After three terms, North Bay Mayor Al McDonald ready to say goodbye

After three terms as North Bay's mayor, Al McDonald tells CTV News he's proud of what has been accomplished during his time serving the citizens of North Bay.

"We had the lowest COVID per capita in the country, which shows our commitment to keeping our citizens safe,” McDonald said when asked what accomplishments he’s most proud of.

“Bringing OHL hockey back to our city after almost 20 years without it, we were named one of the top 20 places in Canada to invest and ranked second on where to buy real estate … It's also the record construction, and job creation in our community, those are the things that I take great pride in.”

There's also something McDonald wished his current and previous councils could have made more progress on.

"I think the homeless and mental health addictions that all cities are struggling with, is something that we worked on," he said.

"But, it's not a municipal issue, it really needs society to take a role … I just wish we could've moved that a little bit further."

Peter Chirico, the city's new mayor, and a new group of city councillors will be sworn in next Tuesday. McDonald said they have what it takes to continue to grow North Bay.

"I have the greatest respect and hope for Mayor Chirico and his new council," he said.

"We need to continue to grow, that's what I would really stress so that people will invest in our community. That's really, really important if we want to keep our children and grandchildren here long term."

As for McDonald, stepping away from municipal politics doesn't mean he's retiring.

He said he plans on working in different fields for quite some time still.