they would like some help, but the funds are not going to infrastructure, they are going to salary.

“Council got millions of dollars to address this problem and the first thing they did was hire four people. I don’t think hiring more people is the answer.” 

If elected, Milner also hopes to improve co-operation between our Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady and the municipal government.

“The fact that we had no co-operation, between municipal and provincial government is concerning. Bobbi Ann Brady should not be excluded, she should be included. She is our voice in Queen’s Park, and we lost that co-operation, not through Bobbi Ann but through our own municipal government.” 

A contentious issue headed into this fall municipal election is housing development in Norfolk County, as well as the MZO controversy in Nanticoke. While not in Norfolk, the MZO has led community members to raise concerns of potential impact on nearby Norfolk communities. Milner did not shy away from this subject stating, “What’s going on right now is not sustainable. Norfolk needs reasonable and responsible growth without outside influence.” As of June 15, the list of mayoral candidates in Norfolk includes former Councillors Noel Haydt and Doug Brunton, former Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt, and local real estate agent Rhyus Reeves.

Nomination packages will continue to be accepted until August 21, 2026, at 2 p.m. The clerk will review and certify the nominations by 4 p.m. on August 24, and will post them publicly thereafter. 

The Municipal Election is scheduled for Oct. 26, 2026.