This Thursday’s Election 2026 Town Hall will now be held at the Townshend Theatre, a change from the originally planned venue at the Memorial Sports Centre’s auditorium. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
The change was made to ensure that the venue is fully accessible, as the lift at the Memorial Centre will not be certified for public use by the time of the event.
The all-candidate town hall will act as a meeting between candidates for mayor and council and the residents of Fort Frances, allowing nominees to present their platforms and audience members to ask questions.
The Town Hall will begin with opening remarks from outgoing Mayor Andrew Hallikas, then proceed with comments from the two mayoral candidates, Brent Calder and John McTaggart, who will each have up to five minutes of speaking time.
The nine nominees for councillor will each get three minutes to present their platforms. Candidates will each have a turn to speak in alphabetical order by last name.
After the candidates have had a chance to speak their piece, members of the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions directed at individual nominees.
The town hall will be moderated by Times General Manager Andrew Flynn and Times Editor Ken Kellar to ensure audience questions adhere to the rules. Additional support will be provided by the Fort Frances Labour Council.
During the Town Hall event, candidates and audience members are asked to conduct themselves respectfully by not interrupting any speaker during remarks, answers or questions.
All participants are also asked to refrain from bringing any campaign materials inside the auditorium. This includes flyers, signs, buttons, stickers or any other items promoting votes for a particular candidate.
If attending, be aware that the event may be livestreamed on YouTube and will be recorded for coverage purposes by The Times. Audience members must remain behind the camera line and may not obstruct recording equipment.
