Brian Lumsden, the only Peterborough mayoral candidate to have previously run for the position, is undeterred about his chances despite receiving less than three per cent of the vote in the 2022 municipal election.
“The first campaign was a huge learning experience,” Lumsden told kawarthaNOW in a recent in-depth interview. “I don’t have any political background, but I was very concerned about seeing needles and crack pipes being handed out in parks.”
Lumsden is one of seven candidates in the race to become Peterborough’s next mayor on October 26, with the other six being Michael Eamon, Rob Hailman, Jacob Méthot, Neil Morton, Keith Riel, and Rebecca Schillemat. The day before the nomination period closed, incumbent mayor Jeff Leal announced he would not be seeking re-election for a second term.
Opioid crisis remains central to Lumsden’s second mayoral campaign
During his 2022 campaign, Lumsden was a controversial candidate and received public attention for his harsh criticism of the city and council’s response to the opioid crisis.
“It turned out that it really attracted some serious backlash,” Lumsden admitted.
Despite the backlash, he said the opioid crisis will once again be the central issue of his current campaign, adding that all other issues can be addressed once the opioid crisis is resolved.
“I just think our top priority should be the drug epidemic and the millions that are being spent on band-aid solutions,” he explained. “If we had a long term plan in place, we could save up money or redirect funds into more productive means like the arts.”
“My focus isn’t necessarily just on the drug crisis, but I think that’s the most important.”
In the 2022 race for mayor, Lumsden came in a distant fourth behind Jeff Leal and then-incumbent councillors Henry Clark and Stephen Wright. However, he believes his campaign had an impact on the actions of the newly elected council.
“I noticed that right after the election, they actually had a policy change and restricted where the needles and pipes could be handed out, so I felt that I did accomplish something,” he said.
Lumsden added that he hopes his campaign will have an even bigger impact in 2026.
“I want to draw as much attention as I can to that epidemic and hopefully actually do something about it. I think I’m going to get a lot more than 700 (votes) this time.”
Low property taxes and involuntary residential treatment among proposed responses to housing and homelessness
When asked about his plans to address homelessness and housing affordability, both in relation to the opioid-poisoning crisis and in general across the city, Lumsden said that “we could divert the funds” to programs addressing homelessness “if we could have the drug crisis under control.”
He explained he does not believe that Peterborough can “build its way out” of the housing affordability crisis, and that his priority to address affordability would be to keep property taxes low.
“My goal would be to have growth pay for growth, and keep the taxes low,” Lumsden said.
To address the homelessness crisis, he added that unhoused individuals could be required to enter residential treatment — an idea that Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently said he was open to after Ontario’s Big City Mayors group again asked the province to review existing mental health laws with the idea of expanding involuntary treatment.
“If they’re forced into a bed, they can receive the treatment that they deserve rather than dying on the street,” Lumsden said.
Lumsden pointed to the former Nordia building located at 364 Water Street in downtown Peterborough. Currently listed for sale at almost $3.5 million, the 47,000-square-foot five-storey building could be repurposed for multiple residential units, according to the real estate listing.
“I think it would make a perfect medical clinic and either an emergency shelter or some treatment beds, but where drugs are not permitted,” Lumsden said.
Another building he is interested in is the Trinity Community Centre, located at the former Trinity United Church at 360 Reid Street. The Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network — a network of community groups, agencies, and individuals concerned about the impacts of poverty in the community — purchased the church in 2022 for the purpose of developing a community hub.
Now operated by One City Peterborough with funding from the City of Peterborough, Trinity Community Centre is a low-barrier overnight shelter and daytime drop-in centre for people experiencing homelessness.
“My highest priority is reclaiming that church,” Lumsden said.
Lumsden says he would consider using strong mayor powers to “reclaim” Trinity Community Centre
On his Facebook page, Lumsden wrote at length about his desire to “reclaim” the building from One City, citing concerns about current usage and operation.
“The Trinity church is an absolute mess; I know we can do better. The condition of that property is not reasonable for the users; it’s not fair for the neighbours and it’s destroying our city. The current condition is an insult to anyone who worshiped there. As mayor, I would want some answers from One City regarding the management of the centre.”
Lumsden also raised the issue of Trinity Community Centre when asked about his position on using strong mayor powers as established by Doug Ford’s government in 2025.
“I wouldn’t abuse them for certain,” he said of strong mayor powers, before adding “I would use them, if I had to, to reclaim Trinity Church.”
“If I received opposition and that was the only thing I could do, I can’t say no.”
On the topic of leadership and governance at city council, Lumsden said he would be open to ideas from all councillors and that he valued teamwork.
“I would be accepting ideas from everybody and using them from all of the people, all of the whole council. We need to work together as a team and we need to work together as a city.”
However, he was quick to reiterate that his “first objective would be to get this drug epidemic under control.”
Lumsden pledges to reduce mayor’s salary by 10% and explains his decision to run again
Lumsden also said he would immediately model the mindset and behaviour he expects of councillors and city staff by reducing the mayor’s salary, which is due to increase by 60 per cent to $147,631 at the start of the new term. Councillor salaries will also increase by 52 per cent to $54,991.
“To lead by example and to show that I’m serious about this, I would make my first motion to reduce the mayor’s salary by 10 per cent,” Lumsden said.
Despite the significant backlash he received during his first mayoral run, describing the experience as “horrific,” Lumsden said he felt obligated to run again.
“I actually owed it to those people that did vote for me the last time to stand up and put a voice out there for them,” he said.
Further, Lumsden believes that his campaign and potential mayoralty provide an alternative for voters to the other six candidates.
“I’m the only one that’s dealing with the drug epidemic and I’m the only one that can actually do something about it. There are a lot of others that are making a lot of promises that seem like they’re going to be impossible to keep.”
Lumsden again pointed to the Trinity Community Centre as another reason he chose to run again, despite his negative experience in 2022.
“If I was elected, I think reclaiming Trinity Church and using it for a different purpose, a more productive purpose, would be a huge victory. I know a lot of other candidates would not do that because it is a dangerous topic to raise.”
