Councillors

Mayor Andrew Poirier is a lifelong resident of Kenora. He has been active in municipal politics on and off for nearly two decades.

During his tenure, Mr. Poirier served as the Chair of the City of Kenora Operations Committee and a board member of the Police Services Board, the Northwestern Health Unit, Kenora Hydro (now Synergy North), and the former Kenora Municipal Telephone System.

Contact Mayor Poirier

You can contact Mayor Poirier by email or give him a call at 807-467-2018 or 807-466-2495. Learn more about Mayor Poirier on our Mayors Office page.

About Mayor Andrew Poirier

When Mr. Poirier was elected Mayor, he held the vice-chair position for the Kenora Police Services Board and was a member of the Kenora District Services Board and the District of Kenora Home for the Aged Board.

Before retiring from the education sector in 2019, Mayor Poirier worked in public administration with four different school boards, the majority working for the Kenora Catholic District School Board. He was also a past director of the Ontario School Boards Insurance Exchange Board.

Mayor Poirier is happily married to his wife, Marj. Together they had an incredible daughter, Chloe, who sadly succumbed to childhood cancer at the age of 16 in June of 2021.

Outside of City Hall, Mayor Poirier is the treasurer of the Kenora Kinsmen Club and helps out with the annual Terry Fox Run, an event close to his heart. He also enjoys golfing, watching hockey, and of course spending time in his pontoon boat on beautiful Lake of the Woods.

Councillor Robert (Bob) Bernie has lived in Kenora for over 38 years. He came to Kenora in 1984 to work at the Kenora Jail, later joining the Kenora Police Service in 2000, and patched over to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in 2009, when the two police forces amalgamated. Councillor Bernie received the OPP Accolade Award as Officer of the Year in 2011 for his role in adopting the Mobilization and Engagement Model of Community Policing into the community. This term will be his first on Council.

Contact Councillor Bernie

You can contact Councillor Bernie by email or give him a call at 807-464-3935.

About Councillor Bernie

Mr. Bernie was born in Fort Frances and later moved to Rainy River and went to high school there. His father worked on the pipeline in Kenora and the surrounding area. When he was young, our family would spend the summer months staying in tourist camps to be with him. Kenora was always the most vibrant and exciting community, and he'll always have fond memories of those days.

Mr. Bernier returned to Kenora in 1985 to work at the Kenora Jail and made it his home. He became a police officer in 2000 when the Kenora Police Service (KPS) hired him. He worked extensively with the public and served as the Community Services Officer with the KPS. The Kenora Police Service amalgamated with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in 2009, and he worked as the Community Mobilization Officer (CMO) from 2010 until he retired from full-time policing in 2020. Until recently, he worked on a casual, part-time policing contract with the OPP post-retirement. He had the unique opportunity as CMO working with community partners on a wide range of projects, including the Kenora Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, the Kenora Substance Abuse and Mental Health Task Force, the Kenora Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, Drug Treatment Court, and the RISK Table (situation table), as well as many other important initiatives. He believes this work has been informative and will enable him to work effectively as a member of council.

Mr. Bernie's wife, Tracey, is from Kenora and has worked as an English teacher for the Kenora Catholic School Board her entire career. They have two children, Emily and Jack. Emily is a speech pathologist at the Thunder Bay Health Sciences Centre and resides in Thunder Bay. Jack is attending school and pursuing an education degree in Kelowna, BC. He is also playing collegiate hockey there. 

He says Kenora has been very good to him and his family. He considers it "the jewel of lake of the woods". He is committed to helping this community achieve its full potential. 

Councillor Graham Chaze is a business owner. He was appointed to Council in 2021 to fill a vacancy, then elected to serve the current term of Council. He served on the former Lake of the Woods Development Commission and the Kenora Planning Advisory Committee.

Contact Councillor Chaze

You can contact Councillor Chaze by email or give him a call at 807-407-5253.

This term will be Councillor Lindsay Koch's first on Council.

Contact Councillor Koch

You can contact Councillor Koch by email or give her a call at 807-464-4419.

About Councillor Koch

Mrs. Koch's family moved from Alberta to Minaki, and then to Kenora in 1993. She spent most of her youth in Kenora, returning in 2009 after attending the University of Winnipeg. She and her husband are raising their son alongside their families and close friends who chose to remain in Kenora like them.

Councillor Lisa Moncrief has lived, worked and volunteered in the Kenora area all of her life. She is currently on the Board of the Lake of the Woods Concert Series and Common Ground: A Sharing of Our Stories. This term will be her first on Council.

Contact Councillor Moncrief

You can contact Councillor Moncrief by email or give her a call at 807-464-5740.

About Councillor Moncrief

Mrs. Moncrief is a wife of 41 plus years and the mother of two fine adult children who, after leaving Kenora for post-secondary education and traveling, have both chosen to return and raise their children in Kenora.

Councillor Kelsie Van Belleghem is a Member Advisor at Copperfin Credit Union, volunteer Treasurer for the Women’s Shelter, Saakate House, parent to Daphne and Roger, and wife of Ben Van Belleghem. She has been a permanent resident since 2017, and a seasonal resident since the day she was born, spending time at family properties in Clearwater Bay and Sioux Narrows growing up. This term will be his first on Council. 

Contact Councillor Van Belleghem

You can contact Councillor Van Belleghem by email or give her a call at 807-464-4806.

About Councillor Van Belleghem

Mrs. Van Belleghem was born, and (mostly) raised in Kimberley BC, went to school in Winnipeg, MB where she also worked as the Merchandiser and Buyer for St. Charles Country Club for five years, she then moved to Oakville, Ontario in 2012 where she worked as the Merchandiser and Buyer for Toronto Golf Club, and finished her career in southern Ontario as a Merchandiser for Holt Renfrew where she assisted the team in setting up their new location at Square One, and the new Men’s Department in Vancouver. A fateful summer visit to the cottage in 2017 led to her meeting her now husband Ben, and since then she has forced her way into this community through volunteering, extra-curriculars and family connections. Raising her family here, and having had a variety of experiences in many cities across Canada, she knows this community has such a wealth of resources, and attraction, and that being a part of this council, she hopes to help further foster the growth of a sustainable, inclusive community.

Contact Councillor Goss

You can contact Councillor Goss by email or give him a call at 807-466-1626.