A new district chair for Muskoka has been appointed, knocking out current chair Jeff Lehman. Having been in the position for the past four years, Lehman will be replaced by Scott Aitchison, who was the Conservative MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka. “I’m deeply disappointed to not be able to continue our good work together as Chair,” Lehman says in a post on social media. Lehman was the mayor of Barrie for three terms from 2010 to 2022. He says he “disagrees deeply with the government’s actions.” In his time as chair since 2022, Lehman says the District has delivered a three-time increase in the amount of affordable housing built in Muskoka. Some other things he says he accomplished were faster paramedics, more child care, less garbage and better roads, issues he says are non-partisan. “A great strength of Ontario’s municipal system over the past two hundred years has been the absence of partisanship or patronage, through its foundation in independent local democracy,” Lehman says. “There is no Conservative or Liberal way to snowplow a road, build a home, or treat drinking water.” When it comes to the next council, Lehman has a few words. “The programs that support people and the policies that protect this natural environment will need to be defended by the next Council,” Lehman says in the post. “There’s no question that more housing, more efficient government, and the economy need to be priorities, but these must never come at the expense of what makes Muskoka the most beautiful place in our country.” Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack gives CTV News some of the reasoning behind the decision. “First of all, I want to thank Jeff for his service, a great chair of the District of Muskoka,” Flack says. “Across the province, we had to balance and we had great candidates throughout all eight regions. So we had to balance the skillsets.” He says Aitchison has shown “leadership and great political acumen.” While Aitchison is a conservative, Flack says his ministry does not appoint one particular party type but rather has appointed politicians from across the political spectrum. He used the example of Stephen Del Duca, the newly appointed York Regional District Chair, who was the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. Having been an MP, Flack says Aitchison brings a federal perspective to the table. Aitchison was also a former mayor and deputy mayor of Huntsville. In an announcement on Tuesday by the Ontario government, new heads of council were appointed for eight upper tier municipalities, including three in our region: York Region, Simcoe County and Muskoka. Former Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac was appointed as Chair of Simcoe County council.
