From Phil Harding
Partisan Politics in the Muskoka Municipal Election
I am writing this open letter to raise what I believe is an increasingly important issue in Muskoka: the growing role of organized partisan political influence in our municipal elections.
Let me be clear from the outset: my comments are not directed at any individual candidate. Anyone willing to put their name forward and commit four years to serving our community deserves our respect and appreciation. My concern is with the role of the Muskoka Lakes Association (MLA) in municipal politics.
From Information to Political Influence
For more than two decades, the MLA has provided members of the MLA with information about municipal candidates and their positions. Initially, the Association assessed all candidates and shared those assessments privately with its membership and only with its membership.
I participated in that process when I ran for council in 2010 and 2014. During those years, though the entire process was controversial, they simply ranked all candidates and shared their rankings (1 to 5 star) for all candidates. Again, they only shared this information with their members.
That changed in 2018 when the MLA moved toward endorsing specific candidates, rather than simply providing comparative information. By 2022, the Association was actively promoting its endorsed candidates through flyers distributed throughout Muskoka Lakes, telephone calls and door-to-door campaigning—including outreach in the GTA.
That represents a significant shift from informing members to influencing all voters in Muskoka to actively helping determine who gets elected.
When Does Advocacy Become Political Influence?
The MLA has every right to advocate for issues it believes are important. The concern arises when the same organization that endorses and helps elect candidates subsequently seeks to influence decisions made by those elected officials.
During my time as Mayor, I was personally approached on several occasions by members of the MLA executive and told, in substance, “we got you elected” and that, because the MLA represented thousands of voters, I should vote accordingly on certain issues.
I was not alone. Other councillors told me they had experienced similar pressure.
That raises a fundamental question:
When an organization works to elect a group of candidates and then expects those elected officials to support its positions, at what point does advocacy become partisan political influence?
A Recent Example
On September 2, 2026, the MLA sent a letter to one of its endorsed candidates, who also serves as Chair of the Planning Committee, thanking the Chair for deferring an update to the Township’s noise by-law because, in the MLA’s view, the proposed changes did not adequately address limiting daytime outdoor music at “tourist establishments.”
The MLA is entirely entitled to advocate for that position.
But the larger question is how municipal decisions are being influenced and whether Council is receiving balanced, independent information before making those decisions.
In this particular case, who conducted the surveys or information gathering? What methodology was used? Were other perspectives considered to help formulate the MLA’s opinion? These are important questions when Council is being asked to make decisions affecting the entire community.
When the organization that helped elect municipal officials subsequently approaches those same officials to advocate for a specific position, taxpayers are entitled to question the relationship.
Council Represents Everyone
The MLA is an important Muskoka organization with a long history of worthwhile community initiatives (Water quality, regattas, responsible taxation). My concern is not with those initiatives, nor with its right to advocate. My concern is the Association’s expanding role in municipal politics.
A small group of MLA executives (3 or 4 people) determines which candidates receive its endorsement. The Association then uses its organizational resources to promote those candidates throughout the entire community. Then through inference and threat, directs council on how to vote on topics these three or four individuals deem important.
Councillors and the Mayor are not representatives of the MLA. They are representatives of all of Muskoka Lakes.
They should be free to consider the facts, listen to all constituents, debate the issues and vote independently without undue influence. Advocacy is part of democracy. Political influence over elected decision-making is a different matter.
Our Mayor and Council should be accountable first and foremost to the people of Muskoka Lakes—not to an association, its executive, or any organization that helped them get elected.
Municipal government works best when elected representatives make independent decisions in the best interests of the entire community. That independence is worth protecting.
