Photo: Derek Hatfield from Peterborough, Canada · CC BY 2.0Per resident, Thunder Bay spends more than 95% of Ontario’s single-tier municipalities
Kenneth Boshcoff was elected mayor of Thunder Bay in October 2022, on a council of 13 seats. Ontario’s councils were renewed on 26 October 2026, but the only open list so far is 2022’s, so that is the term shown. No provincial riding is named for Thunder Bay: northern Ontario’s ridings for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario have no open boundaries. The riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP) covering Thunder Bay is Thunder Bay—Superior North, and Patty Hajdu (Liberal Party of Canada) represents it in the House of Commons.
What stands out in how Thunder Bay is governed
Many residents per seat
Across Ontario the median is one seat per 1,540 residents, well under the ratio on Thunder Bay council. Council size ↓
Turnout above the norm
The 2022 vote for Thunder Bay council pulled in more electors than Ontario’s median of 35%. How Thunder Bay voted ↓
Split between ridings
The riding line runs through Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay—Superior North has 54% of its residents, Thunder Bay—Rainy River most of the other 46%. Member of Parliament ↓
High spending per resident
Thunder Bay council spent more per resident in 2024 than 95% of Ontario’s single-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
Thunder Bay, 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.
As a single-tier city, Thunder Bay has no upper-tier council above it.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Thunder Bay, from the most recent elections.
- 1Thunder Bay councilelected October 2022Kenneth Boshcoff
- 2Legislative Assembly of Ontario–
- 3House of CommonsThunder Bay—Superior North · 54%
- 4House of CommonsThunder Bay—Rainy River · 46%
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 Thunder Bay council in 2022
Everyone elected in 2022, with their votes; Ontario’s file gives each seat’s votes but not the ward’s name.
- Kenneth Boshcoff
- Albert Aiello
- Mark Bentz
- Shelby Ch'Ng
- Andrew Foulds
- Trevor Giertuga
- Brian Hamilton
- Kristen Oliver
- Kasey Etreni
- Rajni Agarwal
- Michael Zussino
- Dominic Pasqualino
- Greg Johnsen
13 members and how they were elected
| Name | Seat | Votes | Share of the seat’s votes | On the last council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Boshcoff | Mayor | 13,538 | 38% | No |
| Albert Aiello | Councillor | 3,758 | 63% | Yes |
| Mark Bentz | Councillor | 15,548 | 11% | Yes |
| Shelby Ch'Ng | Councillor | 13,222 | 9% | Yes |
| Andrew Foulds | Councillor | 3,456 | 75% | Yes |
| Trevor Giertuga | Councillor | 12,185 | 9% | Yes |
| Brian Hamilton | Councillor | 2,178 | 54% | Yes |
| Kristen Oliver | Councillor | 2,222 | 46% | Yes |
| Kasey Etreni | Councillor | 10,184 | 7% | No |
| Rajni Agarwal | Councillor | 10,767 | 8% | No |
| Michael Zussino | Councillor | 2,115 | 34% | No |
| Dominic Pasqualino | Councillor | 1,957 | 42% | No |
| Greg Johnsen | Councillor | 1,322 | 36% | No |
The mayor is chosen at large; everyone else on Thunder Bay council answers to a ward. The contest for mayor went to Kenneth Boshcoff, with 38% of the votes.
Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario)
Thunder Bay 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 16–30 km from Thunder Bay. Turnout for Thunder Bay council on 24 October 2022 was 43% of electors, higher than the Ontario norm.
How Thunder Bay voted: same source as Councillors, above.
When Thunder Bay votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay council | 26 October 2026 | 28 October 2030 |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | 27 February 2025 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
No open copy of the 2025 counts exists, and Elections Canada’s own terms rule out commercial reuse, so 2021 is the last vote shown. Thunder Bay votes next on 28 October 2030: the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 sets municipal elections on the fourth Monday in October every four years. Voters last chose the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on 27 February 2025 and the House of Commons on 28 April 2025.
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
Thunder Bay has 2 MPs
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Thunder Bay—Superior North · Liberal Party of Canada · first elected 2015 · 54%
en.wikipedia.org ↗Thunder Bay—Rainy River · Liberal Party of Canada · 46%
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Liberal Party of Canada71
- Conservative Party of Canada50
As Wikidata records them.
The Liberal Party of Canada holds 71 of 122 seats from Ontario, including Patty Hajdu’s.
