Mayors Office

About Mayor Siscoe

Mat Siscoe was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of David (a Naval officer) and Susan (a Registered Nurse). His family moved around, as military families do, with stays in Halifax, Petersfield in the United Kingdom, and eventually Ottawa. Mat completed his high school in Ottawa before moving on to Kingston, where he completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining Engineering at Queen's University.

In 2004, Mat moved to Changwon, South Korea, where he met his wife Chrissy Sadowski, a Laura Secord High School graduate who was born and raised in St. Catharines. After several years teaching English in South Korea, Mat and Chrissy returned home and settled in St. Catharines, with Mat earning his Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa in 2007.

It was in 2007 that Mat began teaching Science, and specifically Physics, at Saint Paul High School in Niagara Falls. At the same time, Mat and Chrissy began to build their family, as they welcomed their first child, Xavier, into the family after completing the adoption process in 2009. The family would grow again in 2012 with Canaan, their second son, and in 2014 with Darius, their third son. Their youngest, and only daughter Sophia, would complete the family in 2015.

Mat was first elected to office in 2010, when he won a seat on St. Catharines City Council in St. Patrick's Ward. He went on to serve 11 years on City Council, sitting on the City's Governance committee, the Downtown Association BIA, the Heritage committee, the St. Catharines Transit Commission, the Linking Niagara Transit Committee, and from 2015-2022 serving as the Chair of the Budget Standing Committee.

In early 2022, Mat was appointed to fill the Regional Council seat left vacant by the passing of Coun. Sandie Bellows.

As a member of Regional Council, Mat sat on the Public Works Committee, the Public Health and Social Services Committee, and the inaugural Niagara Transit Commission.

Over the course of his adult years, Mat has spent a great deal of time involved with youth sports, both at the school and community level. He has been a coach and board member at CYO hockey in St. Catharines, a coach with the St. Catharines Minor Baseball Association, a coach with Port Weller Soccer, and a coach with the Niagara Regional Minor Football Association and Niagara Youth Flag Football. He has also spent time at school as a Rugby coach, a wrestling coach and a football coach.

Mat has also volunteered time to other community organizations, including organizing the Labour Day parade food drive for Community Care with Coun. Matt Harris, working overnight shifts for Out of the Cold at Queen St. Baptist Church, and nearest to his heart, the time spent as a Board member and now Chair of the Niagara Children's Centre Board of Directors.

Contact Mayor Siscoe

You can contact Mayor Mat Siscoe by phone at 905.688.5601 ext. 1540, by email at mayor@stcatharines.ca or by mail at:

City of St. Catharines
50 Church St.
PO Box 3012
St. Catharines, ON L2R 7C2

Mayoral services

Community members can make requests to the mayor's office for a variety of services to recognize milestones, celebrations and special events.

• Congratulatory certificates are provided to individuals, groups, businesses and other organizations in St. Catharines to commemorate anniversaries, birthdays, milestone occasions, official openings and other special honours. The Mayor provides certificates for residents in St. Catharines celebrating their 75th, 80th, 85th, 90th, 95th, 100th and over 100 birthdays, and 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 65th, 70th, 75th and over 75 anniversaries. Please complete our Certificate Request Form if you would like to receive a congratulatory certificate from the Mayor. We request that request forms be submitted at least six weeks prior to your celebration.  These certificates are not civic endorsements and the City does not make proclamations. 
• Flag raising requests can be made through our Flag Raising Request Form. Please deliver your flag to the Mayor's Office (City Hall, 50 Church St., third floor) the week prior to your flag raising. A staff member from the Mayor's Office will contact you to confirm the date and time.
• Invitations for the Mayor and/or a City Councillor to special events can be made through our Invitation Request Form. Please note that we appreciate receiving your invitation at least six weeks in advance of your event. A staff member from the Mayor's Office will contact you to confirm attendance or extend regrets.
• City pins can be requested by charitable organizations, agencies or sports teams for upcoming meetings, events or tournaments. Please complete our City Pin Request Form. For requests of more than 25 pins, please contact Economic Development and Tourism Services at 905-688-5601, ext. 1731.

Mayoral news

Stay up to date with the latest news releases and updates from the Mayor's Office.

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Mayor's Poetry Challenge

Shelley Locke was the winner of the 2022 Mayor's Poetry Challenge with her submission 'A Time to Cheer'.

A Time to Cheer

The world is changing

Unfolding in ways unimaginable

Intangible forces invade our thoughts

Stirring minds in frantic ways

Let’s halt the grains of the hourglass

For a moment brief in time

Amidst a shared distraction

With the ability to unite

For all to come together

Let differences melt

Like ice after rain

We can strengthen our kinship

Forging heroes through sport

We celebrate sacrifice

We celebrate hope

Influencing societal change

To build covalent bonds

A time to cheer

Teammates and crowd

Allied as one

To sweat together, to bleed together

For hope is played out on the field

And has the power to dispel our cultural divides

About the Mayor's Poetry Challenge

The Mayor's Poetry Challenge takes place during National Poetry Month in April, which began in 1998 by the League of Canadian Poets to celebrate and appreciate poetry.