Five questions with Kate Widdifield, Ward 2 – Sidney candidate for Quinte West council in the 2026 municipal election

Editor’s note: To help voters to be better informed, Quinteist will be asking the same five questions of all council candidates in Belleville, Quinte West and Prince Edward County in advance of the municipal election, which will be held on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Questions were sent to all candidates on Sept. 10, 2026. We will publish their responses as we receive them. Below are the responses from Ward 2 – Sidney candidate Kate Widdifield. You can view a roundup of all our Quinte West municipal coverage and links to all completed profiles here.

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 was born and raised in the rural areas outside of Trenton, currently sit on the Quinte West Heritage Advisory Committee, volunteer with the Food For Learning Program at Frankford Public School and have coached a large number of our residents’ children in swimming, many of whom are now area voters as well.

I am a single mom to two young children, and it was important to me that they be raised in the community that I love. I have a BA in history, a post-graduate certificate in human resources, a certificate in law and hold my Certified Human Resources Professional’s designation. I spent a decade working in HR, which has provided me with the ability and passion to consider the perspectives of all stakeholders, identify gaps in processes, identify possible solutions and evaluate those solutions to identify possible pitfalls. My knowledge and understanding of the legal system in Canada and the interpretation and application of both statute and precedent in law-making has provided me the ability to assess the constitutionality of proposed legislative changes, and the ways in which municipal governments can leverage their ability to institute local by-laws in a way that benefits the local residents.

I am running in this election because I would like to utilize my skills and experience to give back to my community; ensure that our next council leads with transparency and accountability in every decision; and to advocate for our residents to ensure their voices are heard in decision making.

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

I am non-partisan. I recognize strengths in some of the ideologies and values from every political party, but each party also has values and ideologies that I disagree with.

My personal ideology is that when we are addressing a concern or making decisions for our community, we should be consulting all those who are impacted by the concern, or have the potential to be impacted by proposed resolutions. In addition, we need to consider how proposed solutions will resolve the issue as well as any new issues that may be created and whether we are able to mitigate those issues. After a decision is made, we need to be accountable to monitoring the effectiveness of our solution to ensure that our initial goal is being met, and be prepared to make adjustments in the event that it is not.

When political leaders double down on ideologies simply to toe the party line, even when the solution implemented is ineffective, no one wins. If Quinte West is to thrive in the face of these very difficult economic times, all decisions need to made carefully and as cost effectively as possible.

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

The three most common issues I hear about in Sidney Ward are affordable housing shortages, road and ditch maintenance and concern over the returns on investment in large infrastructure projects.

When residents talk about affordable housing, they are not always referring to community housing; most of the time they are referring to the cost of purchasing or leasing a home. Nearly half of our area residents are living on a single income, and our municipal government needs to have some accountability in making home ownership possible for our residents who are just starting out, starting over or living on a fixed income for any reason.

We need to look at our road and ditch maintenance plans and assess where the gaps in service are to better serve the rural areas, and we need to be transparent about the cost benefit analyses related to projects that carry a large cost to tax payers.

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

I believe that we need to prioritize the development and availability of affordable homes and rentals to reduce the need for community housing; review our tourism strategy and find ways to build upon the strengths and qualities that make Quinte West unique, including promoting our local businesses and artisans and creating opportunities for networking and partnerships between local producers and local vendors; and we need to prioritize the completion of our Fire Master Plan to ensure that we have efficient, and effectively staffed and supported, emergency services across all four wards.

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

In addition to my commitment to actively listening to the concerns of residents of Quinte West and seeking to find the root cause of issues so that effective, and sustainable solutions can be implemented, which are qualities I share with some of my running mates, my background in human resources and understanding of our Canadian legal system provide me with unique skills and insight into municipal governance. I see the ways in which each member of this community make it unique and beautiful, and how each piece influences our economy and growth interdependently. I understand the ways in which every stakeholder in our community: residents, developers, entrepreneurs, workers with a variety of skills sets, industries, and families contribute to our community, and I can see areas for improvement in the way each of these stakeholders contributes to strengthen our local economy.