Several municipalities across Midwestern Ontario recorded sharp increases in complaints and inquiries to the Ontario Ombudsman last year, part of a broader rise in cases across the province.
A CKNXNewsToday.ca review of the Ombudsman's 2025-26 annual report found Wellington County had 29 cases involving municipal administration, more than double the 13 recorded one year earlier.
North Perth recorded 10 cases, up from eight, while Northern Bruce Peninsula increased from three to eight. Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh rose from one case to six, and Chatsworth increased from three to six.
Other parts of the region moved in the opposite direction.
Grey County fell from 17 cases in 2024-25 to six last year, while Stratford dropped from 25 to 11.
The Ombudsman's office stresses that the numbers represent complaints and inquiries received, and should not be interpreted as findings that a municipality did something wrong.
Linda Williamson, Director of Communications for the Ontario Ombudsman, said the regional increases are consistent with a provincewide trend.
"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 across all areas overseen by the Ombudsman increased 14 per cent in the past year and 30 per cent over two years.
Municipal cases alone increased 25 per cent in 2025-26 and reached their highest level since the Ombudsman was given jurisdiction over municipalities a decade ago.
"The increases in your listening area would appear to be consistent with the overall trends we observed," Williamson said.
The longer-term local numbers show different patterns from municipality to municipality.
Wellington County recorded 11 cases in 2022-23, nine the following year and 13 in 2024-25 before jumping to 29 last year.
North Perth has increased in each of the past four reporting years, rising from three cases in 2022-23 to seven, eight and then 10.
Northern Bruce Peninsula had remained between two and three cases annually before increasing to eight in 2025-26.
The Ombudsman's office does not provide a breakdown showing what complaints in individual municipalities 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 cautioned that some cases may never reach the municipality involved.
"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 identifies bylaw enforcement, housing and council or committee matters among common municipal issues provincewide.
Williamson said the report is intended to identify broader trends while protecting the confidentiality of individual complainants.
"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.
