24 years in Trent Hills
Not a new arrival and not just a name on a sign. Steven and his wife have raised their family here, shopped here and volunteered here for 24 years.
Act Local, Think People
Government That Serves. Solutions That Work.
Steven Haylestrom for Mayor of Trent Hills
It is time for leadership that tackles our major concerns head-on. No more excuses. Just execution.
- 24 years
- In Trent Hills
- Project Delivery Specialist
- on time and on budget
- Local business founder
- taught digital skills to residents, seniors and small businesses
Steven Haylestrom
Candidate for Mayor of Trent Hills
Warkworth, Trent Hills
24 years in Trent HillsProject Delivery Specialist - on time and on budget
Steven and his wife have raised their family in Trent Hills for 24 years. Not a new arrival and not just a name on a sign - they have shopped here and volunteered here for two decades. In his early years he served on two Municipality of Trent Hills advisory committees, which means first-hand knowledge of how agendas, staff reports and budgets actually work in a municipality.
His working career is listening to the challenges, finding the solutions, then delivering projects on time and on budget. In the early years he also started a local business teaching computer and digital skills to local residents, seniors and small business owners right here in Trent Hills.
CEO of The Modular Solution.com, founder of Housing At High Speed.com and It Takes a Village.ca. Plan first, then implement - define the outcome, publish the plan, deliver it fast.
Tell Steven what to act on first
Residents set the priorities. Share the issue you want addressed in your community.
Share Your VoiceImmediate action
Three things Trent Hills should act on now
Reliable Cell Service
Treat connectivity as critical safety and economic infrastructure.
Read morePurpose-Driven Housing
Support ADUs, intergenerational living, and homes that can generate income.
Read moreA Real Transportation System
Create dependable connections within Trent Hills and to Peterborough.
Read more
Reality check
The Challenge of Government and the Reality of Trent Hills
Four issues residents raise constantly. For each one: the problem as people actually experience it, the practical first steps a Mayor can lead, and the accountability residents should expect.
The problem
Residents see road work that does not appear to follow a clear, published priority list, while roads they use every day wait their turn. Coordination between projects is hard to follow from the outside.
Steven's solution
- Publish a plain-language road priority list with the reason each road is ranked where it is
- Coordinate road work with water, wastewater and utility work so the same stretch is not opened twice
- Ask for value-for-money reporting on major road contracts before the next phase is approved
Accountability outcome: every resident can look up why a road was chosen, what it cost, and what comes next.
The housing we actually need
Smart Housing, Not Just More People
Growth should deliver the kinds of homes Trent Hills residents actually need. That is not the same thing as more conventional suburban subdivisions. The goal is financially accessible housing that fits our villages, our concessions and the households already here.
It is also important to be straight about jurisdiction. A municipality controls process, planning rules and advocacy. Funding programs and much of the money sit with other governments. This campaign commits to the parts Trent Hills genuinely controls, and to pushing hard on the rest.
Faster, predictable permitting
Clear timelines and consistent answers for housing that serves a real local need, so residents and small builders are not left guessing.
Accessory Dwelling Units
ADUs let families keep a parent, an adult child or a caregiver close by without leaving the community they already belong to.
Homes that can generate income
A legal second unit can help a household carry a mortgage or a fixed income, and it adds a rental option in a place that has very few.
Right-sized options
Homes that fit seniors who want to downsize in place, young adults starting out, working families, and people who simply want to stay here.
Intergenerational living is the quiet housing solution nobody is funding. Families here are already trying to do it. Municipal rules should help them, not slow them down.
Interactive concept
Connecting Our Community: The Peterborough Route
A modern municipality should do two things well: move people reliably, and listen continuously. This prototype shows what both could look like for Trent Hills, from a scheduled shuttle linking our communities to Peterborough, to a simple way for residents to report an issue or share an idea.
A dependable route matters most to the people with the fewest options: younger residents without a car, seniors travelling for healthcare, and anyone commuting for work, education or family.
Campaign Concept Prototype - not a live booking or municipal reporting service. All routes, times and statuses shown are illustrative and would require feasibility work, partnerships, costing and public consultation.
