Photo: WabbitWanderer from London, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0Council seats in Sault Ste. Marie are spread thin, 7,380 residents each, more than in 88% of Ontario municipalities
Sault Ste. Marie is in the north, where the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s ridings don’t follow the 2013 federal map and have no open boundary file. Terry Sheehan (Liberal Party of Canada) is the MP for Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma, the riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP) that takes in Sault Ste. Marie. Matthew Shoemaker was elected mayor of Sault Ste. Marie in October 2022, on a council of 11 seats. Ontario voted again on 26 October 2026, and the province hasn’t published that election’s open file yet, so these are the 2022–26 council’s names.
What stands out in how Sault Ste. Marie is governed
Many residents per seat
Across Ontario the median is one seat per 1,540 residents, well under the ratio on Sault Ste. Marie council. Council size ↓
Low spending per resident
Spending per resident left Sault Ste. Marie council below 79% of Ontario’s single-tier municipalities in 2024. 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
Sault Ste. Marie, a city in Ontario, shares the work with the province and Ottawa.
Local services, by-laws and property tax.
Schools, health care, highways, municipal law.
ola.org ↗Passports, pensions, EI, defence, immigration.
ourcommons.ca ↗Who to ask
Green: municipal. Gold: provincial. Grey: federal.
Sault Ste. Marie runs its own county-level services as a single-tier city; Algoma appears only in the census.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Sault Ste. Marie, from the most recent elections.
- 1Sault Ste. Marie councilelected October 2022Matthew Shoemaker
- 2Legislative Assembly of Ontario–
- 3House of CommonsSault Ste. Marie—Algoma
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 Sault Ste. Marie council in 2022
Everyone elected in 2022, with their votes; Ontario’s file gives each seat’s votes but not the ward’s name.
- Matthew Shoemaker
- Marchy Bruni
- Luke Dufour
- Corey Gardi
- Sandra Hollingsworth
- Matthew Scott
- Lisa Vezeau-Allen
- Angela Caputo
- Ron Zagordo
- Stephan Kinach
- Sonny Spina
11 members and how they were elected
| Name | Seat | Votes | Share of the seat’s votes | On the last council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Shoemaker | Mayor | 9,626 | 44% | Yes |
| Marchy Bruni | Councillor | 2,308 | 36% | Yes |
| Luke Dufour | Councillor | 2,462 | 36% | Yes |
| Corey Gardi | Councillor | 2,094 | 38% | Yes |
| Sandra Hollingsworth | Councillor | 3,255 | 35% | Yes |
| Matthew Scott | Councillor | 2,052 | 37% | Yes |
| Lisa Vezeau-Allen | Councillor | 2,206 | 33% | Yes |
| Angela Caputo | Councillor | 2,336 | 30% | No |
| Ron Zagordo | Councillor | 1,982 | 25% | No |
| Stephan Kinach | Councillor | 1,707 | 26% | No |
| Sonny Spina | Councillor | 2,900 | 31% | No |
Matthew Shoemaker won 44% of the votes cast for mayor. Councillors on Sault Ste. Marie council are elected by ward, the mayor by the whole municipality.
Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario)
Sault Ste. Marie voted more than most of Ontario in 2022
Turnout in the October 2022 municipal elections, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is Ontario’s median.
No closer places have figures: these lie 14–35 km from Sault Ste. Marie. Turnout for Sault Ste. Marie council on 24 October 2022 was 38% of electors, higher than the Ontario norm.
How Sault Ste. Marie voted: same source as Councillors, above.
When Sault Ste. Marie votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sault Ste. Marie council | 26 October 2026 | 28 October 2030 |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | 27 February 2025 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
This page stops at the 2021 vote: elections.ca keeps the 2025 counts under non-commercial terms. Voters last chose the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on 27 February 2025 and the House of Commons on 28 April 2025. The next council election in Sault Ste. Marie falls on 28 October 2030, the fourth Monday in October every four years under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.
Election dates: the legislatures, MMAH and MAMH
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario: riding not placed
Provinces and territories run schools, health care and municipal law; each riding elects one MPP.
Find your MPP on the legislature’s site
ola.org ↗Legislatures: their own member pages
Terry Sheehan represents Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma in Ottawa
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma · Liberal Party of Canada · first elected 2015
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Liberal Party of Canada71
- Conservative Party of Canada50
As Wikidata records them.
With Terry Sheehan, the Liberal Party of Canada counts 71 of the 122 MPs elected in Ontario.
