Colin Grantham

Mayor, term 2026-2030

Election result5,185 votes (unofficial) [S1]

On council last term?Yes - re-elected

Before thisMayor of Strathroy-Caradoc 2022-2026 (first elected 2022); before that management roles at the London Free Press, Hamilton Spectator and Kitchener-Waterloo Record, then sales (S6).

Last updatedOctober 27, 2026

Checked with Colin Grantham. Council Watch emailed Colin Grantham on October 27, 2026, asking them to check this page and correct anything wrong before the Draft label is removed. Replies were requested by November 6, 2026.

Reply so far: none yet.

This page lists what Colin Grantham told voters they would do during the 2026 campaign.

Over the next four years, we add public records that show whether each promise is being kept: recorded votes, budgets, motions and what Colin Grantham says at council. Nothing is marked kept or broken without a record to show it.

Campaign promises (16)

What each status means

Town money, debt and taxes · Specific promise
He promised to work with council to keep any yearly tax increase at or below the rate of inflation.
Not yet measured

Work with Council to keep any possible increase at or below the annual rate of inflation.
Said in: [S3] [S5] at 01:04:35-01:05:03. How we will check it: Each year's approved municipal levy / tax rate increase in the 2027-2030 budgets compared with the inflation rate (CPI) for the same period.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Town services · Specific promise
He promised no cuts to current service levels, including police, fire, snow removal, road repair, youth and senior programs and customer service.
Not yet measured

Taxpayers expect us to maintain our current service levels in police and fire protection, snow removal and road repair.
Said in: [S3]. How we will check it: Budget documents and council reports 2027-2030: any reduction in approved service levels (for example snow-clearing standards, program hours, customer-service hours).
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Town money, debt and taxes · Specific promise
He promised to have staff explain any budget difference over $25,000, rely less on outside consultants, and chase government grants hard.
Not yet measured

Have staff justify and explain any budget difference greater than $25,000.
Said in: [S3]. How we will check it: Budget variance reports to council (are variances over $25,000 explained?), yearly consulting fees in the budget and financial statements, and grant dollars received each year.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Town money, debt and taxes · Specific promise
He promised a council Finance Committee that meets every three months to review finances and project progress, plus rules for project approval and more public reporting on capital projects and finances.
Not yet measured

Create a Finance Committee, comprised of Council, that meets quarterly to review finances and project progress.
Said in: [S3]. How we will check it: Whether a council Finance Committee is set up and meets quarterly (meeting calendar and minutes), and whether a project-approval and reporting policy is adopted and quarterly capital/finance reports appear on agendas.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Roads · Specific promise
He promised a council-approved four-year capital budget tied to the Asset Management Plan, and to follow the strategic plan and the roads, water/wastewater and recreation master plans already paid for, instead of making a new strategic plan.
Not yet measured

Council and staff will follow the master plans - Roads, Water and Wastewater, and Recreation - that you have already paid for.
Plans this promise points to: Council Strategic Plan 2024-2029 · Transportation (Roads) Master Plan · Water and Wastewater Master Plan · Parks and Recreation Master Plan · Asset Management Plan (AMP)
Said in: [S3] [S5] [S8] at 00:09:32-00:10:13. How we will check it: Adoption of a multi-year (four-year) capital budget by council; whether capital projects cite the Asset Management Plan and master plans; whether a new strategic plan is commissioned.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Water and sewage · Specific promise
He promised to adopt a Mount Brydges wastewater plan that sets out the plant's future, and said he stands by council's current path for the plant.
Not yet measured

Adopt the Mount Brydges wastewater plan that addresses the future of the plant.
Said in: [S3] [S5] [S6] at 00:28:44-00:29:24. How we will check it: Council adoption of the Mount Brydges plant environmental assessment / long-term plan, and progress on the current upgrade in council reports and tenders.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Roads · Specific promise
He proposed that the next council work with Middlesex County on a long-term, shovel-ready plan for a rail overpass in Strathroy, to use when asking other governments for funding; he said it would not be built this term.
Not yet measured

Develop a long term plan for a rail overpass in Strathroy.
Said in: [S3] [S9] [S5] at 00:19:37-00:20:17. How we will check it: A council motion or budget line to update the earlier rail-crossing study with the County, and a completed overpass plan with location and high-level cost by 2030.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Growth and new development · Specific promise
He called industrial growth his top priority and promised to work on the 2025 Industrial Lands Strategy, focusing first on Molnar Industrial Park and later on the Glendon Drive / Highway 402 corridor, plus a regional industrial plan with neighbouring municipalities.
Not yet measured