Community Priorities
One municipality, four distinct communities
Trent Hills works best when each community keeps its own identity and still shares in the same level of service. Pick a community to see what I am committing to there.
Warkworth
Culture & Arts Core
Home for 24 years. Warkworth carries our arts, festivals and main street character, and it needs steady support so volunteers are not carrying the whole load.
- Protect and promote the arts, studio tour and festival economy
- Main street accessibility and streetscape upkeep
- Reliable broadband so home based businesses can compete
- Practical seniors housing choices close to the village core
Community Priorities
The Trent Hills we are working for
Photos from around the municipality - our villages, our waterways and the concession roads in between.
Warkworth in the fall
Community day in Warkworth park
Canada Day fireworks, Hastings
The back concessions
Sunset over the concessions
About Steven Haylestrom
A Record of Delivery
Steven Haylestrom is running for Mayor of Trent Hills because the municipality does not have a shortage of good intentions. It has a shortage of finished work. His career has been spent turning plans into completed buildings, and that is the discipline he wants applied at the Council table.
Two Trent Hills advisory committees
In his early years in Trent Hills Steven served on two Municipality of Trent Hills advisory committees, which means first-hand knowledge of how agendas, staff reports and budgets actually work in a municipality.
Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Award, NOD Apiary, Stirling
Research and product work with NOD Apiary Products, a family-run manufacturer just up the road in Stirling, supported their Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Award. Local employer, Ontario-made product, global customers.
Modular and offsite project execution
A working career - listening to the challenges finding the solutions then delivering projects on time and on budget.
Teaching digital skills locally
In the early years started a local business teaching computer and digital skills to local residents, seniors and small business owners right here in Trent Hills.
CEO, founder, Solutions Provider
CEO of The Modular Solution.com, Founder of Housing At High Speed.com and It Takes a Village.ca. Plan first, then implement - define the outcome, publish the plan, deliver it - fast.
Who this is for
What This Means for You
Trent Hills is not one audience. Each card shows the commitments that affect that group most directly - and what I will do about them.
Seniors
Staying in Trent Hills, safely and affordably.
- Aging-in-place housing options and accessory dwelling units
- Getting to appointments without owning a car
- Digital access and help using it
Young Families
Homes, childcare and roads that work for a working household.
- Right-sized, financially accessible housing
- Childcare and recreation access
- Safe rural roads and school routes
Youth, Young Adults and Students
A reason to stay, and a way to get there.
- Connectivity for school and remote work
- Scheduled route to Peterborough for education and jobs
- Rental options that actually exist here
Working Residents and Commuters
Time back, and infrastructure that holds up.
- Road and bridge delivery on a published schedule
- Cell coverage on the commute
- Transit and mobility options
Farmers and Rural Landowners
Protect the land base, service the concessions.
- Prime farmland protection
- Rural road shoulders, sightlines and winter maintenance
- 100% broadband coverage including back roads
Small Business and Main Street
Occupied storefronts and predictable approvals.
- Practical CIP support for main street
- Faster, clearer municipal approvals
- Local supply chains and agri-food processing
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Want to know what this campaign is really about? Start here.
Because he has spent 24 years here and a career finishing complex projects, and he keeps watching good intentions in Trent Hills stall before anything gets built. Roads and bridges wait, cell service still drops, water and wastewater capacity limits what can be built, and housing does not match what residents can actually carry. Steven is running for Mayor of Trent Hills in 2026 to apply the same discipline he uses professionally: define the outcome, publish the plan with real dates and costs, then deliver it and report against it in public. He is not doing this for a title. He is doing it because his family lives here, his neighbours deserve verifiable results, and he already knows how to get work over the finish line.
A government that listens
Share Your Voice
Government is here to serve the people, to do what is best for the community, and to deliver what residents want to see. We need regular discussion and direct input, not just once every four years.
- Your endorsement statement may be used in campaign material with your permission.
- Volunteers get a real task, not a mailing list.
- A coffee meeting can be four neighbours at your kitchen table.