Lisa Kearns - From Community Builder to City Councillor in Burlington

I was sitting at a table at Workwell Spaces in Burlington, half-finishing emails and half-watching the door, when Councillor Lisa Kearns walked in. The co-working space hummed quietly around me with keyboards tapping, coffee cups shifting, the low murmur of people immersed in their own workdays.

Lisa Kearns is the councillor for Ward 2 in the City of Burlington, which encompasses the downtown area. In preparing for our conversation, I had found surprisingly little about Lisa the woman. Beyond her title and public-facing work, there wasn’t much written about her story or the experiences that shaped her. That absence triggered curiosity in me.

Lisa was born and raised in Hamilton, in a working-class household shaped by discipline and community awareness.

“I come from a working-class family. My dad was a steel worker and my mom was a postal worker, so both unionized environments," Lisa said. "That was a really interesting perspective to grow up with being aware about the labour movement."

Also, Lisa is the eldest of three children, “I have a brother and a sister. And I’m an oldest child and there is a Taylor Swift song for that,” Lisa shared.

From a young age, Lisa was deeply independent. The kind of child who gravitated toward books, libraries, and questions bigger than her immediate surroundings.

“I was the first in my family to go to university, I paid my way through. My parents helped out where they could, but I pretty much funded it,” Lisa said. “I was pretty independent from a young age.”

That independence was driven by curiosity. “I read a lot. Even as a kid, I would find myself in libraries, walking myself to summer book club, at grade four type of an age. I always just had that interest in learning about the world a little bit more broadly,” Lisa shared.

When it came time to choose a path after high school, Lisa didn’t follow a grand political calling. Instead, she followed what she was naturally good at, and what made her curious.

“I was always interested in civic change and learning a little bit more about how the world works,” Lisa said. “Growing up in your hometown you have one view of the world.”

Travel wasn’t a defining part of her childhood, but exposure to different people, ideas, and motivations, became transformative. “Once you have a chance to go away, you learn a little bit more about what drives other people, what makes them sensitive, what they're interested in, and what their motivations are," Lisa said.

Lisa attended Western University in London where she studied political science, but with one foot firmly planted in practicality.

“I always had my best marks in poli sci, and that was always underscored with an interest in business,” Lisa said.

That duality, values and execution, vision and systems, would define her career.

After university, Lisa didn’t step into politics. She stepped into industry. Her first job was at Stelco, in Hamilton, during a period of instability and restructuring.

“I ended up getting an entry level job in accounts payable,” Lisa said. “It was a really good first learning experience coming out of school.”

Opportunity came quickly. “I quickly found an interest in procurement and moved into that department, kind of at breakneck speed.” The environment was intense, fast-moving, and formative. “This was all during the time that Stelco was going through CCAA, so bankruptcy protection. It was a really dynamic environment to work in, for my first career experience.”

From there, her career unfolded through a mix of chance and capability. A conversation led to another opportunity. “One of my vendors wives said, ‘I'm looking for someone good, I need to hire. Do you know anybody?’ And they hired me into a group purchasing organization that was based out of Mississauga, and I was on site in Toronto.”

At the same time, her personal life was taking shape alongside her professional one. She met her husband during her final year of university.

“We met at around 2003 in the last year of university, through mutual friends. Now we've been married for 15 years this past September.” They married in 2010.

“We had a wonderful wedding, and we got married at St. Patrick’s church in Toronto; which is special for our Irish background; and had the reception at One King West Hotel,” Lisa said.

Together, they would go on to raise two children; a boy and a girl, ages 14 and 12.

As careers evolved and family life expanded, the question of where to build that life became important. Downtown Burlington was the dream. “My husband's family is based in Mississauga and my family is based in Hamilton and Stoney Creek. And when we were getting ready to start our family and move on to the next chapter, we always knew that Downtown Burlington was the place where we wanted to set our roots.”

Her attachment to walkability and community came from lived experience. “Living in London, when attending Western; and having the experience of a walkable city, of having a grocery store, a farmer's market, entertainment, restaurants, and community activities within walking distance… that became very important to me.”

Finding their home took time and patience. “It took us 10 months of looking every single day, and then finally we found our house.”

Before politics entered the picture, Lisa continued building her career across different sectors in healthcare, advertising, and corporate leadership. But eventually, something shifted. “We were going through the 2008 economic downturn. I found myself going back into a desire to be more community-minded.”

That desire didn’t immediately translate into elected office. It translated into education and accessibility.

“We were starting a bit of a community group called Engaged Citizens of Burlington, so that people could understand more about what changes were happening in Burlington around the official plan and development changes," Lisa said.

Her motivation was to help bring clarity between the citizens and elected officials.