Work toward fulfilling the recommendations in the Industrial Lands Strategy as presented to Council in 2025.
Plans this promise points to: Industrial Land Strategy
Said in: [S3] [S6] [S5] at 01:05:27-01:05:56. How we will check it: Council reports on Industrial Lands Strategy actions; servicing, sale or rezoning of Molnar Industrial Park and Glendon/402 lands; a regional growth plan or agreement with neighbours (for example Adelaide Metcalfe); new industrial assessment growth each year.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Fire department · Specific promise
He promised to keep three fire halls (Strathroy, Mount Brydges, Melbourne), complete plans for a new Mount Brydges fire hall, and support the safety of volunteer firefighters.
Not yet measured

Ensure that there are always three fire halls - Strathroy, Mount Brydges and Melbourne. Complete plans for a new Mount Brydges fire hall.
Plans this promise points to: Master Fire Plan (fire department)
Said in: [S3] [S5] at 00:13:41-00:14:00. How we will check it: No fire hall closures 2026-2030; council approval of land and design (shovel-ready plans) for a new Mount Brydges fire hall; firefighter health-and-safety items in budgets.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Town services · Specific promise
He promised continued support for the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service and to push for a police satellite office in Mount Brydges.
Not yet measured

Push for a satellite office in Mount Brydges to better serve Ward 2.
Said in: [S3]. How we will check it: A council or Police Service Board decision and budget for a Mount Brydges police satellite office, and police budget votes.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Town services · Specific promise
He committed to lead council to finish renovating the Tri-Township Arena in Mount Brydges, calling it his number one priority for Ward 2.
Not yet measured

I'm committed as Mayor to lead council to get those renovations done.
Said in: [S3] [S5] at 00:13:24-00:13:41. How we will check it: Council approval, budget, tender and completion of Tri-Township Arena renovations by 2030.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Town services · Specific promise
He promised to finish the 137 Frank Street renovations, strengthen seniors programs in all communities, add activities for all ages, and finalize plans for a park in north Strathroy.
Not yet measured

Complete renovations of 137 Frank. Strengthen seniors programming in all communities.
Said in: [S3] [S5] at 00:10:28-00:10:48. How we will check it: 137 Frank St. renovation completion and opening; recreation budget and program listings for seniors and youth in each community; council approval of a north Strathroy park plan.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Growth and new development · General goal
He said the next term should look at revitalizing downtown Mount Brydges so it is more welcoming and draws more shops and activity.
Not yet measured

revitalize downtown Mount Brydges so it's welcoming, and you can bring more shops, more commerce, more things to do
Said in: [S5] at 00:37:45-00:38:30. How we will check it: A council-approved downtown Mount Brydges revitalization plan, community improvement plan, or capital budget item during 2026-2030.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
Other · Specific promise
He said the urban areas need a stronger property standards by-law to deal with neglected and abandoned properties, and that staff should have what they need to keep communities clean.
Not yet measured

We need to have a better property standards bylaw
Said in: [S5] [S3] at 00:49:19-00:50:19. How we will check it: Whether council passes an updated property standards by-law and funds by-law enforcement; enforcement activity reports.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
How council uses its power · Specific promise
He said strong-mayor powers should not be used by anyone, that he would never use the budget veto, and that he would bring council into budget work earlier.
Not yet measured

Strong mayor power should not be used by anyone.
Said in: [S5] at 01:12:42-01:13:23. How we will check it: The municipality's published Mayoral Decisions 2026-2030 (any veto or other strong-mayor use), and the budget timeline (when council first sees the draft budget).
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.
How council uses its power · General goal
He promised to keep his office open to residents, stay accountable and accessible, listen, and improve the municipality's public communication.
Not yet measured

I will always be accountable and accessible to you.
Said in: [S3] [S6]. How we will check it: Hard to measure directly; public communication changes (newsletters, project updates), and whether council agendas show the promised progress reports.
Latest: October 27, 2026 - Baseline recorded at the start of the term.

History of this page

Not yet measured October 27, 2026
Baseline recorded at the start of the term.

