Photo: Northern Lights Graffiti from Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada · CC BY 2.0Owen Sound spends more per resident than 89% of Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities do
In the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Owen Sound belongs to Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound; who holds it as MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament, at Queen’s Park in Toronto) isn’t on an open record, so no one is named. Alex Ruff (Conservative Party of Canada) is the MP for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, the riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP) that takes in Owen Sound. The October 2022 vote made Ian Boddy mayor of Owen Sound, heading 9 seats. Ontario held new municipal elections on 26 October 2026; until the province publishes them, the open record stops at the council elected in 2022.
What stands out in how Owen Sound is governed
Many residents per seat
The middle municipality in Ontario has a seat for every 1,540 residents; Owen Sound council has far more people behind each. Council size ↓
High spending per resident
Per resident, Owen Sound council’s 2024 spending tops 89% of Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities. Council money ↓
Compared with the province’s municipalities of 1,000+ residents (2021 Census; MAMH, MMAH and Statistics Canada).
Three governments, and who does what
Owen Sound, a city in Ontario, shares the work with the province and Ottawa.
Local services, by-laws and property tax.
Spends most on social services and child care, then roads and transit (2024 return).
Schools, health care, highways, municipal law.
ola.org ↗Passports, pensions, EI, defence, immigration.
ourcommons.ca ↗Who to ask
Green: municipal. Gold: provincial. Grey: federal.
Grey County is the upper tier over Owen Sound, a lower-tier municipality.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Owen Sound, from the most recent elections.
- 1Owen Sound councilelected October 2022Ian Boddy
- 2Legislative Assembly of OntarioBruce—Grey—Owen Sound
- 3House of CommonsBruce—Grey—Owen Sound
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada
Who was elected to Owen Sound council in 2022
Everyone elected in 2022, with their votes; Ontario’s file gives each seat’s votes but not the ward’s name.
- Ian Boddy
- Scott Greig
- Travis Dodd
- Brock Hamley
- Marion Koepke
- Carol Merton
- Jon Farmer
- Suneet Kukreja
- Melanie Middlebro'
9 members and how they were elected
| Name | Seat | Votes | Share of the seat’s votes | On the last council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Boddy | Mayor | 3,372 | 54% | Yes |
| Scott Greig | Deputy Mayor | 3,717 | 60% | Yes |
| Travis Dodd | Councillor | 3,888 | 63% | Yes |
| Brock Hamley | Councillor | 3,201 | 52% | Yes |
| Marion Koepke | Councillor | 3,048 | 49% | Yes |
| Carol Merton | Councillor | 3,534 | 57% | Yes |
| Jon Farmer | Councillor | 3,942 | 64% | No |
| Suneet Kukreja | Councillor | 2,916 | 47% | No |
| Melanie Middlebro' | Councillor | 3,443 | 56% | No |
With 54% of the votes, Ian Boddy carried the vote for mayor. Every seat on Owen Sound council, the mayor’s included, is chosen by the whole municipality.
Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario)
Owen Sound voted more than most of Ontario in 2022
Turnout in the October 2022 municipal elections, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is Ontario’s median.
The nearest places to Owen Sound with figures are 7–27 km away. On 24 October 2022, 39% of electors voted for Owen Sound council, a stronger showing than most of Ontario.
How Owen Sound voted: same source as Councillors, above.
When Owen Sound votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Owen Sound council | 26 October 2026 | 28 October 2030 |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | 27 February 2025 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
The next council election in Owen Sound falls on 28 October 2030, the fourth Monday in October every four years under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Provincially the last general election was on 27 February 2025, for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; federally, on 28 April 2025. The 2025 results are left out because elections.ca’s terms forbid commercial reproduction; the open catalogue’s latest is 2021.
Election dates: the legislatures, MMAH and MAMH
Owen Sound votes in Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Provinces and territories run schools, health care and municipal law; each riding elects one MPP.
MPP: see the legislature’s list
ola.org ↗By law (the Representation Act, 2015), southern Ontario’s provincial ridings follow the 2013 federal boundaries, so each place is located from those. Owen Sound is in Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, one of the ridings that each elect a MPP to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada
Alex Ruff represents Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound in Ottawa
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound · Conservative Party of Canada · first elected 2019
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Liberal Party of Canada71
- Conservative Party of Canada50
As Wikidata records them.
The Conservative Party of Canada, Alex Ruff’s party, takes 50 of the 122 seats from Ontario; the Liberal Party of Canada takes 71.
The MP’s record
Elections Canada’s transposition of the 2021 vote onto today’s Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound puts the Conservative Party of Canada first at 49%; Alex Ruff held it for the party in 2025. First elected in 2019, Alex Ruff is serving the 3rd term of a Commons career.
MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026
Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound returned Alex Ruff (Conservative Party of Canada) in 2021
Counts for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound within its 2013 boundaries, used in 2019 and 2021; the 2025 election ran on a new map.
At 64%, more of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound voted in 2021 than Canada as a whole (63%). In 2019, Alex Ruff had won the same riding with 46%. Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound elected Alex Ruff (Conservative Party of Canada) in 2021: 49% of the vote, a lead of 13,989 over Anne Marie Watson (Liberal Party of Canada).
All 6 candidates in Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Ruff | Conservative Party of Canada | 28,727 | 49.2% |
| Anne Marie Watson | Liberal Party of Canada | 14,738 | 25.2% |
| Christopher Neudorf | New Democratic Party | 7,939 | 13.6% |
| Anna-Marie Fosbrooke | People's Party of Canada | 4,697 | 8.0% |
| Ashley Michelle Lawrence | Green Party of Canada | 1,789 | 3.1% |
| Reima Kaikkonen | Independent | 524 | 0.9% |
Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Owen Sound council spends more per resident than most
The 2024 financial return: spending by service and revenue by source, per resident, compared only with Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities.
Spending per resident by service, 2024
What pays for it
Shares of revenue, town and province.
Property taxes and payments in lieu brought in 45% of revenue, against 42% across the province’s returns. At $1,412 per resident, Owen Sound council’s $30.5M of long-term debt is more than the $440 median. Spending by Owen Sound council reached $2,881 a resident in 2024, well over the $1,901 median of Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities. Grey County, the upper tier, spent another $1,694 per resident of its whole area, most of it on social services and child care. It employs the equivalent of 151 full-time positions, or 7.0 for each thousand people. At 35% of spending ($1,014 a resident), police, fire and protection leads the budget.
Spending per resident nearby
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police, fire and protection | $21.9M | $1,014 | 35% |
| Water, sewers and waste | $13.3M | $614 | 21% |
| Recreation and culture | $11.6M | $535 | 19% |
| Roads and transit | $9.5M | $441 | 15% |
| General government | $3.6M | $167 | 6% |
| Planning and development | $1.8M | $82 | 3% |
| Public health and paramedics | $608K | $28 | 1% |
Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
One seat for every 2,680 residents
Residents (2021 Census) per council seat, head of council included, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is the provincial median.
Each seat on Owen Sound council answers to 2,680 residents, a higher ratio than 71% of municipalities in Ontario.
Residents: 2021 Census; seats: the province’s council list
Having a say in how Owen Sound is run
Check or update the federal list.
elections.ca ↗Every MP lists an office.
ourcommons.ca ↗Ridings, registration and voting dates.
elections.on.ca ↗What this data can and can’t tell you
- Not on this page. Party control (most Canadian councils sit without parties, and the open lists record none) and band councils.
- Who holds each seat. MPs come from Wikidata’s records of the 45th Parliament, which can lag a resignation or a by-election by some days.
- Which riding. Each place is put in its ridings by where its 2021 Census residents live; a riding holding 5% or more of them is listed.
- Election results. Ridings changed in 2023: the 2019 and 2021 results are on the old map, and the 2021 vote on today’s map is Elections Canada’s own estimate from polling divisions.
- Council size. Seats count the head of council and the councillors, and residents are the 2021 Census count; a neighbourhood shows its city’s.
- Council money. The 2024 Financial Information Return, totals after adjustments by service, per resident with the return’s own population. A lower tier’s figures leave out its county’s or region’s spending, so lower tiers are compared only with lower tiers.
Questions about how Owen Sound is run
Who is the MP for Owen Sound?
For Owen Sound, it’s Alex Ruff (Conservative Party of Canada), who holds Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.
Which party won Owen Sound in the 2021 federal election?
In 2021 it was Alex Ruff (Conservative Party of Canada), who represents Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound still.
Who is the MPP for Owen Sound?
Owen Sound votes in Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound; the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s members page gives its current MPP.
Who heads the council in Owen Sound?
The open record gives Ian Boddy, elected mayor of Owen Sound council in October 2022.
How much does Owen Sound council spend?
The 2024 return of Owen Sound council shows $62.3M of spending for roughly 21,612 residents, $21.9M of it on police, fire and protection.
Which regional body is Owen Sound part of?
The council of Grey County, made up of members from its municipalities, Owen Sound among them, is the upper tier.
How is Owen Sound council elected?
At large: every voter helps fill all of Owen Sound council, the mayor too.
What was the turnout in Owen Sound?
Turnout for Owen Sound council reached 39.0% in October 2022 (Ontario median: 35.5%).
Sources: MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada · Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario) · Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Next municipal election: the province’s municipal election act · Municipality types: Statistics Canada census subdivisions · Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).