Five questions with Krista LeClair, candidate for Leeds and the Thousand Islands council in 2026 municipal election

Editor’s note: To help voters to be better informed, Brockvilleist will be asking the same five questions of all council candidates in advance of the municipal election, which will be held on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Questions were sent to all candidates in September. We will publish their responses as we receive them. Below are the responses from candidate Krista LeClair, who is running for a council position for Leeds and the Thousand Islands.

1. Tell us a little bit about your professional background, including any prior municipal or other political participation, as well as about you, personally. What made you want to run for council?

I’m Krista, running to be Ward 3 Councillor. My family and I moved to this community in 2007, and we absolutely love all it has to offer. I’m running for election because I’m passionate about this beautiful place, and I feel I have a unique skill set to support good governance at the municipal level. And, I do reside in Ward 3. 

I have an MBA in Community Economic Development with a focus on Strategic Leadership. For my day job, I’m the CEO of Kingston Accommodation Partners, which is an advocacy organization focusing on community development. Through this work, I have a lot of experience with Boards and proper Governance, policy work, and advocacy at all 3 levels of government. I also have experience successfully managing multi-million-dollar budgets. Prior to this, I managed the Eastern Ontario region for the charity, Easter Seals, so fiscal management is top of mind for me.  

I’ve also been teaching at St Lawrence College since 2011 across many different business programs. 

My circle would describe me as teammate, coach, teacher, advocate, community builder, friend, partner, and most importantly, mom. 

I’ve been honoured and humbled to serve on Council these past several months. I’ve taken the opportunity to observe, learn, familiarize myself with all of the history behind the decisions being made, and to build relationships. I feel strongly that respectful debate and good relationships are important to moving good policy forward. 

2. How would you describe your personal political ideology and/or affiliation?

In my professional world, as an advocate, it’s important that I work across the aisle and have experience working with all political stripes, coming together to focus on the issues and find solutions. 

3. What are the three most common issues voters bring up to you as you campaign?

I’ve been speaking with many people across Ward 3, and I’m hearing consistent themes around the need for transparency and responsible growth, informed decisions, and collaboration. A key theme across each of these pillars is communication. 

4. What three issues are most pressing/important to address locally in your opinion?

I know we can do better as a municipality with meaningful consultation, sharing research and data that inform tough choices, and reporting back on outcomes and decisions made. It’s also a priority of mine, if elected, to introduce a new motion that creates a public engagement policy leading into each fiscal year and budget season. It’s important that Council and staff are receiving feedback from constituents during budget time. This can also serve as a great education tool for the public. 

I’ve also heard concerns about roads and ditching, which need to be kept a priority as work plans unfold, including thoughtful considerations about heritage for Front Street, to name just one. 

5. What do you feel sets you apart from other candidates?

In response to this question, LeClair said she felt she already answered this in her responses above.