Wilmot mayor holds State of the Township event

Wilmot Township Mayor Natasha Salonen spoke to a crowd of 100 people at New Hamburg’s Puddicombe House last week to open up about the state of local politics in the area as the 2026 municipal election approaches in October. Salonen has told the Gazette she is planning to run for re-election. Lee Griffi photo

By Lee Griffi

Wilmot Township Mayor Natasha Salonen delivered a State of the Township address at Puddicombe House in New Hamburg last week, in front of a crowd of about 100 area residents.

Salonen was introduced by Wilmot CEO Jeff Wilmer, and she quickly jumped into a conversation about how much the township has changed over the past three-plus years and how much municipal politics is transforming.

“We're living through a period of significant change in how our institutions function and how people relate to them. Trust in those institutions is being challenged – in many cases, rightfully so. When systems evolve, when authority shifts and when the rules that govern decision-making begin to change, people start to question whether those systems will continue to work for them at all,” said the rookie politician and youngest mayor in Ontario.

She added there is a narrative that political change leads to trust being lost, and as governance evolves, voices are disappearing.

“As authority shifts, this equates to individual participation no longer mattering in the way it once did. We are hearing this narrative every day in conversations about strong mayor powers, and in the reaction to last Thursday's announcement on regional chairs becoming appointed.”

Salonen said in her role as mayor, regional councillor and her work with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA), questions are being asked about local decision-making.

“I find it concerning how quickly this narrative is accepted as a reality, that trust is already lost and that voice no longer matters, because when people begin to believe their voice no longer matters, they stop using it. When that happens, they don't just question the system, they begin to disengage.”

She added signs of disengagement include declining voter turnout, younger generations questioning whether their voices have a place in the system and a growing hesitation not only to lead, but to participate in government.

“This is where trust in institutions becomes not just a governance issue, but a societal one. And I struggle fundamentally with the interpretation that our voice is lost as these changes are happening. I think it misses what is required in these moments. And that's not disengagement or disgruntled frustration, but a deliberate work for rebuilding trust.”

Salonen said in moments like this, trust may erode, and at times, elected officials contribute to that erosion.

“I know I have. But precisely for that reason, its importance intensifies. And more critically, trust must be built and carefully nurtured with deliberate intent, not assumed because a system has existed for decades, not expected because it has worked in the past, but built through how we show up, how we engage and how we lead.”

She added trust is not preserved by avoiding difficult conversations, but is built by having them, by questioning decisions, by challenging ideas and by creating space, not just to agree, but to disagree, to test ideas, to push thinking and to still find alignment in values people share.

“When we lose that, when disagreement becomes division, when conversation becomes conflict and when participation becomes polarized, trust just doesn't weaken, it fractures. When trust fractures, institutions cannot function the way that they're intended to, and that is where the responsibility comes back into focus.”

Salonen explained rebuilding trust is not the responsibility of an institution alone. She said institutions are ultimately defined by the people who sustain them, who believe in them and who choose every day to make them work.

“It belongs to all of us in how we engage with each other, how we participate in our communities and whether we choose to step forward or step back. If trust is going to be rebuilt, it won't be rebuilt in theory or simply by saying it exists. It will be rebuilt with communities like this one, and that has been the work here in Wilmot for the past few years.”

Members of Wilmot council haven’t always been aligned, and there have been legitimate disagreements and differences in perspective on how to move forward.

“I know that at times it created frustration, it created concern and in some cases, among residents, I know it challenged their confidence. But I want to be clear, this is not a failure of governance. This is governance because institutions are not abstract. They are made up of people with different experiences, different priorities and different ways of thinking about what the right path forward is.”

If there's one lesson Salonen has learned from the past few years, she said it's that rebuilding trust requires courage.

“The courage to make decisions in real time under scrutiny, knowing that everyone will not agree, but believing that the process will make us stronger. And that is what has allowed us, over time, to begin to stabilize Wilmot, to begin to rebuild and to begin to put in place the foundations that were needed.”

She added rebuilding trust in the community includes improved finances, an issue that has dominated this term since each rookie member of council was elected nearly four years ago.

“Since this term of council, we have continued to question and explore exactly what is going on with our finances. And this came to a head … with the 2025 draft budget. Over the past year, and in part through using tools available to us, including strong mayor powers with deliberate restraint, we took a hard look at our financial health as a township.”

Salonen said for far too long, Wilmot’s budgets did not fully reflect the true cost of the services people rely on and that we're delivering. She explained when that happens, the impact does not disappear. It builds quietly over time until eventually it affects financial stability and confidence in the institution itself.

“So, we've decided to reset, to step back and rebuild our financial foundation properly. Working alongside staff, I brought in KPMG to rebuild the budget from the ground up, and we engaged council from the start of this process.”

Salonen said at the end of the day, what sustains a place like Wilmot is not just the decisions council makes, but how they are made and whether people feel they are a part of the process.

“We're living in a time where trust in institutions is being questioned, where systems are changing, authority is shifting and people are asking whether those systems will continue to work for them. But what this past year and a few years have shown here in Wilmot is something larger than this community alone. It's a reminder of what's possible.”

She added trust is not something that disappears, but it’s not something restored all at once.

“It is rebuilt, decision by decision, conversation by conversation, action by action, not in theory, but in practice. What we are working through here is not unique to Wilmot. It's the work facing communities across the province, the country and increasingly around the world. And the lesson is the same.”

She added trust is not rebuilt through structure alone or policy. It is rebuilt through people, through leadership who are willing to listen, through institutions that are willing to evolveand through communities that choose to stay engaged, even when it is difficult.

“Because the future of our institutions will not be defined by the pressures we're under. It will be defined by how we respond to it, whether we choose to step back or step forward. The future is not something that simply happens to us. It is something we shape, something we build and that work belongs to all of us. We don't predict the future, we create it.”

The event was organized by Wilmot Township, and Salonen sat down with CityNews 570 host Mike Farwell for a question-and-answer session after her address.

Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie held a similar breakfast event last week. East Zorra-Tavistock Mayor Phil Schaefer, along with Mark Peterson and Marcus Ryan, mayors of Blandford-Blenheim and Zorra townships respectively, held a similar event on Wednesday, April 15, in Tavistock. Ryan is also the Warden of Oxford County, and both events were hosted by the local Chambers of Commerce.