Seguin

[upbeat music] For the people who live in Sequin Township, the meaning of local government can be found in everyday details of community life.

It's the roads and services residents depend on, the decisions around development, and the effort to maintain the character of a community while preparing for what comes next.

Today on Cross Border Interviews, we have the pleasure to chat with the township of Sequin mayor, Anne McDermott.

Now, our conversation was filmed at the 2026 Fall District of Parry Sound Municipal Association Summit, where we talked about leadership, the challenges facing Sequin Township, and the opportunities that could shape its future.

What does it mean to lead a community with both deep roots and a changing future? We put that question, and a few more, to Mayor McDermott.

I'm Christopher Brown, and this is Cross Border Interviews.

[laughs]

No, not royalty, but a sense that this is the best place in Canada to live, and it was, it was the best product to sell.

This discussion was recorded live before an audience at the 2026 Fall District of Parry Sound Municipal Association Summit in the township of Carling, Ontario in September.

Joining us were three municipal leaders with perspectives from different municipalities across the district, Seguin Mayor Anne McDermott, Armour Mayor Rod Ward, and Burk's Falls Mayor Chris Hope.

We asked them to look back on where their municipality stood four years ago, and to look ahead at where they may be four, 10, even 20 years from now.

What will change? What has changed? What pressures are likely still to last four years from now or a decade from now? How do smaller municipalities attract housing, workers, and investments while maintaining the services residents depend on today? And perhaps the most important question of all, what will it take to ensure that communities across the District of Parry Sound remain places where people of all generations can live, can work, and can build a future? Those are the questions at the center of this edition of Municipal Affairs.

Uh, previous to that, I had spent about 40 years, uh, in IT work.

Uh, I've had my own business and worked for other organizations, and I am slowly retiring from my day job, as I call it.

Hi, I'm Anne McDermott, and I'm the mayor of Seguin Township, and I've been the mayor for eight years, uh, competing to stick around for another four.

Um, I'm on land, uh, on Little Lake Joseph that my parents purchased in 1947, so I've seen some changes in the community and what is Seguin and Muskoka.