This Ontario township isn't voting for a mayor or councillors — for the 3rd election in a row
The mayor and 4 councillors were acclaimed after running unopposed
Voters across Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton will be deciding the fate of their municipal leaders on Monday — except in the Township of Enniskillen.
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Voters → vote → Enniskillen
The mayor and all four councillors are acclaimed for the third time in a row — though voters will still vote to fill regional school board positions.
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voters → acclaim → positions
The last time voters voted for a mayor and council in the small southwestern Ontario township was 2014.
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voters → vote → township
Enniskillen is a mainly agricultural community in Lambton County squished between Petrolia and Oil Springs.
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Enniskillen → squish → Petrolia
Many of the approximately 1,100 households and 2,800 residents either work in agriculture or make the short commute to “chemical valley” in the Sarnia-area.
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Many → work → area
The township is one of 19 municipalities in the 2026 election that has seen acclaimations for all council positions, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
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that → see → Ontario
That does not include school board posts.
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That → include → posts
This year's election marks the third straight time he hasn't had to campaign for support or worry about losing his seat.
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he → mark → seat
“It makes me feel pretty lucky, really, when I see the struggles that some of my colleagues in the county are going through,” said Marriott, who also serves as the warden of Lambton County.
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who → make → County
He's been in the position since 2011 and has run unopposed in the past three elections.
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He → run → elections
Marriott said he thought there would be more interest for this cycle, but in the end, there wasn’t; he added he’s been told people are "fairly happy" with the state of affairs around their council table.
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people → say → table
“I don't let my personal opinion interfere with what I gather from the general public," he said.
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he → let → public
"I try to take a wide poll from talking to constituents to make sure I know the way they feel on a particular issue.”
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they → try → issue
Marriott said he’s unsure what he’ll do come the 2030 municipal election.
“I actually am thinking I'm getting close to, 'Maybe I should let somebody else take over,''' he said.
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he → say → what
"I take each four years at a time.
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I → take → time
I won't comment [officially] until we get closer to 2030.”
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we → comment → 2030
He was selected by his peers in the midst of this past term when another councillor retired.
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councillor → select → term
Williams said he wasn’t shocked that no one ran against him or his three fellow councillors.
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one → say → him
“Municipal politics is pretty basic,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“We have no big issues in our area right now.
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We → have → area
Things run fairly smoothly.
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Things → run → ?
“I think that the councillors that were in place were great leaders.
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that → think → place
When people saw who was running … there wasn't no issue with who was going to be in there.”
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who → see → ?
He took the seat in the midst of the last term and was unopposed for the 2026 election.
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He → take → election
Most local voters are probably happy not to have to deal with an election "or see some of the carryings on that are going ... on in other communities,” he added.
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he → have → communities
Arnold Syer, 73, is a would-be voter who’s lived in Enniskillen his entire life.
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who → live → Enniskillen
He’s also a former mayor, who said he’s happy to not have an election weighing over the township yet again.
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election → ’ → township
“[They're] all good, reputable people,” he said of the current leaders, adding he knows all of them on a first-name basis.
“Why fix something that isn't broke, you know?”
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you → say → something
Arnold Syer supports all positions being acclaimed for the 2026 municipal election in the Township of Enniskillen.
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Syer → support → Enniskillen
Syer said he has faith in the current council and mayor.
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he → say → council
He added that people aren't happy about the rise in farmland taxes but they blame the province for withdrawing funding from rural municipalities.
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they → add → municipalities
“I think the people are smart enough to know we got to have a certain amount of money to run the place," he said, "and we don't see millions of dollars being squandered in any way.
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millions → think → way
If the same people stay in their roles four years from now, Syer said he’d support not having an election in 2030, too.
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he → stay → 2030
“There's worse places you could be,” he said.
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he → say → ?
University of Windsor political science professor Lydia Miljan said there are a few circumstances that lead to acclamations and low voter turnout in general — especially when it comes to civic politics.
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it → say → politics
“What we know about municipal races is that the incumbent advantage is very strong.
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advantage → know → races
And so in some instances, they have a 90 per cent chance of re-election — especially in a small community [where] everybody knows everybody,” she said.
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she → have → everybody
- Video
Why some withdrawn candidate names will still be on the ballot
- Video
What these Ontario tenants want out of this municipal election
There's also a sort of democratic deficit for communities with consistent incumbents," she said.
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she → withdraw → incumbents
“The time where you actually get a race and you get people putting their name forward is when ... an incumbent says, ‘I'm not going to run again.’
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I → get → name
"
According to Miljan, the burden for municipal politicians can be great when everybody knows who you are.
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you → accord → politicians
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
