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Not the full picture. Built from public records, which leave things out.Read by hand, Oct 2026DetailsThis is built from public records, which leave a lot out, and some of it may be wrong or out of date. Check the sources, and tell us if you spot a mistake. What this site can't tell you
Read by hand. We read St Catharines's own documents for this site in October 2026; the Sources page lists which ones. The comparisons with other places still come from the Province's yearly reports.

Council

Who decides, and how you can hold them to account

St Catharines is run by an elected council of 13 people. They set the budget, approve big purchases and hire the senior staff who run the city day to day.

Current council

Names and official email addresses from the city's council page. None of the members lists a public social media account there.

How open is St Catharines?

What a resident can find online without asking, as of October 5, 2026.

  • Partly
    Budgets posted online

    The City posts its 2024 to 2026 multi-year budgets and the readopted 2025 to 2026 operating, capital and water budgets, with older years back to 2017. The Budgets page says the 2026 budgets were readopted in fall 2025, but the operating link on the page is the 2025 to 2026 version (a memo dated November 26, 2024). We did not find a separate 2026 operating readoption document. Source

  • Partly
    Audited financial statements

    The 2024 consolidated statements are posted, with a clean opinion ("present fairly") from KPMG LLP dated October 10, 2025. The 2023 statements carry an auditor's date of November 20, 2024. On October 5, 2026 the page did not list 2025 statements. Source

  • No
    Council pay and expenses (s. 284)

    We did not find the yearly statements on the City's website. A citizen task force is reviewing council pay. Source

  • Yes
    Meeting agendas, minutes and video

    The City's meeting calendar links agendas and minutes, and meetings are broadcast on YouTube. We did not open the agenda files. Source

  • Yes
    Conflict of interest registry

    The Accountability page posts a Declaration of Interest Registry with 62 entries from November 16, 2022 to September 28, 2026, naming the member, meeting, item and reason. Source

  • Partly
    Integrity Commissioner reports

    Five Code of Conduct reports (2021 and 2022) and one Municipal Conflict of Interest Act report (2022) are posted. We did not find any dated later than May 31, 2022. Source

  • Yes
    Candidate election finances

    The City has pages for 2022 candidate campaign financials and 2025 by-election financial statements. We did not read them. Source

  • Unknown
    Council 2027 budget dates

    On October 5, 2026 the City's Budget page described the 2026 readoption and gave no 2027 budget meeting dates. Source

Where the city speaks for itself

St Catharines' official channels, as linked from its own website. Council members may also post on their own pages; we link only to official municipal channels.

Ask for the records

Anyone can ask the city for its records under Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). You do not have to say why. Here is how it works, and the wording for the records that would answer the questions on this site.

  1. Send the request in writing to the city clerk (the freedom of information coordinator), on the city’s form or in a letter, with the $5 application fee.
  2. Describe the records, not the answer you want. Dates, departments and the kind of record (a list, invoices, emails) make a request quicker and cheaper.
  3. The city has 45 business days to answer (the law changed in 2026; older guides say 30 days). It can charge for search time and copies, but must send an estimate first if the fees will be over $25.
  4. Some parts can be held back, such as legal advice or personal information about other people. The city must say which part of the law it relied on.
  5. If you are refused, or the fees seem too high, you can appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner within 30 business days of the city’s decision.

The city's request form (on its Forms page) · The law · Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

  • Council pay and expenses statements

    We did not find the yearly statements posted. Related question: Where are the yearly statements of council pay and expenses?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the City's statements of remuneration and expenses paid to each member of Council and to each person appointed by Council to a local board, under section 284 of the Municipal Act, 2001, for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

  • The fire arbitration award

    The 2026 capital budget says a fire project was put off because of an arbitration award, but gives no amount. Related question: The City put off a $2,500,000 fire station project to cover a fire arbitration award. What is the award worth, and who pays?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the arbitration award for the City's firefighters' bargaining unit, and any staff report that estimates its yearly cost and its effect on the 2026 and 2027 budgets, with any part that the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act allows you to release.

  • Special Tax Mitigation Fund balance

    The budget plans transfers from this fund each year, and the audited balance was the same at the end of 2023 and 2024. Related question: The budget uses savings and one-time fixes to hold tax increases down, $2,000,000 from one fund in 2026. What happens to taxes in 2027 when they run out?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the balance sheet or continuity schedule for the Special Tax Mitigation Fund and the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve for 2023, 2024 and 2025, showing opening balance, each contribution and each draw.

  • Debt forecast and debt strategy review

    The 2026 capital budget forecasts debt servicing above the 10 per cent policy limit by 2029. Related question: The City's own forecast has its outside debt rising from $83.1M in 2025 to $279.3M in 2029, past its own 10 per cent limit. How will that be paid for?.

    Show the request wordingHide the wording
    I request, under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: Please provide the debt forecast model or schedule behind Figure 4 of Report FMS-142-2025, and any staff report on the review of the City's debt management strategy.

The wording is a starting point, not legal advice. Narrow the dates if the city says a request is too broad or too costly.

How to raise a concern

From the gentlest step to the most serious. Start at the top.

  1. Integrity Commissioner

    Looks into complaints that a council member broke the Code of Conduct, and into complaints under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The City names ADR Chambers as its Integrity Commissioner. A formal complaint costs a $43 administration fee. The page posts five Code of Conduct reports dated January 7, 2021 to May 31, 2022 and one conflict of interest report dated May 31, 2022. We did not read the reports, and did not find any posted after May 31, 2022.

  2. Closed-meeting complaints (Ontario Ombudsman)

    The City says closed (in-camera) meeting complaints are investigated by the Ontario Ombudsman, and that residents can complain to the Ombudsman directly. We did not find a list of reports about St. Catharines.

  3. Ontario Ombudsman

    Can investigate the City's administrative functions and services as a last resort, and make non-binding recommendations.

  4. Budget Standing Committee

    A committee of Council that gives financial guidance on the operating, capital and water budgets. Meetings are broadcast on the City's YouTube channel.