The Mayor of Casselman, Geneviève Lajoie, shares her goals for promoting youth engagement, boosting tourism, and addressing the town’s ongoing water quality challenges.

By Jade Laviolette – Local Journalism Initiative

Since her election as mayor of Casselman in November 2022, Geneviève Lajoie has prioritized youth involvement by establishing a community engagement council. Alongside this initiative, she has begun developing infrastructure that would enable Casselman to access water from the Clarence-Rockland treatment plant. Lajoie believes that improving infrastructure and fostering a more engaged community will naturally draw more tourism to the area.

The Power of Community

To highlight the importance of community engagement, Mayor Lajoie recounted an inspiring story of a local boy who navigated through the council process to submit a request for building a skate park in Casselman. “It inspired me, as mayor, to see that I’m in a position where I can empower youth to make meaningful changes in their community,” she said.

Her primary focus is to increase youth participation through the newly formed community engagement council, where young people will be taught the legislative process involved in submitting ideas and requests. The goal is to help them understand the significance of their voices in shaping a better Casselman.

Plans for the Future

Casselman faces two major challenges: water quality and a lack of tourism. “Tourism will come naturally when we work with RTO-9,” Lajoie explained, referencing the Regional Tourism Organization. She also mentioned potential attractions such as mannequin landmarks and the Global Roots Project—a collaboration where towns contribute individually designed tiles that are assembled into a mural.

On the issue of water quality, Mayor Lajoie is optimistic. “We’ve just received confirmation from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Minister Surma. We’ll be meeting with her at the AMO Conference in August in Ottawa to discuss funding and support for connecting Casselman to Clarence-Rockland for our water supply,” she explained.