Michael Macri

Vote Michael MacriFOR LASALLE MAYOR

Michael Macri, LaSalle Mayoral Candidate

Glad you stopped by. Good local governance starts with listening. Explore my platform, see where I stand on the issues, and let's move LaSalle forward.

— Michael Macri, Mayoral Candidate

Why I'm Running For Mayor

"I'm running because I believe LaSalle is at a crossroads. We can welcome responsible growth while protecting the things that make this community special by planning ahead, protecting taxpayers, and insisting infrastructure keeps pace." - Michael Macri, Mayoral Candidate

This is personal for me. LaSalle is where my family lives, where we shop, where we drive, and where we plan to grow old. When roads back up, and tax bills climb faster than our paycheques, and when significant decisions get made at Town Hall - those aren't abstract policies.  They impact all of us in many ways.

I spent 30 years helping large organizations make disciplined decisions with real money and real consequences. I've seen what happens when planning is honest and long-term, and I've seen the cost when it isn't. I don't want LaSalle to learn that lesson the hard way.

I'm running because we can do better - not by saying no to everything; rather insisting that growth pays its own way, and that infrastructure comes first, and that the people who live here have the final say on what this community becomes.

My Promise to You

Four commitments to keep LaSalle's decisions in LaSalle.

01

LaSalle is Our Home

Neighbourhood planning is the decision of LaSalle residents. Provincial mandates to solve a housing crisis is not our job.

02

Taxpayer Protection

New development must fully pay for itself. LaSalle taxpayers should not subsidize rapid growth plans from Queen's Park.

03

Responsible Growth = Public Safety

Responsible growth means local roads, utilities, and public services are not overwhelmed by mandates from Queen's Park.

04

Accountability and Leadership

Prioritizing LaSalle's character will be core moving forward. Let's stop being passively compliant.

My First 100 Days

Four actions I will take immediately as Mayor.

01

Stabilize Property Taxes

Freeze discretionary spending and cut $2.0MM in controllable Town expenditures without reducing essential services. Introduce Zero-Based Budgeting.

02

Diversify Our Tax Base

Create an Economic Development Team focused on attracting new businesses in order to reduce our dependence on residential taxpayers.

03

Fix What We Already Have

Prioritize Town assets rated Poor or Very Poor - $109.5MM in replacement value - before new discretionary capital projects.

04

Review Growth Before Approving More

Review major development projects to understand the short- and long-term impacts on LaSalle’s finances, infrastructure, traffic, public safety, and quality of life.

The LaSalle Way Forward Plan

Executive LeadershipHow We Get Things Done.
30 Years Corporate Experience|Strategic Focus|Accountable|Results Driven

Economic Development

Diversify LaSalle's Tax Base. Create Jobs. Attract New Investment.

  • Create Economic Development Team
  • Target Knowledge-Based Businesses
  • Build Public-Private Partnerships
  • Capture the Gordie Howe Bridge Opportunity

Sustainable Infrastructure

Prioritize Infrastructure. Growth Pays for Growth. Account for Operations.

  • Growth Pays for Growth
  • Infrastructure Before Development
  • Enforce Capital Spending Test

Is it necessary? Can we afford it? Can we afford to operate it? Can it pay for itself?

Protecting Our Neighbourhoods

Don't just engineer LaSalle. Design LaSalle with purpose.

  • Create a LaSalle Architectural Vision — Consistent Feel
  • Design with Nature/ Wildlife

Good planning asks more than, "Can we build it?" It asks, "Does it belong here?"

The Way Forward is simple: Grow our economy. Manage our growth. Protect our community including wildlife and trails. Respect taxpayers.

LaSalle's Way Forward Plan: Questions and Solutions

Why is economic diversity so important?

LaSalle relies overwhelmingly on residential taxpayers to pay the bills.

In 2026, approximately 94% of LaSalle's property tax revenue comes from residential taxpayers, and the total amount collected is projected to rise from $53 million to $74 million by 2030—a nearly 40% increase.

If LaSalle continues to rely on homeowners as municipal costs grow, the pressure on your property taxes will continue to grow with them.

My solution: Grow LaSalle's economy.

Attract more businesses, investment and high-value jobs so businesses pay a greater share of LaSalle's tax bill—and homeowners don't have to carry almost all of it.

What does sustainable infrastructure mean?

How can LaSalle commit to major growth without knowing the total cost?

LaSalle is planning for approximately 10,000 new homes in Howard-Bouffard.

The Province has announced a $22.4 million infrastructure grant. That's great news, but the Town is still determining the final cost of the Howard-Bouffard stormwater project—and stormwater is only one part of the infrastructure and services thousands of new homes will require.

Before moving forward with major growth, residents deserve to know the expected total cost—and who will pay for it.

My solution: Know the cost before making the commitment.

As Mayor, I will require a Growth Fiscal Impact Assessment showing infrastructure costs, ongoing operating costs, developer contributions, government funding, new tax revenue and the projected impact on existing taxpayers.

My Dad is a carpenter. He taught me: Measure twice. Cut once.

Plan first. Build second.

What does protecting LaSalle's character mean in plain English?

Growth should mean more than approving development because it meets engineering and zoning requirements.

Good planning should ask more than "Can we build it?"

It should also ask: "Does it belong here?"

Putting multi-unit buildings in the middle of an established single-family neighbourhood can permanently change the character of that neighbourhood.

