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Aurora Votes 2026: Meet Your Council Candidates – Harold MacDonald, Ward 3

October 19, 2026   ·   0 Comments

Harold MacDonald is going door-to-door in Ward 3, hoping to replace lawmaker Wendy Gaertner at the Council table. One of two Ward 3 candidates who campaigned to unseat the long-time Councillor in the 2022 municipal election, MacDonald says Gaertner’s retirement has opened the door to new voices in the community.

“I really wanted to win last time, but Wendy Gaertner was extremely strong. When the opportunity came to put my name back in again, I thought, why not? I’m semi-retired and I want to give back to the Town in whatever way I can,” he says. “There’s definitely more supporters [in the Ward] than Wendy had the last time where I’ve had an opportunity to speak to them and it’s been a great opportunity to cross paths with many people who supported Wendy the last time.”

As he’s gone door to door, MacDonald says he’s really been listening to residents on the issues that are important to them, and one of the biggest issues he says he’s taken to heart is public safety, an issue that concerns him as well.

“Shelley and I have both had our cars stolen from Brookview Drive. She’s had an SUV stolen, I’ve had a truck stolen, so I understand part of that frustration and just feeling violated,” he says. “I want to make sure [that issue] stays up there. I think we’re the third-safest community in the GTA, but I don’t want to regress and I want to make sure that we stay on top of it and do everything that we can to do better than what we are right now.”

Another theme he says he has heard at the door is the perception that Ward 3 is “being left behind.”

“I can’t tell you how many doors I went where people said, ‘We feel like we’re left behind, all the new restaurants and developments going out to the 404 and Leslie and Bayview and St. John’s area and there’s nothing here.’ We have a Canadian Tire store that hasn’t been occupied in [about] 11 years. The lights are on every day, burning electricity and yet nobody’s in there and it’s super frustrating for the residents of Ward 3.

“Another is the Anne Bartley Smith property, which was 90-something acres left to the [Ontario Heritage Trust]. It’s just a gorgeous piece of land and if the Town has the opportunity to take it and make it a park so that there’s no future development, then I would fully and absolutely support it and cheerlead it and do everything I can to make that happen because it is 90 acres…. I want the Town to get a hold of it, make it into a park, put a community garden in, put some trails in, and even put an area off of Bathurst Street where we could save some of the old historic houses in Aurora that are scheduled to be demolished or just left behind.”

As a candidate who wanted to be a part of the 2022 – 2026 Council Term, MacDonald says there were several issues that came forward in this outgoing term in which he would have liked to have been a part of the conversation. Among them are the budgets behind the redevelopment of Aurora Town Square and the renovations to Victoria Hall.

“Hopefully I can be somebody who’s come in under budgets and being able to read a budget and stick to budgets. I’m hoping my business background will enable me to be able to work with other Councillors to get things done, but within a budget. You can’t just approve something and the cost just balloons completely out of reach for what the reality is.

“I grew up in Aurora, I love Aurora and I want to do everything I can to help the Mayor, whoever the Mayor is, and Councillors, whoever the Councillors are, to be able to move Aurora forward in every area – not just in Ward 3. I live in Ward 3, I listen to the constituents who are asking me questions about Ward 3 – I want to include all of Aurora, but focus on Ward 3. I would really like to see people really engaged and getting out the vote is so important. Whoever you’re going to vote for, make sure that you vote. It’s your democratic right to be able to do it and it’s so important for the community and what’s going to be happening.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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