MORRISBURG – Effective April 7, Ben de Haan will be South Dundas CAO.
South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad made the announcement Monday at a press conference.
Already familiar with the Municipality of South Dundas and its staff, having worked with many of them in his role as SDG Counties Director of Transportation, which he held from 2009 to the present, de Haan told The Leader that the team atmosphere, including a good council team and a good staff team was the most attractive aspect of this opportunity.
“We are delighted to welcome Ben to our municipal team,” said Mayor Broad.
“Council’s decision to welcome Ben to the team was unanimous and enthusiastic,” he added. “His impressive track record with the United Counties coupled with his recent experience with the Township of North Dundas made him a stand out candidate.”
de Haan was recently seconded from the counties to North Dundas where he was acting chief administrative officer for about nine months in 2024.
“His energy and fresh perspective is exactly what we need in this pivotal moment in time for the municipality’s growth,” said Broad. “We are confident under Ben’s leadership that South Dundas will continue to flourish as a destination where people want to live work and play.”
de Haan, McGill graduate and licenced professional engineer, in his new role as South Dundas CAO will oversee all municipal departments and work closely with council to implement strategic priorities.
Broad said that when notified staff of the hire Monday morning that they were: “super excited to work with Ben.”
“I’m really looking forward to this,” said de Haan. “It’s an exciting opportunity – there’s just so much happening in South Dundas. It’s an opportunity I couldn’t resist. I’m looking forward to my start and to working with Mayor Broad and the council team as well as the team here. This is an awesome group of people here and I have every confidence in continued success.”
This is the second time this council has hired a CAO. Broad explained that the first time they were a new council without much experience so they work looking for veteran leader and found that with previous CAO Tim Mills.
This time around, South Dundas officials were just looking for a really strong candidate and agreed that de Haan was that strong candidate.
“He has great experience in leadership, and the roads and being an engineer, and also having planning experience at the counties. Having all that talent is great,” said Broad.
de Haan added that he enjoyed all his time with SDG, but he’s at a good point in his career where it was time to do something different and “expand the professional horizons.”
“This is a perfect fit for me,” he added.
“I’m excited to join the South Dundas team and work alongside staff and council to serve our community,” said de Haan. “ I believe strongly in creating environments where community connections can flourish. I look forward to helping South Dundas realize its vision of being a destination for growth and wellbeing where people can truly thrive.”