MIchelle Boileau has been told her whole life that she’s a leader.
“I suppose it might be true,” said the Timmins-mayor elect.
Boileau was elected as mayor in a decisive win tonight, taking 61.47 per cent (7,403 votes) of the vote. Her nearest competitor was Joe Campbell with 32.07 per cent of the vote (3,836 votes) and Richard Lafleur secured 6.46 per cent of the vote (778 votes). The election results are unofficial right now and will be confirmed later in the week.
Boileau watched the results roll in surrounded by friends and family at Full Beard Brewery.
“I haven’t even processed it really, it’s a little overwhelming, but it’s really nice. It’s really special to be here with a lot of my friends and family, I think that’s really what’s making the moment feel so special,” she said.
First elected to council in 2018 as a Ward 5 councillor, this is Boileau’s first mayoral campaign.
It’s a job she started eying during her term as councillor, especially in the last couple of years when she stepped into leadership roles on boards and committees.
With former mayor George Pirie vacating the seat after being elected as Timmins MPP in June, it meant a new person would be at the head of the council table. Kristin Murray was appointed mayor over the summer, but chose to run for re-election in Ward 5 instead of seeking the mayor’s seat.
Social issues are one of the key issues she said the next council will face, though she says they’ve been hearing it all.
“We’ve been hearing housing, we know that housing is going to be something that we’re going to have to tackle if we want to touch on some of those other priorities such population growth and being able to attract skilled workers, attract post-secondary students. A lot of that’s going to come down to housing as well, luckily we’ve already made quite a bit of leeway with provincial partners, I’ve had some meetings with ministers so I’m looking forward to doing those follow-ups now in my role now that I know I’m doing another four years on council,” she said.
Over the past four years, Boileau has learned to expect the unexpected.
“We had all these plans, we had our sights set on all these projects … and there was a bit of a wrench thrown into that and so I’m cautiously optimistic for the next four years, but of course, I don’t want to make too many promises, commit to too many different things because we never know what’s going to happen tomorrow or in a year from now,” she said.
Campbell, who has been a fixture on council for the past eight years, watched the results with supporters at the Schumacher Lions Den in the McIntyre Arena.
Around 9 p.m. he conceded the win to Boileau.
"I'd hoped it would be a lot closer than it was but I congratulate Michelle on the campaign she ran,” he said. After the results were confirmed, he stopped by Boileau's party as well.
This election marks the end of Campbell's political career.
"Timmins is a very kind city, when you knock on their door, I received very few adverse comments, so kudos to the people of Timmins,” he said.
"This is not a wake. Socialize, have something to eat, and we'll get on with our lives tomorrow."
This story has been updated from an earlier version to include comments from Michelle Boileau and Joe Campbell.
