Hamilton’s municipal election will be held on Oct. 26, 2026, and only two candidates are registered to run for Ward 12 City Councillor (Ancaster–West Flamborough): Fred Bennink and Craig Cassar.
CRAIG CASSAR (INCUMBENT)
Campaign Email: craigcassarward12@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.craigforward12.ca
Craig Cassar’s website says he was born in Hamilton and lived in Stoney Creek for five years before living abroad for several years in France, England, and the United States.
His family eventually settled in Burlington and he moved to Ancaster in 2002 with his wife.
He graduated from McMaster University’s Bachelor of Commerce program in 1998 and spent 24 years working at Maple Leaf Foods before running for City Councillor in 2022.
He is also an environmental activist, having co-founded a group called Save Our Streams Hamilton and volunteering with Stop Sprawl HamOnt, the group that led the campaign against the expansion of Hamilton’s urban boundary.
His website says that previous Council budgets “kept property taxes artificially low, ignoring the long-term implications” and that his platform “is based on long-term thinking that invests in our infrastructure and critical services.”
During this term of Council, Cassar voted in favour of increasing City of Hamilton property taxes by 5.85 per cent in 2023, the 2023 Hamilton Police Service budget, the stormwater fee rain tax program, the Encampment Protocol, which allowed encampments on public property including parks, the Vacant Unit Tax, a 5.79 per cent property tax increase in 2024, and the plan for 40 tiny homes on the city’s Barton-Tiffany lands.
He voted against the 2024 Hamilton Police Service budget, ending the city poet program amid a 5.6 per cent property tax increase, and against a motion to pause AI data centre applications for one year.
More details on his voting record can be viewed on a new website called www.hamiltoncouncilwatch.ca.
FRED BENNINK
Campaign Email: fredbenninkward12@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.bennink.ca
Fred Bennink spent 37 years as the Owner and President of Zip Signs Ltd., an outdoor sign company.
He also served on the Ontario Industry Board and National Industry Board.
He served as a Hamilton Police Auxiliary Officer and was later a member of the Hamilton Police Services Board, including Vice Chair.
His board experience includes with a hospital foundation, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a mental health organization, a family services organization in Hamilton, and an international relief and development organization.
He is also an active member of his local church.
His top priorities are building roads that work, lowering property taxes, reducing crime, and improving customer service.
His website also takes aim at Councillor Cassar’s support of property tax increases.
Bennink also has several high-profile endorsements on his website, including from the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), Pat Mandy (former Hamilton Police Service Chair), Stephen J. Dunn (Desjardins Insurance Ancaster), Lloyd Ferguson (former Ward 12 Councillor), Bruce Pearson (past Chair of the Board of Governors at Hillfield Strathallan College), Peter Turkstra (President of Turkstra Lumber), Pete Wiesner (former Hamilton Police Services Sergeant), and Dan Wynnyk (Wellington-Altus).
ELECTORAL HISTORY
2010 Election: Incumbent Lloyd Ferguson won with 73.28 per cent of the vote (7,447 votes), with Brenda Cox-Graham in second with 26.72 per cent (2,716 votes).
2014 Election: Incumbent Lloyd Ferguson won with 78.75 per cent of the vote (7,313 votes), with John Iachelli second.
2018 Election: Incumbent Lloyd Ferguson won with 58.30 per cent of the vote (7,000 votes), with Miranda Reis second.
2022 Election: After Lloyd Ferguson announced his retirement, Craig Cassar was elected with 38.80 per cent of the vote (4,960 votes), with Chuck Alkerton second with 20.34 per cent (2,601 votes).
WARD DESCRIPTION
As of the 2021 census, the ward had 45,720 residents.
Ward 12 is Ancaster–West Flamborough and includes areas such as Sheffield, Troy, Lynden, Jerseyville, Trinity, Ancaster, Copetown, and Orkney.
The ward’s northern border includes Highway 8, the Ancaster-Dundas border, and the Lincoln Alexander Parkway.
The southern border is the Hamilton-Brant County border and Sawmill Road.
The western border is also the Hamilton-Brant County border and the eastern border is Glancaster Road.
Ward 12 is home to Redeemer University College and part of Dundas Valley Conservation Area.
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.
