The Independent

9:02 pm – Oct. 26, 2026

Petrolia has elected three incumbents and three fresh faces to sit around the council table in the next four years.

Bill Clark, Chad Hyatt and Liz Welsh have been returned to office.

Joining them will be Ethan Brown, Miranda Cole and Greg Nemcek.

Returning councillor Liz Welsh topped the polls.

Mayor elect Joel Field was acclaimed.

The Town of Petrolia reported 38.98 per cent voter turnout.

8 pm – Oct. 26, 2026

The polls have now closed and the 12 candidates for Petrolia Council are gathering at the municipal building to see who will represent the over 6,000 residents of the town.

Deputy Mayor Joel Field has been acclaimed as the next mayor of Petrolia. The incumbent, Brad Loosley, retired after two terms.

Three incumbent councillors are seeking re-election, Bill Clark, Chad Hyatt and Liz Welsh. Councillor Debb Pitel is seeking office in Dawn-Euphemia, where she lives. Ross O’Hara, a long-time councillor and former mayor, did not seek re-election.

Among the nine people seeking office, only one has served on Petrolia Council before, Marty Souch. Richard Poore, a former administrator with the town, is also seeking a councillor’s chair. He ran in the 2022 election for mayor.

The rest of the candidates, Ethan Brown, Miranda Cole, John McDonald, Greg Nemcek, Nicole Ramsay, Paul Stilwell and Dawn Stilwell are seeking office for the first time.

The town is using electronic voting, so results are expected before 9 pm.