My solution: Don't just engineer LaSalle. Design LaSalle with purpose.

I will work with Council, administration, planners and architects to create a LaSalle Community Design Vision that protects neighbourhood character and guides how buildings, streets, landscaping, trails and public spaces work together.

We will also design with nature, not around it—incorporating wildlife corridors, trees, trails and green space from the beginning.

The objective isn't to stop development. It's to make sure what we build today still feels like LaSalle tomorrow.

Planning standards determine what a builder is allowed to build.

A Community Design Vision defines what we want a neighbourhood to become.

Direct Accountability Through Local Representation

To further protect LaSalle neighborhouds, I believe every resident of LaSalle should be represented by someone in their community who understands the specific challenges of their neighbourhood.

That is why, as Mayor, I will initiate a move toward a ward system in LaSalle.

Today, LaSalle's Councillors are elected at large. Every Councillor represents the entire Town. While that provides town-wide representation, it also means no individual Councillor is specifically elected to represent your neighbourhood.

A ward system would change that.

LaSalle would be divided into geographic areas, with Councillors elected to represent the residents within their ward. Ward boundaries should be established through an independent and transparent process that considers representation by population, neighbourhoods and future growth.

Residents would still be represented by the Mayor on a town-wide basis, but they would also have a Councillor directly accountable to their area.

For me, this comes down to a very simple principle:

You should know who represents you — and who is accountable to you.

LaSalle's Traffic Reality

Vehicles Per Day — Traffic Counts

14,500
2016
17,200
2021
19,800
2026

Source: Malden Road Environmental Assessment (EA)

"Delaying necessary infrastructure while pushing higher growth isn't just poor planning, it's irresponsible to LaSalle drivers of all ages — and is a public safety issue."

— Michael Macri, LaSalle Mayoral Candidate

01

The Situation

Current town planning uses pre-2020 data and does not include Queen's Park 10,000-unit growth mandates.

02

Our Reality

The current LaSalle infrastructure plans will not solve our congestion problems, but will increase our long-term debt.

03

The Solution = Common Sense

Commission a new, realistic traffic study that includes high-density growth targets AND create a "pay as you grow" budget.

"When Council stood up to the current Mayor to protect taxpayers from a 5.98% tax hike, they did the right thing. My commitment as Mayor is simple: work with Council, audit municipal spending, and fight any and all tax increases."

— Michael Macri, LaSalle Mayoral Candidate

Two Different Approaches. Two Different Priorities.

Current Mayor's Priorities

  • ✕Waived developer costs and growth fees, leaving LaSalle taxpayers to subsidize future expansion.
  • ✕Fought on the record for a 5.98% property tax increase.
  • ✕Prioritized multi-million-dollar discretionary expansion projects while local traffic bottlenecks and infrastructure face mounting pressure.

Michael Macri's Priorities

  • ✓Growth must pay for growth. LaSalle taxpayers will not subsidize developers and Queen's Park.
  • ✓I will fight any and all tax increases.
  • ✓Core infrastructure comes first. I will insist on "Pay-As-You-Grow" funding.
  • ✓Prioritize roads, emergency services, and flood protection before new commitments are made.
Michael Macri

Leadership & Accountability

"In my 30 years of corporate experience managing global teams and $200M+ budgets, I learned a simple truth: real leadership starts with clear, shared objectives and measuring our progress honestly."

Leadership

Defining clear goals for LaSalle's infrastructure, local services, and community growth — not passively reacting to outside pressures. Building collaborative partnerships between residents, businesses, developers, and the province.

Accountability

Establishing bi-annual progress tracking to evaluate municipal performance, project timelines, and budget realities against our shared goals.

LaSalle Decisions Stay in LaSalle

1

Stand Up to Queen's Park

Provincial housing mandates don't account for our local roads, safety, or wellness. I represent you, not provincial bureaucrats.

2

Town Input for Major Expenditures

Multi-million dollar discretionary projects shouldn't be decided behind closed doors. For high-cost projects, I will push to have more resident input.

3

Resident-First Governance

No blanket approvals. Growth will be based on our capacity, with transparent leadership that gives power back to property owners and taxpayers.

Real-World Experience. Team-First Leadership.

Resident-first leadership. Taxpayer protection. Responsible growth.

Good leadership brings people together, listens to different perspectives, and delivers meaningful results.

Across my career working for and with global organizations like Ford, General Motors, Volvo, Prudential, Hertz, and H&R Block, the most valuable lesson learned was simple: no major challenge is ever solved alone.

Managing large, cross-functional teams and navigating high-stakes environments including parts of the GM restructuring in 2009 taught me to manage complex budgets, build consensus among competing priorities, and always keep the real-world impact on working families and their local communities top of mind.

This discipline allowed me to build a Global Marketing Analytics Team at the Ford Motor Company (Dearborn, MI) working with over 20 countries - including Ford of Canada, managing 60 professionals, multiple vendors, and a budget of $3.0B of marketing spend. Our work was recognized in the Harvard Business Review and we won multiple awards.

Running a municipality requires the same disciplined and collaborative mindset. Bringing this real-world business experience to the Mayor's office means ensuring taxpayer dollars are managed with transparency, infrastructure projects are planned for the long term, and Council works constructively with residents to keep LaSalle moving forward.

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