Carleton Place Chamber of Commerce to host event for municipal election candidates Oct. 1
Carleton Place residents will have an opportunity to hear directly from the 11 candidates running for council at an upcoming municipal all-candidates event hosted by the Carleton Place & District Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Lanark and Leeds 88.1 myFM and 92.3 WOWFM.
The non-partisan event, supported by the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) as Community Leadership
Partner, is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. for Thursday, October 1, 2026 at the Carleton Place Arena Upper Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m and the event is open to the public with free admission, according to a release issued by the Carleton Place & District Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Sept.11, 2026.
“The Chamber believes an informed and engaged community is important to the future of
Carleton Place,” said Jackie Kavanagh, General Manager of the Carleton Place & District
Chamber of Commerce. “Our role with this event is to create a fair, non-partisan forum where
residents and businesses can hear directly from the candidates and better understand their
perspectives on the issues and opportunities facing our community
There are 11 certified candidates competing for five councillor positions in the upcoming Oct. 26 municipal election. All 11 candidates have been invited to participate, with Bob Perreault from myFM/WOWFM moderating the meeting.
The 11 candidates are Mark Hinton, Linda Seccaspina, Dena Comley, Jeff Atkinson, Sarah Cavanagh, Ian Dorward, Kory Earle, Paul Frangione, Lori Goulding, Bryant Cougle and Shane O’Neill. Lanarkist is publishing profiles of each as they respond to their questionnaires, which were sent out Sept. 4.
Mayor Toby Randell and Deputy Mayor Andrew Tennant, who were both recently acclaimed for the 2026-2030 term, will also be invited to attend and provide brief remarks at the beginning of the evening, according to the release.
Toby Randell (Left) and Andrew Tennant have been acclaimed as mayor and deputy mayor, respectively, of Carleton Place. – Submitted photos
Chamber officials say the questions posed to candidates will cover a range of issues facing the municipality, including growth and infrastructure, municipal finances and taxation, economic development, housing, transportation and community services.
Residents and members of the local business community can submit specific questions in advance by emailing admin@cpchamber.com with the subject line “All Candidates October 1, 2026.”
Due to the number of candidates and the two-hour time limit for the meeting, Chamber officials say not every question submitted will be asked, noting that questions will be reviewed and consolidated where appropriate to ensure a broad range of issues is covered.
Each councillor candidate will have two minutes for opening remarks at the start of the meeting and one minute for closing remarks at the end.
A full agenda and additional details are expected to be released closer to the event.