Where these promises come from

[S1] Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc, 2026 Election Results (page heading: Unofficial 2026 Election Results). official results; Mayor: Grantham 5,185 (ELECTED, incumbent), Derbyshire 2,593. No timestamp on page. Same table at https://www.strathroy-caradoc.ca/election-results.
[S2] 105.7 myFM (strathroytoday.ca), ELECTION 2026- Live results for Strathroy-Caradoc, October 26, 2026. news article; Same counts; says results are unofficial. No quotes from winners.
[S3] Campaign to Re-Elect Colin Grantham, Platform | Re-Elect Colin Grantham for Mayor. candidate website; Main platform source. Quotes are exact except curly quotes and dashes converted to ASCII. Site URL was given by the candidate in myFM audio (S8) and in the debate (S5).
[S4] Campaign to Re-Elect Colin Grantham, Re-Elect Colin Grantham for Mayor | Strathroy-Caradoc (home page). candidate website; Six themes and summary; An Accomplishments page (https://votegrantham.ca/accomplishments.html) lists past-term claims, not promises; read but not used for commitments.
[S5] Rogers tv (YouTube), Strathroy-Caradoc Mayoral Debate - The Local Campaign 2026, October 8, 2026. debate video; Debate held Oct 7, 2026 (S10); uploaded Oct 8; 1:21:40. YouTube captions could not be downloaded (HTTP 429), so times and quotes come from a machine transcript of the audio (faster-whisper small.en, made 2026-10-27), NOT captions and NOT checked by playback; times may be off by a few seconds and words may be misheard.
[S6] Middlesex Banner (David Gomez), Colin Grantham Reflects on Four Years as Mayor, October 14, 2026. news interview; Q-and-A interview conducted Sep 28, 2026. Read via the site's public WordPress API.
[S7] 105.7 myFM (strathroytoday.ca), written by L. Dickson, 2026 Municipal Election Candidate Feature - Colin Grantham for Mayor of Strathroy-Caradoc, September 22, 2026. news interview; Four embedded audio clips (sept-4-colin-*.mp3) machine-transcribed (faster-whisper small.en), not checked by listening.
[S8] 105.7 myFM (strathroytoday.ca), written by C. Soares, Mayoral race stops in at open house Tuesday, September 2, 2026. news interview; Three embedded audio clips (sept-2-colin-1..3.mp3) machine-transcribed (faster-whisper small.en), not checked by listening. Clip 1 names the campaign site (heard as 'VOTEgranthem.ca'; actual site votegrantham.ca).
[S9] 105.7 myFM (strathroytoday.ca), written by C. Soares, Mayor calls for 'shovel-ready' plan to address Strathroy railway crossing concerns, August 17, 2026. news article; Reporter's summary of his proposal; no direct quotes.
[S10] 105.7 myFM (strathroytoday.ca), written by C. Soares, Mayoral debate gets heated after red light goes off, October 8, 2026. news article; Context for S5: date, venue, 16 public questions, moderator Ross Cunningham.

What we could not find

YouTube auto-captions for the 2026 debate could not be downloaded (HTTP 429 rate limit); debate times and quotes come from our own machine transcript and were not checked by playback.
Campaign Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/854289035592017/, linked from votegrantham.ca) was not opened; Facebook generally requires sign-in.
French version of the site (https://votegrantham.ca/fr/) not read; assumed to mirror the English text.
No candidate questionnaire answers found (none located for Strathroy-Caradoc 2026).
No election-night interview found (myFM results story has no quotes; no London Free Press or CTV London 2026 Strathroy-Caradoc story found by search).
Poliwave results page returned HTTP 403 (not needed; municipal page used).
Open house events (Sep 1 and Oct 6, 2026) were not recorded beyond the short myFM clips.

Right of reply. If you are Colin Grantham, or speak for them, and something here is wrong or missing, email [email protected]. Replies are published on this page.

Colin Grantham

Campaign promises (16)

He promised to work with council to keep any yearly tax increase at or below the rate of inflation.

He promised no cuts to current service levels, including police, fire, snow removal, road repair, youth and senior programs and customer service.

He promised to have staff explain any budget difference over $25,000, rely less on outside consultants, and chase government grants hard.

He promised a council Finance Committee that meets every three months to review finances and project progress, plus rules for project approval and more public reporting on capital projects and finances.

He promised a council-approved four-year capital budget tied to the Asset Management Plan, and to follow the strategic plan and the roads, water/wastewater and recreation master plans already paid for, instead of making a new strategic plan.

He promised to adopt a Mount Brydges wastewater plan that sets out the plant's future, and said he stands by council's current path for the plant.

He proposed that the next council work with Middlesex County on a long-term, shovel-ready plan for a rail overpass in Strathroy, to use when asking other governments for funding; he said it would not be built this term.

He called industrial growth his top priority and promised to work on the 2025 Industrial Lands Strategy, focusing first on Molnar Industrial Park and later on the Glendon Drive / Highway 402 corridor, plus a regional industrial plan with neighbouring municipalities.

He promised to keep three fire halls (Strathroy, Mount Brydges, Melbourne), complete plans for a new Mount Brydges fire hall, and support the safety of volunteer firefighters.

He promised continued support for the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service and to push for a police satellite office in Mount Brydges.

He committed to lead council to finish renovating the Tri-Township Arena in Mount Brydges, calling it his number one priority for Ward 2.

He promised to finish the 137 Frank Street renovations, strengthen seniors programs in all communities, add activities for all ages, and finalize plans for a park in north Strathroy.

He said the next term should look at revitalizing downtown Mount Brydges so it is more welcoming and draws more shops and activity.

He said the urban areas need a stronger property standards by-law to deal with neglected and abandoned properties, and that staff should have what they need to keep communities clean.

He said strong-mayor powers should not be used by anyone, that he would never use the budget veto, and that he would bring council into budget work earlier.

He promised to keep his office open to residents, stay accountable and accessible, listen, and improve the municipality's public communication.

History of this page

Where these promises come from

What we could not find