A federal election has been called for Monday, April 28, a week after Easter, and the City of Hamilton could be a key electoral battleground.
In the latest news, Hamilton City Councillor John-Paul Danko (Ward 8 – West/Central Mountain) is running for the Liberal Party in Hamilton West – Ancaster – Dundas, a riding that they have won the past three elections with candidate Filomena Tassi.
Tassi announced back in October that she would not be running for re-election.
If Danko were to win, which appears likely, Ward 8 would be left without a Councillor. There is a year and a half until the 2026 municipal election.
Council could appoint someone to fill the role or hold a by-election.
In a press release announcing his decision to run, Danko said, “My children are 18 and 16 and I have never been more concerned about their future than I am right now – from their ability to find a job, afford a home, to live in Canada, the true north, strong and free.”
It should be noted that the Liberal Party has been in government in Ottawa for the past 10 years.
Danko will be up against Conservative candidate Erika Alexander, who is the grandchild of the Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander.
Alexander has 10 years of experience working with the Hamilton Police Service.
Roberto Henriquez is running for the NDP, Georgia Beauchemin for the Green Party, Ava Sharavi for the People’s Party, and Jim Enos for the Christian Heritage Party.
Another key riding will be Hamilton East – Stoney Creek where Conservative candidate and local entrepreneur Ned Kuruc is running for a second time against Liberal candidate and former city councillor Chad Collins.
There was previously speculation that Collins was gearing up for a mayoral run in Hamilton.
He told The Hamilton Spectator that he would not run for re-election unless former prime minister Justin Trudeau resigned and Mark Carney was named leader of the Liberal Party.
Since that took place, Collins is running again.
Last election, Collins received 39.1 per cent of the vote, while Kuruc earned 30.1 per cent.
However, Hamilton East – Stoney Creek just re-elected Progressive Conservative Neil Lumsden in the provincial election which bodes well for Kuruc.
The NDP has not yet named a candidate. The only other person running in the riding so far is Jim Boutsikakis for the People’s Party.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Centre, which is typically an NDP stronghold, is currently classified as an NDP/Liberal toss-up by polling aggregator site 338 Canada.
The incumbent in the riding is controversial MP Matthew Green of the NDP who has supported defund the police groups and attended questionable anti-Israel rallies with a group that handed out candy in celebration of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.
So far, Green is facing Aslam Rana of the Liberals, Hayden Lawrence of the Conservatives, and David Speicher of the People’s Party.
Green won the last election with 47 per cent of the vote over the Liberals’ 26.7 per cent, but is currently projected to receive only 36 per cent of the vote while the Liberals are projected at 34 per cent.
The low NDP projection is due to the NDP’s sinking national numbers. The party is currently projected to win only seven of the country’s 343 seats. They held 24 after the last election.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Mountain Liberal incumbent Lisa Hepfner is facing off against NDP candidate Monique Taylor, who previously served as the provincial representative for the riding.
The riding went NDP five times between 2006 and 2019 before Hepfner won with 34.5 per cent of the vote compared to the NDP’s 31.6 per cent in 2021.
The Conservatives are yet to name a candidate, while the People’s Party is running Bing Wong.
In the newly created riding of Flamborough – Glanbrook – Brant North, Conservative incumbent Dan Muys is running for re-election.
Muys won the riding formerly known as Flamborough – Glanbrook with 40.57 per cent of the vote in 2021, while the Liberals received 35.54 per cent.
However, the addition of Brant North to the electoral area is expected to favour Muys.
So far, the Liberals have not announced a candidate, while the NDP have chosen Peter Werhun, and the People’s Party is running Nikita Mahood.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
