Hello Ward 6 Neighbours!
My name is Stephanie Marentette and I am running for the privilege of serving as your next Ward 6 London City Councillor.
I own a home in the heart of Old North, which I share with my Great Dane, Briz. You may have seen us on our daily walks in our lovely neighbourhood. I am looking forward to meeting with you in person in the coming weeks to hear from you as to your views, opinions and concerns about our Ward and our City and to discuss our priorities for moving London forward.
By way of background, I was born and raised in Essex County. After high school, I attended the University of Ottawa’s Honours Co-op Bachelor of Social Science in International Development and Globalization program. My co-op work terms in the program included placements at the Canadian International Development Agency, Environment Canada and the federal Ministry of Public Safety. Following my graduation, I worked as a legislative assistant to the federal Minister of State for Finance until moving to London in September 2011 to attend Western Law School. My time in Ottawa, which included a further summer placement during law school as special assistant to the Government House Leader, gave me a first class opportunity to learn how government works, both up front and behind the scenes, where I saw the the importance of relationship- and consensus-building across party lines as the key to getting the business of government done.
During my time at Western Law, I came to know and love London as a great place to make my permanent home, with its diverse economy and culture, caring and close-knit neighbourhoods, vibrant arts and entertainment, natural beauty and great recreational opportunities. Where else in Ontario can you drive from a major downtown city centre to a great ski hill in under 30 minutes?
Following graduation, I articled locally at a leading London law firm, was called to the bar in 2015 at the London Convention Centre, and have practiced civil litigation, primarily in property and construction law, in our community for the past 11 years.
Alongside my legal practice, I have served as a post-secondary instructor for various colleges including Fanshawe and Western. This past year, I taught the clinic course at Western Law School and also served as review counsel for student caseworkers assisting low-income London residents with civil matters, including Landlord and Tenant and small claims matters. I am a tutor for licensing candidates who have failed their bar exams through the Law Society of Ontario and have been involved as a mentor and assessor for the Law Practice Program at Toronto Metropolitan University since 2019. This past July, I completed my two-year appointment as a panel member for the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, where I served as a jurisdictional review adjudicator and mediator.
Community Involvement
I am a firm believer that citizen involvement and volunteerism are the key to building strong and safe communities. As part of my commitment to our community, I have served on the Boards of the London Chamber of Commerce (also as a Government Relations Policy Committee Member), London Middlesex Community Housing, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and as Board member and Chair of the London Transit Commission. Most recently, I am delighted to have the opportunity to serve on the Boards of a community housing provider and two children’s charities. I have also been active in fundraising events for a number of great London charities, including the Ronald McDonald House Red Shoe Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters London, and Anova Women’s Shelter. In 2025, I was honoured to be named as one of London Inc. Magazine’s Top 20 Under 40 and also regularly participate in charity fundraising 5k runs, as I am an avid runner.
Why I’m Running
I am running because I believe that London is a great place to work, play, go to school and live in. It breaks my heart to regularly see clickbait articles listing London among Canada’s most dangerous cities or cities with significant drug and housing issues. London has so much to offer and I want to be a part of the positive effort to address these concerns and return London to the vibrant, hopeful and dynamic city I know that it can be.
London faces large, highly complex issues that we cannot afford to kick down the road or wait for another level of government to save us. The time to act is now, and we need to work towards solutions to these complex problems with the resources we have at the municipal level. The municipality has no control over inflation, gas prices or international conflicts, but when things get tough, we feel it the most at local level. More people rely on food banks due to skyrocketing food prices, people get rid of their vehicles and increasingly rely on bike lanes and public transit due to hyperinflation of fuel prices, people lose their homes and require the stable, affordable housing, people increasingly rely on public spaces for low- and no-cost leisure activities because organized sports and other activities are out of reach. These are things directly within our control and we must do better.
London has also experienced significant population growth the past decade, and public services and infrastructure have not kept pace. As a result, there is a housing supply issue and affordability crisis, our transit system that has been chronically underfunded has not been able to keep up and efficiently move people round the city, it is very difficult to have a work order fulfilled for safety issues such as large dead trees at risk of falling, and traffic is out of control. It is essential that we work collectively with local developers, city staff and community stakeholders to address these issues to ensure that infrastructure and public services keep pace with demand.
I am running because I believe that talking about and identifying issues is only half the battle. I do not want to stop at being a part of the conversation. I want to be a part of the solution. I have spent my entire career as an advocate and I would like to put those skills to work for our community.
My Pledge to you
My pledge to you if you choose me to represent ward 6 is to treat this role like it is my legal career. I will be accessible as often as you need me, I will communicate with you in a timely manner, and I will commit fully to advancing and resolving your concerns to the greatest of my ability. I will attend all meetings fully prepared and will advocate for you as I would any of my clients. I will put my mediation and negotiation skills to work to build strong, productive relationships with other members of council as well as the business community and community stakeholders to foster an environment of collaboration and respect to advance important initiatives. In short, I will work just as hard for you as I would any other client because ward 6 deserves a committed, experienced and passionate advocate to help our community grow into the vibrant, diverse home I know it can be.
Stephanie Marentette for Ward 6 