City delegation returns after critical talks at 2025 AMO Conference

This week, the Mayor, City Councillors, and senior City staff attended the 2025 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa, Ont. The conference provided a crucial platform for City officials to meet with provincial leaders and advocate for St. Catharines’ strategic priorities.

The conference opened on Sunday, Aug. 17 and ran until Wednesday, Aug. 20.

The City’s delegation included Mayor Mat Siscoe, City Councillors Robin McPherson, Caleb Ratzlaff, Dawn Dodge, Bill Phillips, Jackie Lindal, Kevin Townsend, Mark Stevens, and Matt Harris, as well as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) David Oakes, Brian York, Director of Economic Development and Government Relations, and Melissa Wenzler, Government Relations Advisor.

During the four-day conference, the St. Catharines’ team met with:

• Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack, to discuss governance, homelessness, and surplus provincial lands for housing units.
• Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Infrastructure Amarjot Sandhu, to discuss ways to improve the municipal funding application process to ensure critical projects in communities like St. Catharines receive timely and equitable support.
• Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho, to discuss the inclusion of St. Catharines and west Niagara in the Destination Niagara Plan, given its world-class facilities, such as Meridian Centre, FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre and Benchland wineries that attract visitors.
• Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Transportation Ric Bresee, to discuss the current and future plans for the Hoverlink hovercraft service between Toronto and Niagara, and further investments in GO Transit rail service through Niagara and the region’s transportation network.
• Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance Michelle Cooper, to discuss the need for a new, modernized municipal fiscal agreement between Ontario municipalities and upper levels of government to ensure municipalities have the financial capacity to meet growing local and regional needs.
• Joint delegation with the City of Welland with Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business within the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, to discuss continued and enhanced provincial funding for the Small Business Enterprise Centre.
• Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, to explore how municipalities like St. Catharines can be meaningfully involved in consultation, implementation, and future decision-making processes related to bail compliance and public safety strategies.

Team STC also met with NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie.

CAO Oakes spoke of the importance of the AMO Conference.

“This year’s team advocated for the resources and policy changes that will help us address the specific challenges we face in St. Catharines, including the need for greater provincial support to address homelessness, and for support for the City’s infrastructure needs, small business and transportation," said CAO Oakes. "We look forward to continuing these conversations and working closely with the Premier to achieve our goals.”

Mayor Siscoe spoke of Team STC’s advocacy of City priorities during the meetings.

“The AMO Conference provided an important opportunity to advocate directly on behalf of the residents of St. Catharines,” said Mayor Siscoe. “Over the course of the week, members of staff and Council joined me in meeting with the Ministries of Transportation, Finance, Infrastructure, and Tourism to advance our city’s priorities, while I also represented the region as Chair of Niagara Transit in two delegations focused on improving public transit for our community. I was also pleased to share St. Catharines’ perspective during a panel discussion on the impact of tariffs, underscoring how global decisions affect our local economy.”

“These conversations were valuable steps in ensuring that St. Catharines’ voice is heard at Queen’s Park, and that we continue to secure the investments and partnerships needed to build a stronger future for our community.”

AMO is a non-profit organization that works to make municipal governments stronger and more effective through collaboration among municipalities to achieve shared goals and meet common challenges.