Guelph Politicast

StrategyCorp puts out a report every year called the Ontario Municipal Chief Administrative Officer Survey. The CAOs profiled have some strong feelings about Strong Mayor Powers, intergovernmental relations, housing, growth, financing, and and more, but what’s interesting is not what the CAOs had to say, it's the fact that they said it. What are CAOs thinking when they're given the cloak of anonymity? A retired Brock University professor David Siegel once wrote, “CAOs can make a mayor and council look exceptionally good (or bad). They can be a source of great pride and motivation among the staff of the municipality (or not).” In that context, it’s no wonder that people would want to hear a CAO's unvarnished takes on something like Strong Mayor Powers, which was the one part of this year's CAO Survey that made the most noise. But municipal life is bigger than Strong Mayors, and it’s just one of 14 chapters in the 2025 survey. When you read the report, which features contributions from 32 unnamed CAOs from aro