Foot traffic at the Hamilton Farmers’ Market has trended downwards throughout Q2 of 2026, including a 14.1 per cent dip in visitors in June 2026 compared to June 2025.
The market saw 49,125 visitors in April (down 3.5 per cent from 2025), 47,995 in May 2026 (down 8.7 per cent) and 57,979 visitors in June (down 14.1 per cent).
That means that total foot traffic for Q2 2026 was 155,099 (down 9.3 per cent compared to 2025).
On a weekday basis, average attendance on Wednesdays increased from 2,355 visitors to 2,463 visitors per day (up 4.4 per cent).
However, average attendance on Saturdays decreased from 4,846 to 4,355 (down 10.1 per cent)
Saturdays account for the highest volume of weekly visitation, so the decrease has had a “substantial impact” on overall quarterly results, states a report presented to the Hamilton Farmers’ Market Board on Tuesday.
It should be noted that the Market is only open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
The report says, “Several external factors have added to the challenge of building Market traffic. Examples include a shooting incident in Jackson Square and visible homelessness and panhandling in the immediate area, which have added to safety concerns expressed about coming downtown.”
A 14-year-old male was arrested after the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Nabil Askafe inside Jackson Square on April 24, 2026.
Another shooting homicide took place outside Jackson Square in broad daylight on July 11, 2025.
In that incident, Belinda Sarkodie, a 26-year-old innocent bystander, was shot and killed and a man was injured.
Just last week, a man was arrested after four random stabbings in the middle of the afternoon in the area of King Street and James Street and the MacNab Street Transit Terminal.
The suspect, Oscar Ayala, had been arrested in August 2022 in a string of similar attacks, including one which left the victim with life-altering injuries.
At that time, he was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats to cause death, and 10 counts of failing to comply with probation.
According to reporting from The Hamilton Spectator, Ayala was sentenced to three years but served just over one year behind bars after receiving credit for time served.
Hamilton Police announced the opening of a new substation in Jackson Square in June 2026 to help respond to downtown safety concerns.
On May 29, the Hamilton Farmer’s Market also reportedly began tracking security encounters to quantify incidents, with the numbers showing 38 incidents requiring security intervention in only 18 days.
Issues reportedly included “drug-related activity, theft, panhandling, and confrontational encounters.”
Meanwhile, daily foot traffic data from January to June 2026 shows an average of 2,372 visitors on Wednesdays, 2,529 on Thursdays, 2,700 on Fridays, and 4,773 on Saturdays.
In order to address lower foot traffic on Wednesdays, the report says that “the option exists to explore” changing Market operating days to Thursday to Sunday to remove the lowest performing day and replacing it with a day with much higher traffic potential.
Information shared by Covent Garden Market staff in London, Ontario, which is similar to Hamilton Farmers’ Market, indicates that their Sunday traffic is equal to Saturday.
However, a review of operating hours will only be undertaken following October’s municipal election once the new Hamilton Farmers Market Board of Directors is in place.
Despite foot traffic issues in Q2, marketing efforts are underway to increase awareness of the Market, including a digital billboard campaign across 15 Hamilton locations.
Planning is also underway for the Market’s Fall Harvest Festival which runs from Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 (Supercrawl weekend) through Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026 (Thanksgiving weekend).
The Fall Harvest Festival will include a mini park along the sidewalk on York Boulevard, York Boulevard pop-up event space activations, including evening hours, and harvest-focused programming.
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.
