You could call it a $1.02-billion question: who is going to be Niagara’s next regional chair?

The billion-dollar figure represents Niagara Region’s 2025 net budget, which the chair helps oversee as head of council. Jim Bradley, who was at the helm for seven years, had filled the role before his death on Sept. 26.

The province appointed Bradley to a second term as chair immediately after the 2022 election, reasoning it needed a “reliable partner” at the head of council to help tackle Ontario’s housing crisis.

The province’s plan to have 1.5 million new homes built by 2031 isn’t exactly panning out. Ontario ranked in the bottom half of provinces in housing starts per capita in 2024.

Nonetheless, more than a half-dozen elected officials and political insiders interviewed for this story ex

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