Over the past four years, I have had the opportunity to work with people across Sault Ste. Marie and beyond who care deeply about this community and who have helped move important projects forward. Whether the issue was health care, addiction treatment, the YMCA, downtown revitalization, Francophone services, community safety or job creation, progress has depended on people being willing to work together.
The testimonials below come from people I have worked with directly on those issues. Their experiences reflect the kind of leadership I have tried to bring to the Mayor’s Office: listening, building partnerships, bringing people together and staying focused on getting results for Sault Ste. Marie.
Dr. Sarita Verma – LLB MD CCFP FCFP, Chief Medical Officer (interim), Medical Council of Canada and Retired President and Dean at NOSM U
“During my time in the role, Matthew and I worked closely to strengthen the partnership between Sault Ste. Marie and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University including planning for, advocating for, and ultimately succeeding in establishing the new Primary Care Teaching Clinic. His efforts were transformative. The success that followed led to training more future physicians in the Sault. Together we created a strong partnership that expanded medical education and addressed the community’s healthcare needs. I cannot think of a greater champion who built health resources in this community.”
Ali Dennie – Save our YMCA Founder
“When the YMCA was at risk of closing, our community rallied to show that the Y serves an indispensable role in our city. Matthew reviewed and listened to the needs and wants of the community. He took that message seriously, and provided the leadership at City Hall that helped bring the Lukenda Foundation and community partners together to save the Y. This process had no lapse in service and was mindful of the mental and physical health of our community as well as the best financial decision for our city.”
Maggie McGoldrick – HART Hub application lead
“Matthew’s unwavering dedication to tackling the biggest issues in Sault Ste. Marie is inspiring. He is always ready to bring people together, and find meaningful solutions with community leaders who know they can count on him. Securing the HART Hub for Sault Ste. Marie was no small feat and called for a huge, united effort. Matthew was a critical part of that success, and his thoughtful insights and determined advocacy helped turn our vision into a winning proposal.”
Sam Biasucci, President of Sal-Dan Developments Limited
“I’ve spent more than 45 years in the construction industry and have worked with elected officials at every level. When it comes to housing, I’ve seen Matthew focus on practical steps that help get homes built – removing barriers, modernizing zoning, and opposing the introduction of development charges.
The results speak for themselves. Sault Ste. Marie has exceeded its provincial housing target three years in a row and has received millions from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. From the perspective of someone who has spent his career building homes, having municipal leadership focused on creating the conditions for construction makes a real difference.”
Connie Raynor Elliott – Save Our Young Adults (SOYA) founder
“Whether we were fighting to restore critical addiction treatment services or rallying to save Harvest Algoma, Matthew understood how important these services are to our community. He listened to those of us on the front lines, worked alongside us, and used his position as Mayor to help turn community advocacy into results.”
Joe Bisceglia – Long-time downtown business owner, former Downtown Association Board member
“For years, I believed downtown revitalization should be a community responsibility, not an extra burden placed on downtown businesses and property owners. Matthew had the leadership to make that change, which eliminated the additional tax on downtown businesses, saving them thousands of dollars they can reinvest, and in turn making our downtown a priority for the entire community.”
Jessie Léveillé – Président, Centre francophone de Sault-Sainte-Marie
“Matthew recognized the importance of resolving a grievance that had remained unaddressed for more than 30 years and worked closely with the Francophone community to find a lasting solution. When the opportunity arose, he took action, securing a unanimous apology from City Council and implementing meaningful improvements to French-language services at City Hall”
Jeff Arbus
“I’ve worked with Matthew on issues affecting Sault Ste. Marie, particularly around antisemitism and community safety. He has consistently made himself available to listen, consult and take these concerns seriously, and I’ve appreciated his support and engagement.”
Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
“A big thank you to Matthew Shoemaker for leading the charge and helping bring 150 good-paying [OLG] jobs to Sault Ste. Marie.”
Doug Downey, Attorney General of Ontario
“I want to thank Matthew Shoemaker and OLG for their incredible work to strengthen the local economy and support good-paying jobs right here in Sault Ste. Marie.”
Joe Krmpotich, union leader and former City Councillor
“As we head toward another municipal election, there will be plenty of opinions about who should be the next mayor of Sault Ste. Marie. I’ve made my choice. I support Matthew Shoemaker. Under Shoemaker’s leadership, Sault Ste. Marie has exceeded its housing targets, attracted significant outside funding and continued working to bring new development and investment into our community.
He has also been a strong voice for our city when tariffs and trade issues have threatened Algoma Steel and the thousands of families who depend directly or indirectly on good industrial jobs.
Being the mayor of a border city like ours also means being able to work with different levels of government. You aren’t always going to agree with the people sitting across the table. You still have to be able to work with them and get results for Sault Ste. Marie. I believe Shoemaker has shown he can do that.
I’ve spent much of my working life representing people and dealing with difficult issues. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s easy to criticize from the sidelines. Leadership is different. Leadership means making decisions, accepting criticism and being accountable for the results. Do I agree with every decision Matthew Shoemaker and council have made? No. I don’t expect anyone to.
