Caledon Votes 2026: Meet Your Council Candidates: Carmela Palkowski, Ward 6

September 10, 2026 · 0 Comments

By KATHRYN FRASER

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Carmela Palkowski is stepping up to provide a voice for her community as she runs for Councillor of Ward 6 in the upcoming 2026 election.

Throughout her time in Caledon, Palkowski has been very involved in the community, most recently as Director of the Caledon Community Road Safety Association (CCRSA) and part of the Caledon Chamber of Commerce. She says she feels running for Council is the next step for advocacy.

She says she believes that Ward 6 needs a Councillor who listens, acts and delivers, and that she can be the person Ward 6 needs.

“If I get elected, I’ll be the strongest voice at that table. We have some really major changes happening in Bolton right now, and we need some strong voices to make sure that the residents get what they need, and they’re getting heard,” says Palkowski.

Palkowski is focused on representing Ward 6 and working towards advocating and supporting the community by focusing on her four main priorities which are being community focused, fiscally responsible, transparent, and making sure every resident feels secure and supported.

Through her hard work and experience with the CCRSA, Palkowski says she understands first-hand the importance of road safety, and that is one of the key issues she is hoping to address.

“Everybody is worried about this right now, because we are a freight town. We’ve become a freight town, and we are dealing with an increased influx of residents, and that means more cars on the road, where we already have a problem with trucks on the road. That would be a major thing that I would make sure that stays on the table… and also illegal truckyards,” says Palkowski. “That’s a huge problem in the Bolton, especially of Highway 50. We continue to advocate. I’m still on the CCRSA, so that is something I’m doing well. I’m going through an election, I am still advocating for the residents, for an improvement of Highway 50.

“We need to work with the other municipalities to make sure that these improvements are made.”

Palkowski’s other main road safety priorities include ensuring new legislation can be implemented regarding illegal truck yards and land use, advocating for a more visible MTO presence, and prioritizing road repair and resurfacing on deteriorated streets in Ward 6.

In addition to road safety, Palkowski also wants to support businesses, local programs and local organizations and make sure that they thrive and continue to for many years.

“We need to make sure that our local businesses thrive, and continue to thrive, in this Town. I’ll definitely work with supporting local programs, local organizations and not-for-profits, just making sure that they can continue to thrive, because it’s really hard in this economy for them to thrive when nobody’s donating to them,” says Palkowski. “That’s something that we need to keep letting residents know that these organizations exist, and they do so much for the community, and they need to thrive.”

As she hopes to stand up for others, Palkowski is focused on staying transparent, honest, and accountable every step of the way and giving opportunities for residents to communicate with her to raise concerns and ask questions.

Strong communication between the Town of Caledon, OPP, residents and other areas of government is very important to Palkowski as she hopes to be able to use the connections and work together to make change.

As the election continues to approach, Palkowski says she wants members of the community to put their trust in her to speak up and advocate for Ward 6.

“Don’t give up. I hear a lot of times, ‘It’s a waste of time.’ I’ve heard it many times. People saying, ‘I’m just going to move,’ because they’re frustrated. I really am trying to push everybody to say, you know what, these next four years are huge. It’s a make or break. That’s what I keep on saying. It’s a make or break for the Town of Caledon, the next four years,” she says.

“We need to ensure that there are vocal people at that table to advocate for the good of this Town,” says Palkowski. “[This is] a fantastic community of amazing people, and people are giving up. I would say to voters right now, don’t give up. This is the right time to step up and vote and vote for vocal people and people who will speak up for their needs.”