Councillor Kieran McKenzie Biography

Kieran McKenzie has referred to his election to City Council as a “dream come true.”

First elected to Windsor City Council in 2018, Kieran immediately took on tough issues and challenging committee assignments. Recognized as a leader, early into the term he was unanimously elected to chair the Essex Region Conservation by Authority by the board comprised of municipally elected officials from across the Windsor/Essex area. Kieran also serves as chair of the Windsor Bicycling Committee and the Public Transit Advisory Committee.

After years of controversial and divisive discussion, he introduced and successfully passed a motion to add lifesaving anti-overdose medication Naloxone to all first responders as a component of their field equipment inventory.

As a Councillor much of his work has focused on ensuring that municipal services, and the equitable access to them, are at the forefront of every issue that comes to Council. He is a strong advocate for the development of sustainable policy choices and capital investments to ensure that we build an inclusive community.

As a City Councillor he has continued to bring focus to environmental issues. He brought forward and was instrumental in successfully passing at both Windsor City Council and at the Essex Region Conservation Authority a motion to declare a Climate Emergency across our region, stating, “If we accept that Climate Change is real, then the obligation to invest in our communities to both mitigate and adapt is critical. Literally everyone is a stakeholder in this fight; the environment needs to be top of mind in virtually every single policy discussion.”

Kieran is the former chair and current vice chair of the Essex Region Conservation Authority. Additionally, he chairs both the City of Windsor’s Transit Advisory Committee and Bike Committee and is a member of both the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority and Windsor Essex County Environment Committee. He is a commissioner for the Windsor Utilities Commission and chairs the utility’s governance committee.

Prior to being elected, Councillor McKenzie worked with Brian Masse, Member of Parliament (Windsor West), in a policy development role. As well, he was formerly a small business owner, broadcaster and served on several community boards, including as the chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters Windsor Essex.

As a Legislative Assistant he helped to author Canada’s first Motion expressing the need to act to ban the use of micro-beads in cosmetic products and has done significant work advancing the concept an urban national park consolidating the Ojibway Prairie Complex in the Windsor Essex Region.

Kieran has worked to address several issues in his ward; working closely with residents he has been successful in securing investments and addressing critical infrastructure priorities. Some of these achievements include addressing community public safety concerns by adding traffic calming measures in neighbourhoods; adding solar lights in several parks; and advocating for and securing funding commitments for key infrastructure, particularly along the Howard Avenue corridor.

Kieran successfully created a policy that passed unanimously at Council that will help protect school children attending Roseland Public School. After years of residents, parents and school officials citing safety concerns for children crossing at Cabana and Karen, there will finally be a traffic signal at that corner to help students cross safely.

Additionally, Kieran worked with residents, the Mayor and Windsor Police Service to address property theft issues in the ward. Increased patrols and a dedicated neighbourhood safety plan came out of those consultations. Also, he is working with administration and the hospitality industry to create a greater degree of accountability for hotel and motel operators across the city for the activity that occurs on their property.

Kieran also continues to work with residents to address flooding in the ward, having brought forward a policy proposal to help residents repair culverts and securing funding for a comprehensive drainage study to identify ways to improve stormwater management in the city’s southeast.

As Councillor he also worked to secure a commitment from the Windsor Public Library to proceed with a feasibility study to construct a library in Windsor’s southeast and is working to ensure that the city sees no net loss of tree coverage through development.