Thank you to Mayor Frank Campion

Friday 25 September 2026, in front of Welland city hall, the green and white flag went up as it does every year. That morning carried something extra: it was also Mayor Frank Campion’s farewell.

Twelve years as mayor, thirty-five years serving the city

Frank Campion has been mayor of Welland since 2014. Before that, he sat on city council from 1991. He is not running in the 26 October election.

That adds up to a great many council meetings, ribbons cut, late evenings, and a great many hands shaken on this public square.

What SOFIFRAN will remember

A municipality is under no obligation to make room for its francophones. Nothing requires it. It can do the bare minimum, raise a flag once a year and move on.

That is not what happened in Welland. The Franco-Ontarian flag goes up in front of city hall, the mayor is there, he speaks, and he stays afterwards to talk with people. The women and families SOFIFRAN supports found an open door in this city, and that is also down to the people who hold it open.

For newcomers, a morning like this says something simple and strong: you belong here, and your language has its place on the public square.

Thank you

Thank you, Mr Mayor, for these years alongside Welland’s Francophonie. Thank you for showing up, year after year, and for making the Francophonie the whole city’s business rather than one community’s.

We wish you well in what comes next, and we will keep building what you helped make possible.

Your voice, our strength, our future.