Ward 2 Councillor Gilliland addresses residency concerns

February 25, 2025 · 0 Comments

Ward 2 Councillor Rachel Gilliland may have sold her home in Aurora last fall, but she remains a resident as a renter.

Councillor Gilliland is responding to concerns raised within the community about her eligibility to serve on Council and representing the residents of Ward 2, stating that while she and her family sold their Aurora residence last fall to buy a “cottage” in the Georgian Bay area, she and her husband continue to rent an Aurora base.

She adds she has provided the appropriate documentation of residency to the Town Clerk, who confirmed she met the requirements given the documents provided.

The issue of Councillor Gilliland’s residency is not new.

Late last fall, a delegate appeared at Council on a matter and, while doing so, claimed surprise to see Councillor Gilliland at the table given her move to Thornbury.

“It’s interesting I am having this conversation about how I go about buying and selling homes, my personal financing and stuff, but here we are,” she said, adding she and her family had been looking for a “place up north” for 25 years.

“As it turns out, we fell in love with this cottage up in Georgian Bay,” she says. “The only way we felt we could position ourselves [to purchase it] was to sell my home in Aurora, to be able to afford our cottage and Georgian Bay, rent in Aurora, so we could do both. Really, we’re selling an asset in order to be able to work and live in the same manner that we are, so at the same time we can now enjoy our weekends up at the cottage. It’s just the way you do your financing these days. That’s just how we could make our numbers work.”

Her husband’s work in Toronto, she added, is another factor that would put them “in no position to be moving up there permanently.” She also says that claims she owns and operates a business in Thornbury as false.

“My intention is to definitely carry out my term and fulfil my duties. I have provided information to the Clerk that follows the rules…and I am in compliance with the mandate. Funnily enough, there are people in Aurora, I’ve knocked doors and met, who have a property in Aurora and a cottage up north, and they are a Councillor up north.

“It’s not unusual to have two different homes and it is just where you spend your time. I consider myself very committed to this community. To me, I have every intention of fulfilling my term within the Town of Aurora.”

By Brock Weir