Don Armitage and Ed Thompson will be the sole names on the ballot this month, when advanced polls open March 24, ahead of the regular polling day a week later.

The two candidates both have deep roots in the community and are looking to address similar issues, as they’d like to see their community grow in the years to come.

Seat six was vacated in October when Alan Farrell resigned. According to the town’s website, Farrell was responsible for municipal roads.

Lisa Dagenais, Portage du Fort’s director general, said the byelection is costly but necessary.

The byelection was supposed to be held in December but was postponed until this month.

Don Armitage

Armitage said he is running because he is tired of seeing the town shrinking in size despite the large number of people passing through.

“Because of Portage’s geographic location, it’s natural beauty, historical significance, and its small arts community, the town has the potential for economic growth,” he said.

Now retired, Armitage worked as an industrial refrigeration mechanic for food processing companies in British Columbia and Cambridge, Ont., before purchasing property in Portage in 2001.

Though he’s never run for a councillor position before, Armitage has been on board of directors for curling clubs and fishing organizations.

“I do have a bit of experience dealing with all the red tape,” he said with a laugh.

He’d like to see the town grow in population and encourage people to settle roots there.

“At one time, years ago during the logging boom, it was a very significant town … I’m not saying we’ll get back there but we need to have a little bit of growth,” said Armitage.

“I hope that by becoming a member of the council, I can help steer the community towards this goal,” he continued.

Armitage touts himself as a receptive listener and hopes to put this quality to use with the public.

“I’m more of a listener than a talker and I expect to carry this forward if I do become a council member,” he concluded.

Ed Thompson

Thompson said he decided to run because of a dissatisfaction with the current council’s operation, including the handling of tax rates.

“The people from town want to see a change and there’s too much control with what’s going on there now,” he said. “It’s not all good for the town so that’s one reason why I want to get back in.”

Thompson has previously sat on council, for a 12 year stretch from 1989-2001, leaving when the family moved to Grand Calumet Island.

Since moving back, he has run most recently in 2017, losing out on seat three by only four votes.

Owning and operating the town’s Dépanneur Thompson with his wife, he brings experience with maintaining a big budget, working with local tax rates and a knowledge of the town plus its people to the table.

“A lot of people don’t want to move here or build here because it’s so expensive,” he said, of the tax rates.

He said he’d push for lower tax rates by having council adhere to a strict budget, to cut down on overspending.

“You see their budgets and that every year, but you really don’t see exactly where that money is being spent,” said Thompson.

As well, Thompson wants to take on new initiatives to have Portage du Fort promoted better in the region, to encourage settlement in town.

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