Meet Dan Caswell
Huntsville has always been home.
Experience matters to me. I just don’t believe that serving on Town Council first is the only experience that prepares someone to be Mayor. Everything I’ve done throughout my life has shaped the way I look at leadership. I’ve built and grown businesses, managed employees and budgets, worked for the Town, served on boards and committees, supported local businesses, coached, volunteered and raised a family here in Huntsville. Each of those experiences has given me a different perspective on how decisions affect people, businesses and the community as a whole. I believe that perspective matters, and it’s what I would bring to the the residents of Huntsville as their Mayor.
Family roots that run deep
Huntsville has been home for almost my entire life. I was born in Toronto, but my dad grew up here, and when I was four years old my family moved back to Huntsville. I grew up here, attending Huntsville Public School, Saint Mary Catholic School, Huntsville High School and Rosseau Lake College before going on to attend Brock University.
This community has been part of nearly every chapter of my life. It is where I grew up, where I built my career and businesses, and where my wife Pam and I chose to raise our family.
Pam grew up here too. She attended V.K. Greer Memorial Public School in Port Sydney and Huntsville High School before graduating from McMaster University with a degree in Political Science. She later worked alongside me in the insurance business before we sold the brokerage in 2022.
Together, we raised our three boys here. William is now 22 and recently completed his training as a commercial helicopter pilot. Nolan is 19 and studying Engineering at Carleton University. Matthew is 15, attends Huntsville High School and is busy with hockey and basketball here in the community.
When I talk about Huntsville’s future, it is personal to me. I have watched this community change throughout my life, and now I am watching my own children begin their adult lives. I want Huntsville to remain a place where families can build a life, where businesses can succeed, and where our kids can see a future for themselves.
Community and Volunteer Involvement
Community involvement has always been a big part of my life.
In 2007, I served on the Second Pad Committee, which looked at the feasibility and need for another sports surface in Huntsville. More recently, I was involved in the Town’s Community Services Master Plan and Waterfront Strategy process in 2023.
Those experiences gave me a better understanding of how community needs, budgets, infrastructure and long-term planning all have to come together before major decisions are made.
I also spent six years, over two terms, serving on the Board of Directors of Muskoka Futures. I was there during an important period of governance and organizational change, and I am proud of the work we did to strengthen the organization and improve the support available to local businesses and entrepreneurs.
That experience gave me an even greater appreciation for the challenges small businesses face and how important access to financing, guidance and local support can be.
I have also been involved with Huntsville Minor Hockey and Huntsville Hawks Lacrosse, and I have coached many teams over the years. For 15 years, I helped organize and run a three-on-three hockey tournament benefiting the Canadian Cancer Society.
Coaching, volunteering, running businesses and serving on committees all have something in common. You work with a lot of different people, and people are not always going to agree.
From Entrepreneur to Business Owner
My business experience started while I was still attending university. From 1992 to 1997, I operated a waterski school at Grandview Resort during the summers. It was my first real experience running a business and learning that when something needs to get done, the responsibility ultimately falls on you.
After university, I moved to South Florida, where I helped manage three ice arena complexes as a facility manager and hockey director. I was responsible for budgeting, marketing, scheduling, programming and day-to-day operations. It taught me a lot about managing people, balancing budgets and finding practical solutions when things do not always go according to plan.
I eventually returned home and worked for the Town of Huntsville from 1998 to 1999. That gave me an early look at municipal government from inside the organization. Over the years since, I have also experienced it from the other side, as a taxpayer, business owner, parent, volunteer and committee member.
In 2001, I returned to the insurance industry and joined our family business, which had roots in Huntsville dating back to 1910. I purchased the brokerage with my brother in 2006, and over the years we grew it to four locations in Huntsville, Bracebridge, Port Carling and Collingwood before we sold the business in 2022.
Running a multi-location business means dealing with people, budgets, employees, customers, changing markets and difficult decisions. It teaches you very quickly that you need to understand the numbers, plan ahead and be accountable for the decisions you make.
Those lessons have shaped a lot of the way I look at municipal government today. I believe in asking questions, understanding the long-term cost of a decision and making sure the people paying the bill understand what they are getting in return.
How I Would Serve Huntsville
There will be difficult conversations, competing priorities and situations where there is no perfect answer.
Leadership, to me, is being willing to listen, ask questions, get the facts and make a decision when one needs to be made. Once you make it, you also have to be prepared to explain it and stand behind it.
I am not running for Mayor because politics has been my career. I am running because I believe the experience I have gained through business, community involvement and practical problem-solving can bring a valuable perspective to the Mayor’s office.
My approach is pretty straightforward: listen, ask questions, get the facts, understand the cost, make a decision and stand behind it.