The MP’s record
On today’s boundaries, the 2021 vote in Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma would have gone to the Conservative Party of Canada (36%), so Terry Sheehan’s 2025 win took it from them. First elected in 2015, Terry Sheehan is serving the 4th 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
In 2021, Sault Ste. Marie re-elected Terry Sheehan of the Liberal Party of Canada
The 2019 and 2021 counts in Sault Ste. Marie, Sault Ste. Marie’s riding before the map was redrawn; it now votes in Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma.
Turnout in Sault Ste. Marie was 61% in 2021, against 63% nationally. That was among the tightest results in the country: 4 of 338 ridings were closer. 39% had elected Terry Sheehan there in 2019. In 2021, Sault Ste. Marie went to Terry Sheehan (Liberal Party of Canada) on 38%; Sonny Spina (Conservative Party of Canada) finished 247 votes behind.
All 4 candidates in Sault Ste. Marie, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Sheehan | Liberal Party of Canada | 15,231 | 37.9% |
| Sonny Spina | Conservative Party of Canada | 14,984 | 37.3% |
| Marie Morin-Strom | New Democratic Party | 8,041 | 20.0% |
| Kasper Makowski | People's Party of Canada | 1,923 | 4.8% |
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
Sault Ste. Marie council spends less per resident than most
The 2024 financial return: spending by service and revenue by source, per resident, compared only with Ontario’s single-tier municipalities.
Spending per resident by service, 2024
What pays for it
Shares of revenue, town and province.
Taxes on property make up 54% of what comes in, more than the province-wide 37%. Debt Sault Ste. Marie council owes over the long term came to $20.6M, $255 a resident, under the median of $971. 887 full-time positions are funded, 11.0 per thousand residents. In 2024 the median among Ontario’s single-tier municipalities was $3,796 a resident; Sault Ste. Marie council spent $2,989. At 29% of spending ($865 a resident), police, fire and protection leads the budget.
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police, fire and protection | $69.8M | $865 | 29% |
| Roads and transit | $52M | $645 | 22% |
| Water, sewers and waste | $40.3M | $499 | 17% |
| Recreation and culture | $32.6M | $404 | 14% |
| Social services and child care | $22.7M | $281 | 9% |
| General government | $12.2M | $151 | 5% |
| Planning and development | $7M | $87 | 3% |
| Public health and paramedics | $4.8M | $59 | 2% |
Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Sault Ste. Marie council beside its neighbours
Residents (2021 Census) per council seat, head of council included, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is the provincial median.
Nearby councils are drawn here for scale; the headline already says where Sault Ste. Marie council stands.
Residents: 2021 Census; seats: the province’s council list
Having a say in how Sault Ste. Marie 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. Band councils, and which party runs the council: the open lists carry no party, and most councils have none.
- Who holds each seat. Who holds each seat is read from Wikidata, so a very recent change in the Commons may not appear yet.
- Which riding. A place belongs to the riding where most of its 2021 Census residents live, plus any other with 5% or more.
- Election results. Where the page says “today’s boundaries”, it means Elections Canada’s estimate of the 2021 vote on the 2023 ridings; every other count is official and on the 2013 map.
- Council size. For residents per seat, the head of council is counted as a seat, and the population is the 2021 Census figure.
- 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 Sault Ste. Marie is run
Who is the MP for Sault Ste. Marie?
Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma’s MP, Terry Sheehan of the Liberal Party of Canada, represents Sault Ste. Marie.
Which party won Sault Ste. Marie in the 2021 federal election?
In 2021 it was Terry Sheehan (Liberal Party of Canada), in Sault Ste. Marie; Terry Sheehan represents Sault Ste. Marie—Algoma today.
Who is the MPP for Sault Ste. Marie?
Sault Ste. Marie’s riding isn’t placed on this page; the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s members page lists every MPP by riding.
Who heads the council in Sault Ste. Marie?
In October 2022, Matthew Shoemaker won the post of mayor for Sault Ste. Marie council’s 2022–26 term.
How much does Sault Ste. Marie council spend?
In 2024, Sault Ste. Marie council spent $241.3M in all, for some 80,740 residents, of which $69.8M went on police, fire and protection, the biggest line.
How is Sault Ste. Marie council elected?
Sault Ste. Marie council: the mayor is chosen by the whole municipality, the councillors ward by ward.
What was the turnout in Sault Ste. Marie?
37.9% of electors voted when Sault Ste. Marie council was elected in October 2022; the Ontario median was 35.5%.
Sources: MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, 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).