Many municipalities in Midwestern Ontario saw a significant rise in complaints and inquiries directed to the Ontario Ombudsman last year, part of a wider increase across the province.
A review by CKNXNews Today. ca of the Ombudsman’s 2025-26 annual report revealed that Wellington County had 29 cases related to municipal administration, which is more than double the 13 recorded the previous year.
North Perth reported 10 cases, up from eight, while Northern Bruce Peninsula jumped from three to eight. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh went from one case to six, and Chatsworth also rose from three to six.
Conversely, other areas in the region experienced declines.
Grey County dropped from 17 cases in 2024-25 to six last year, and Stratford fell from 25 cases down to 11.
The Ombudsman’s office highlights that these figures represent received complaints and inquiries and should not be viewed as evidence that a municipality acted improperly.
Linda Williamson, Director of Communications for the Ontario Ombudsman, mentioned that regional increases align with trends seen across the province.
“Over the past few years, more people across the province have turned to our office for help about more issues than at any time in the past five decades,” Williamson said.
Cases overall under the Ombudsman’s purview rose by 14 percent last year and by 30 percent over two years.
Municipal cases alone climbed by 25 percent in 2025-26 and reached their highest point since municipalities came under Ombudsman jurisdiction ten years ago.
“The increases in your listening area would appear to be consistent with the overall trends we observed,” Williamson said.
The longer-term local statistics reveal different trends among various municipalities.
Wellington County logged 11 cases in 2022-23, followed by nine then thirteen before skyrocketing to 29 last year.
North Perth has shown growth each of the past four reporting years, increasing from three cases in 2022-23 to seven, eight, and finally ten this past year.
Northern Bruce Peninsula had stayed between two and three cases annually until it spiked to eight in 2025-26.
The Ombudsman’s office does not provide specifics on what individual municipal complaints were about.
“As I’m sure you can appreciate, information about the subject of a small number of complaints could risk identifying people, and all complaints to our office are confidential,” Williamson said.
She also pointed out that some issues might never reach municipal attention.
“Not every case is necessarily brought to the attention of the municipality; some are quickly resolved by our staff providing information or referrals to people looking for help,” Williamson said.
The Ombudsman’s annual report points out common municipal concerns such as bylaw enforcement, housing issues, and matters concerning councils or committees throughout the province.
Williamson explained that this report aims at highlighting broader patterns while maintaining complainant confidentiality.
“The report focuses on information about broad trends and examples of how we work with public sector bodies all across the province to address individual and systemic issues and improve public services,” she said.
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