political odd couple? fred francis appoints brian masse as his mayoral campaign manager
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brian masse, left, and fred francis are shown at windsor city hall on thursday, august 6, 2026. francis has chosen masse as his campaign manager for his mayoral bid.
dan janisse
it seems like an unlikely alliance.
windsor mayoral candidate fred francis, a long-term city councillor with a seemingly conservative track record, has made former ndp member of parliament brian masse his campaign manager.
“that’s not the first time i’ve heard that,” said francis. “it just goes to show the type of campaign i want to run, and if successful the type of mayor i want to be. everyone is welcome regardless of political stripes, regardless of ideology, regardless of what ward you live in, regardless of anything. i want to have a big tent that’s diverse and inclusive of everyone.”
francis, who has represented ward 1 for 12 years, announced his plan last week to run for mayor in the oct. 26 municipal election. kat pasquach and benjamin danyluk have also entered the race.
incumbent drew dilkens, who has been mayor since 2014 and handily won re-election every term since, has yet to announce his intentions. but he has hinted that he intends to run.
“does it look like i’m taking my foot off the gas or not really interested in this? it probably doesn’t look that way,” dilkens recently told reporters in response to a question from the star about his intentions.
francis announced thursday that masse, a former ward 2 councillor and an ndp member of parliament in windsor west for 23 years, is his new campaign manager.
brian masse, left, and fred francis are shown at windsor city hall on thursday, august 6, 2026. francis has chosen masse as his campaign manager for his mayoral bid.
dan janisse
the two have known each other for about 27 years. they also recently worked together at the multicultural council of windsor and essex county, where francis is the executive director.
after masse departed federal politics with a 2025 election loss, he joined the council as an employment services specialist. he left that position in june after a planned one-year stint.
masse acknowledged his team-up with francis could seem strange. but citing several former saskatchewan ndp leaders whose footsteps he followed, masse said it’s not a huge reach.
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“it might seem that way on the surface, and that’s fair,” he said. “but the reality is i come from the ndp stock of tommy douglas, where you basically balanced the books, cleaned up corruption and brought in social programs with the surpluses. that fiscal kind of conservatism — the roy romanows, the lorne calverts and even the howard pawleys — was part of my background.”
francis said he has been called conservative.
“i’ve never been a part of any political party,” he said. “but people thought that i’ve leaned that way before.”
he’s also been called lots of other things. whether he leans left or right depends on the issue, he said.
“definitely when it comes to fiscal matters i think i’d be more centre right, and on social matters i’m more centre left,” said francis. “i’ve always considered myself a moderate. but people have thought i was a liberal. people thought i was conservative. i’ve never been a member of any party. but i’ve supported people from all parties. i always look for who is the most committed and who best represents the interests of the voters, regardless of what party they’re in.”
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