“It was basically breaking down the way that politicians speak in political talk, and turning that into something digestible, understandable, and actionable for the community,” Lisa said. “So that they would actually have their voice heard.”

The move into municipal politics wasn’t self-initiated. It was encouraged repeatedly by others. “The community had asked me to run.” At first, she resisted. “I said for a long time, ‘No thank you. I am very happy in my career.’”

But encouragement has a way of accumulating. “People encouraged me to run, and they say that it takes a woman over 100 times to be asked to put their name forward for an elected position before they even consider it. I probably met that stat for sure.”

Lisa ran for city councillor for Ward 2 in the 2018 municipal elections, where there were six candidates going for an open seat. And then again, in the 2022 municipal elections she came back for re-election, and that was with three potential candidates for the Ward.

“I believe I came back strong with 72% of the vote in that last election,” Lisa said. “The next municipal election is this fall in October.”   

The area covered by Ward 2, as explained by Lisa is, “Downtown Burlington. I say it goes from the Lake to the highway. And if you've gone to either mall, you've gone too far.”

For Lisa, winning isn’t the point. “It's just to continue that commitment to a high quality of life for people who call Burlington home.”

That commitment shows up in systems, infrastructure, and quiet improvements.

“There are so many different places to make a difference, like placemaking and community events,” Lisa said. “We've done an amazing job of getting an urban farm in Downtown Burlington that delivered 1000’s of pounds of local organic, nutrient-dense food to people in our community experiencing food insecurity through the food bank.”

What sustains her, is impact; often unseen.

“Being that invisible source of comfort inspires me to just make sure that things get done in a way that meets and exceeds people's expectations,” Lisa said. “Oftentimes, the councillor’s office becomes a place of last resort. People don't generally want to know or reach out to elected officials at the local level. But people expect the parks to be beautiful, and the trash to be picked up and emptied, and the water to run and be safe.”

Right now, Burlington is working on Horizon 2050, a long-term vision meant to guide the city’s growth and evolution over the next 25 years.

“We are developing the Horizon 2050, which is going to outline our priorities for growth and development, the environment, economic development, and all the things that make our community a great place to call home,” Lisa said.

“There are some big projects that I’m frustrated still aren’t complete,” Lisa continued. “The downtown parking needs to be completed. We often hear that there are amenities that need to be expanded, like ice rinks in our community. We’ve seen a lot of private investment in pickleball. But we definitely need to see more ice rinks. We're always hearing that the ice time is difficult to attain.”

Lisa is also focused on expanding community events beyond Spencer Smith Park, supporting the infrastructure needed for other parks to host inclusive, community-led gatherings that bring people together.

“I think that we've done a really good job at developing a business plan, which sets short-term goals outside of the broader-term vision,” Lisa said. “I’m not overly proud of our budget. I think we need to do a stronger focus on value-for-money with every single tax dollar. And maybe that's the procurement person in me speaking.”

Lisa is also candid about where the city still has work to do, particularly when it comes to how residents are invited into the process.

“We need to get a little bit better on transparency. We've seen a huge decline in public engagement,” Lisa said. “We're seeing that only 20% of people from our initial community survey responses are engaging with the city, and generally it's just by attending Open House meetings or online surveys. That is something we can do a better job at.”

Aside from politics, Lisa likes to be involved in helping bring exciting events to the city. One she was heavily a part of, behind-the-scenes, was the Burlington Christmas Market that happened this past December. Another is the upcoming Nashville Takeover music event happening in June.

“We are having a big country music event, The Nashville Takeover, coming to some places in Burlington and Downtown. I’m super behind-the-scenes, but I’m part of helping bring that to our community,” Lisa said. “The organizer, Scotty James, started off in Downtown Burlington at Hagar and Olga doing front lawn concerts during COVID. The community was so encouraging and welcoming; now he’s broadening five years later, with the Backyard Music Co.’s The Nashville Takeover event.”

Outside of work, Lisa loves reading. “I had a book club this winter, which I was very excited about.” She loves fiction, autobiographies, and being close to literary spaces. “I love being on the on the library board, because I get to have that closeness to literary resources.”

Lisa also loves supporting different businesses downtown, including some of her favourite restaurants. “I love Radius. I love what they're doing. I love their community mind. I love their chickpea salad and their brunch,” Lisa said. “I love all of the Pearle group; Bardo, Isabelle, and Spencer’s.”

As Burlington looks ahead to its next chapter with the municipal elections this Fall, Lisa’s story feels far from finished, with more still to be written. ||

PS. The Little Things

1. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Stretch.

2. What is your favorite thing to wear? Hoodies and comfy clothes.

3. If you could pick one word to describe you what would it be? Nice. 4. What’s one beauty tip you would pass on? Collagen face masks.

5. Everyday is better with: Coffee.