The MP’s record
Elections Canada’s transposition of the 2021 vote onto today’s Thunder Bay—Superior North puts the Liberal Party of Canada first at 40%; Patty Hajdu held it for the party in 2025. The current Parliament is Patty Hajdu’s 4th, counting from a first win in 2015. In Ottawa, Patty Hajdu has been Minister of Health (2019–2021), Minister of Employment, Workforce, and Labour (2017–2019) and Minister for Women, Gender Equality and Youth (2015–2017).
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
Thunder Bay—Superior North returned Patty Hajdu (Liberal Party of Canada) in 2021
Thunder Bay—Superior North as it stood from 2013: the 2019 and 2021 counts, before the riding was redrawn for 2025. It held 54% of Thunder Bay’s residents.
43% had elected Patty Hajdu there in 2019. Patty Hajdu won the 2021 race in Thunder Bay—Superior North for the Liberal Party of Canada, polling 41% and beating Chantelle Bryson (New Democratic Party) by 5,649 votes.
All 6 candidates in Thunder Bay—Superior North, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patty Hajdu | Liberal Party of Canada | 16,893 | 40.7% |
| Chantelle Bryson | New Democratic Party | 11,244 | 27.1% |
| Joshua Taylor | Conservative Party of Canada | 10,035 | 24.2% |
| Rick Daines | People's Party of Canada | 2,465 | 5.9% |
| Amanda Moddejonge | Green Party of Canada | 735 | 1.8% |
| Alexander Vodden | Libertarian Party of Canada | 111 | 0.3% |
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
Thunder Bay 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 single-tier municipalities.
Spending per resident by service, 2024
What pays for it
Shares of revenue, town and province.
Full-time staff number 2,165, about 19.9 to every thousand residents. Taxes on property make up 33% of what comes in, less than the province-wide 37%. In 2024 the median among Ontario’s single-tier municipalities was $3,796 a resident; Thunder Bay council spent $5,902. At $1,750 per resident, Thunder Bay council’s $190.5M of long-term debt is more than the $971 median.
Spending per resident nearby
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | $164.7M | $1,513 | 26% |
| Police, fire and protection | $120.2M | $1,105 | 19% |
| Water, sewers and waste | $79.2M | $728 | 12% |
| Roads and transit | $74.4M | $683 | 12% |
| Recreation and culture | $62.9M | $578 | 10% |
| Social services and child care | $51.3M | $471 | 8% |
| Public health and paramedics | $44M | $404 | 7% |
| General government | $31.9M | $293 | 5% |
| Planning and development | $13.8M | $127 | 2% |
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 9,050 residents
Residents (2021 Census) per council seat, head of council included, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is the provincial median.
Thunder Bay council has one seat for every 9,050 residents, more than in 90% of Ontario municipalities.
Residents: 2021 Census; seats: the province’s council list
Having a say in how Thunder Bay 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
- 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. Per resident means the 2024 Financial Information Return’s totals over the population it reports. Since a county or region spends in its lower tiers too, those are compared only with each other.
- 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. A member who resigned or switched parties last week may still show here: the names are Wikidata’s.
- Which riding. A riding is listed when 5% or more of the place’s 2021 Census residents live in it; the largest share comes first.
- Election results. Official counts for 2019 and 2021 are by the 2013 ridings; Elections Canada also re-counted the 2021 ballots onto the 2023 ridings by polling division, and that estimate is what “today’s boundaries” means here.
Questions about how Thunder Bay is run
Who is the MP for Thunder Bay?
Thunder Bay has more than one: Patty Hajdu (Liberal Party of Canada) for Thunder Bay—Superior North, and Marcus Powlowski for Thunder Bay—Rainy River.
Which party won Thunder Bay in the 2021 federal election?
In 2021 it was Patty Hajdu (Liberal Party of Canada), who represents Thunder Bay—Superior North still.
Who is the MPP for Thunder Bay?
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s website names each MPP by riding; the riding of Thunder Bay has to be looked up there.
Who heads the council in Thunder Bay?
The open record gives Kenneth Boshcoff, elected mayor of Thunder Bay council in October 2022.
How much does Thunder Bay council spend?
Thunder Bay council spent $642.4M in 2024 for about 108,843 residents; its largest service line was other, at $164.7M.
How is Thunder Bay council elected?
By ward for councillors and at large for the mayor, on Thunder Bay council.
What was the turnout in Thunder Bay?
Turnout for Thunder Bay council reached 42.6% in October 2022 (Ontario median: 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).