New Region of Waterloo councillor chosen

Who is Waterloo Region’s newest councillor? CTV’s Ashley Bacon finds out.

There will be a new face around the regional council horseshoe.

On Thursday, Region of Waterloo councillors chose Joseph Gowing to join their ranks after an appointment process.

Gowing will be filling the role that was vacated by the death of Councillor Kari Williams.

Instead of calling a byelection, council opted for an appointment process. Anyone interested in taking up the responsibility was encouraged to submit an application by Aug. 4. All told, 44 people put their name up for consideration.

Those applicants were given an opportunity to address council during a special meeting on Thursday and make their case as to why they should be chosen as the newest councillor. That process took approximately four hours.

Council then voted to appoint Gowing to the position after three rounds of voting. He will be sworn in over the next few days and attend his first meeting as a councillor on Aug. 27.

Who is Joe Gowing?

Joe Gowing is a Kitchener resident. According to his submission to council, he has lived in both Cambridge and Kitchener over the past 15 years and has served as a trustee for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board.

“I’m deeply invested in the future of this region, especially in tackling housing affordability, supporting responsible growth, and ensuring rural and urban communities are equally heard,” he wrote in the document. “I believe in practical, community-driven solutions, and I’m ready to contribute as a collaborative and responsive member of Regional Council.”

His resume states he studied police foundations and business management at Conestoga College and was the owner and a general contractor for Gowing Construction from 2011 until 2014. After that he worked for several financial institutions, including Bank of Montreal, Meridian Credit Union and TD Canada Trust, as a mortgage specialist. He currently works as a district leader at PFSL Investments.

He has served as the president of Royal Canadian Legion branch 126 in Cambridge and is currently the Deputy Zone Commander at Royal Canadian Legion Zone C2 in Cambridge.

He unsuccessfully ran for regional council in 2022.

He also ran for the Ontario Liberal Party in the Kitchener-Conestoga riding during the 2025 provincial election. Ultimately, he earned 29 per cent of the vote, but lost to current MPP Mike Harris Jr.

He told CTV News being selected has been a humbling experience.

“Pardon the pun, I am your average Joe,” he said. “I am the person that you can look to when you need something done. I’m a phone call away and I’ve always lived by that rule.”

He hopes his background in finance can be an important asset in council discussions.

“Theres a lot at stake today with the housing and homelessness,” he said. “My background is in finance, so I’m hoping to help out on the housing side and the budget side of things. But just being involved in the community, helping us get to where we need to be and continue to grow at a pace that we can handle.”