Nickolas Harper, who has served as councillor for four years, will be the new mayor of Bradford West Gwillimbury. He won by 350 votes, taking 30.1 per cent of the vote, making a grand total of 4,579 votes. “At the end of the day, seeing the results, it’s an unreal feeling that I don’t think I can describe any other way.” “It represents what Bradford feels and wants. They wanted change and they got it,” Harper says. The sentiment of change is something fellow candidate and incumbent James Leduc echoed. “I just want to say thank you to the Bradford community for giving me 20 years,” James Leduc tells CTV News. “I did 20 years on council and I appreciate their support for 20 years. They spoke loud and clear. They want a change.” Leduc came in fifth place with 1,497 votes. Harper was visibly overwhelmed at his victory party at Chuck’s Roadhouse. “This feels quite amazing,” Harper tells CTV News. “When a town comes together and they want someone to stand up for them and be there to actually help the people living here now, this is a big win for Bradford and everyone here.” Harper says he has three priorities: Firstly, he wants to give the strong mayor powers back to Premier Doug Ford and ensure that strong mayor powers aren’t in Bradford anymore. Secondly, he wants to hand the budget back to staff as they present it to council and the mayor. And thirdly, he wants to put forward a motion to remove the County of Simcoe Temporary Reception Centre from Bradford permanently. The Bradford mayoral race was a competitive one with six candidates running, including the incumbent, deputy mayor and two councillors. James Leduc served as the mayor of Bradford West Gwillimbury for the last four years. Raj Sandhu served as deputy mayor since 2022 and was looking to move into the mayor’s chair. Like Harper, Peter Ferragine was also a councillor, but served for three terms. Emil Alkhanov and Mauro Di Giovanni were both new faces in the race.
