Darrin Canniff re-elected as mayor of Chatham-Kent

Darrin Canniff with his wife Christine after being re-elected mayor in Chatham, Ont. on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

CTV News has declared candidate Darrin Canniff to be elected the mayor of Chatham-Kent in the 2022 municipal election.

Here are the latest results.

Canniff defeated candidates William Pickard and Andy Fisher.

“I look at the last four years, we made a lot of great strides. But I look at our population growth, we were declining for 10 years and we're growing now.” Canniff said. “We hadn't built an apartment building here in Chatham-Kent in 30 years, we're building ten plus apartment buildings so things are happening. We've got industry wanting here, we got everything. So, we did pretty well through COVID. Yes there was the issues, we've got issues, but as a community, as working together because of people, we've come together.”

He held the position during some tough times for Chatham-Kent, including shoreline flooding and the explosion that rocked downtown Wheatley more than a year ago.

Canniff pledged if re-elected to invest more in arts and culture, a recreation hub and with the help of upper levels of government, tackle the ongoing affordable housing crisis.

“I had a magic wand to be able to fix anything would be affordable housing. I mean, that's a huge issue moving forward and it's not going to fix itself tomorrow,” he said. “We need federal, provincial money and that's what makes housing affordable. Is it being subsidized by federal provincial, municipal??”

Canniff noted the municipality will be celebrating 25 years since amalgamation in January, suggesting big discussions are coming up regarding the Downtown Chatham Centre, a sports park and other amenities.

“I work very hard to make sure I get to all the communities regularly and we need to come together because we are one community whether you like amalgamation or not. We are one,” he said. “So let's work towards one. We can't live in the past. We’re amalgamated now and that's not changing.”

COUNCIL RESULTS:

“I'm excited to work with each every one of them," Canniff said of council."We’ve got a lot of incumbents coming back. We've got some new people, it’s exciting!” Canniff explained. “They’ve got a learning curve, but there's exciting times and I'm hopeful that each and every one of them share a similar vision of I want to grow. I want ultimately people to want to come here and I want our kids and grandkids to want to live here because I've talked to so many people that their kids had left over the past and I want them coming back.”

- With files from CTV Windsor's Chris Campbell