What matters to me is whether our mayor cares about this community, understands the importance of good jobs and working families, and is prepared to fight for Sault Ste. Marie when it matters.
I believe Matthew Shoemaker has done that, and that’s why he has my support for another term as Mayor of Sault Ste. Marie.”
Local and national media have covered many of the issues I have worked on in my time as Mayor. The stories and commentary included below provide another perspective on that work and on the progress being made in Sault Ste. Marie. These media interviews have provided an important opportunity to advocate for our community, raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities we face, and make sure Sault Ste. Marie is a part of conversations taking place at the provincial and federal levels.
Globe and Mail: What our forebears built, tariffs will break. We must defend our century of prosperity.“Communities like Sault Ste. Marie have weathered hard times before. To use an apt pun, we’ve developed spines of steel. But a 50-per-cent tariff on our largest export could have a ripple effect on both the Canadian and American economies.
If we don’t protect this interconnected system now, we risk unravelling decades of economic integration. And we may find ourselves forced to adopt the same protectionist policies we currently condemn, simply to rebuild what we’ve lost.
Mr. Clergue came to the Great Lakes to build industry on the Canadian shores that would enrich his American financiers. We should use the success he left behind as an example – one that can guide us toward continued mutual benefit.” Read more
Sault Star: Dealing with derelict hospital property council’s top triumph“I said it before, and I’ll say it again: Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city council get kudos for their innovative approach to get something done to a property on the city’s waterfront that has been nothing more than an eyesore for the past decade.” Read more
SooToday: I’m not done pestering: OLG planning to add 150 jobs in the SaultWhile he welcomed the new positions, Shoemaker said he views the announcement as a starting point – with hopes to see OLG exceed 150 new local hires by the end of the three-year commitment.
“I’m not done pestering,” he said. “My position has always been that all the jobs should be here because we are the headquarters. This gets us one step closer to that objective.”
It’s a position that’s been heard clearly by the provincial government, who credited Shoemaker’s advocacy as an important part of today’s announcement. Read more
CNN: Taking the Fight Against Steel Tariffs to a National Audience“The steel worker income in our community doesn’t just support Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. It supports the regional economy, which includes the upper peninsula of Michigan, and that’s why it impacts more than just the Canadian steel market when you impose tariffs on Canadian byproduct because those dollars trickle back into the US.” Read more
SooToday: The future of Indigenous relationships in Sault Ste. Marie(Chief) McCoy said he can call Shoemaker up anytime, and that he offered BFN guidance when they received the RHT settlement. (Chief) Bell said she has the mayor on speed dial after the two signed the Friendship Accord last month, which created new pathways for economic partnerships, property ownership and collaboration.
“It’s so unheard of to ever have had that kind of relationship,” said Bell. Read more
New York Times: Trump’s Tariffs Tear at the Bond Between Twin Border TownsAnd the close bond with the city’s border twin in Michigan has been ruptured as a consequence of the escalating trade war between the two nations. Canadians, who frequently cross the border to live parts of their lives on the other side of the river, are hurt, angry and no longer feel welcome in the United States.
“The tariffs are so specific to our main industry that it feels personal, it feels like the American administration is attacking Sault Ste. Marie,” Mr. Shoemaker, 37, said in an interview this month.
Mr. Shoemaker’s own father worked at Algoma Steel. His mother immigrated from Italy after World War II, sponsored by an uncle who worked at the mill. So did the brothers who came with her, and her sisters’ husbands. Read more
SooToday: Sault mayor’s concerns about opioid deaths brought to Queen’s ParkThe limited number of HART Hubs that will open could leave Sault Ste. Marie or other communities in a similar position without support. Gélinas noted Shoemaker’s letter-writing campaign to the Ministry of Health in favour of a hub being located in the Sault.
“Your mayor is doing the right thing by encouraging people to get involved, to write, encouraging to have this dialogue,” said Gélinas. Read more
Sault Star: Port investment is an investment in Sault’s futureThe port could serve as a major transportation hub not only for steel, but also for mining, forestry, agriculture, advanced manufacturing and critical minerals.
Looking ahead, the port could also attract new manufacturing investment to Sault Ste. Marie. The port only adds to the inexpensive industrial land in the region, the ready skilled labour market, and close access to rail and road as well. With anticipated growth in Northern Ontario, especially with critical minerals and the eventual Ring of Fire development, the port could very well create a bright future for Sault Ste. Marie. Read more
Sault Star: ‘Fantastic project’: Ford open to talks on Port of Sault Ste. MarieSault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker didn’t let the opportunity pass.
With a front-row audience at a massive funding and expansion announcement for Tenaris that included Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal Minister of Industry Melanie Joly, Shoemaker slipped in a friendly reminder of the city’s top priority and his own request for a deep-water port. Shoemaker pointed out that Tenaris’s $306-million expansion project shows what is possible when government works together with industry and modernizing plants to position manufacturing with growth.
“The story of our community has long been tied to energy and industry,” he said. Read more