NatureCK Asks the Candidates

As we head toward the 2026 Municipal Election, NatureCK asked candidates for Chatham-Kent Council and Mayor to answer five questions about nature, biodiversity and the natural world.

Every candidate received the same questions and the same opportunity to respond. Candidate answers are published exactly as submitted, with no editing or alteration by NatureCK.

🌱 Live responses: As candidates submit their questionnaires, their answers are added below, so this page will continue to grow throughout the questionnaire period.

We’re simply bringing these questions and answers to our community. NatureCK’s role is to give nature and the natural world a voice in the election conversation and provide a place for candidates to share their own thoughts. There are no debates or back-and-forth here, just clear questions and the candidates’ own answers.

Candidates Contacted

We reached out to 85 candidates and were able to contact 76. We hope they’ll take the opportunity to participate and share their thoughts with our community.

Mayor: Lauren Anderson · Michael Bondy · Darrin Canniff · Ryan Gow · Randy Hope

Candidates by Ward:

Ward 1	Ward 2	Ward 3	Ward 4	Ward 5	Ward 6	Ward 7	Ward 8
Tom Askew	Chad Carnie	Lauren Aziz	John Cummings	Brendan Authier	Jeff Comiskey	Steve Adkins	Conor Allin
Mark Authier	Anthony Ceccacci	Kyle Carter	Kirk Hooker	Loree Bailey	Ben Labadie	Marjorie Crew	Cynthia Côté
Michael Bond	Matthew Giffin	Cory Couture	Rhonda Jubenville	Jim Blake	F. Brian Machado	Michael Fife	Sandra Dorner
Melissa Harrigan	Fred Hooper	Mark Huston		Dave Brundritt	Sheila Moir-Martin	Amy Finn	Ryan Drouillard
Andréa Palmer	Matt Lamarche	Emery Huszka		Steven Burritt	Karen Montgomery	Dustin Gawne	John Duquette
Gerhard Taves	Denise Maynard	Matthew Pietens		Jason Debuck	Alysson Storey	Michael Gibbons	Andy Fisher
	Albert Pilbeam	James Plunkett		Brent DeNure	Marc Westerman	Larry Hutchins	Paulo Graciano
	Brad Snobelen			David Hyatt		Steve Kenney	Brock McGregor
	Spencer Stinson			Zac Nicholson		Marc King	Rick Nicholls
	Hassan Tariq			Victoria Stewart		Jason Reynolds	Stephani Shill
				Bill Wolsing		Doug Robbins	Scott Thompson
				Chris Young		Karen Robinet	Luke Van Der Vliet
						Dustin Ryan
						Dale VanDusen

Unable to Contact

We weren’t able to find an email address for 9 candidates. If they’d like to participate, we’d be happy to hear from them!

Mayor: Nelson Burm · April Colby Ward 5: Bill Arends Ward 6: Dave Palmer · Bonny Pigeon Ward 7: Penelope Duchesne · Rick Hottot · Jonathan Meriano Ward 8: Bruce Caldwell

Find a Candidate 🔎

Looking for a particular candidate, ward, or topic? Use the search and filter tools below to explore the responses.

You can search by candidate name or keywords, or use the available filters to narrow the responses by position or ward.

🌿 Read the questions. Hear from the candidates. Make your own decision.

If a question does not appear in full, hover over it to see the complete question.