When Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas talks about immigration, he isn’t thinking about Ottawa’s preoccupation with too many newcomers. “People (business owners) want to keep the temporary workers they already have,” Hallikas said in an interview with NCM. Fort Frances’ population fell 3.5 per cent between 2016 and 2021, even as Ontario as a whole grew by 5.8 per cent over the same period, according to Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census. With the municipal election looming in October, Fort Frances will get a new mayor by early December. “They’ve basically seamlessly blended into our community,” he said of the temporary workers he’s talking about.