Voting in Hamilton and Niagara regions today? Here's what you need to know
Along with the rest of Canada, Hamiltonians go to the polls today in a federal election, with U.S. economic and sovereignty threats and affordability among the main issues being considered, as Canadians choose a government to lead the country for the next four years.
Mark Carney triggered the vote in March, weeks after he was elected to lead the Liberal Party following Justin Trudeau's resignation.
An estimated 7.3 million Canadians — a record — cast their ballots in early voting over the Easter weekend, according to Elections Canada. That's a 25 per cent increase from 2021.
Nationally, the Conservative Party of Canada, led by Pierre Poilievre, and the Liberal Party are the leading contenders, according to CBC's poll tracker. The NDP, led by Jagmeet Singh, is trying to hold onto official party status.
How to vote
Polls will be open 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET. People still waiting in line at 9:30 p.m. will still be able to vote. Elections Canada notes there are three options for voting:
Show your driver's licence or any other card issued by the Canadian government with your photo, name and current address.
Show two pieces of ID that have your name and at least one must have your current address. That could include a voter information card and a bank statement or a utility bill or student card. A full list of accepted ID is available on the Elections Canada website. Expired ID can be used as proof of identity if it has your name and as a proof of residence.
If you don't have ID, you can declare your identity and address in writing and have someone who knows you vouch for you at a polling station. The person vouching for you must be able to prove their identity and address. A person can vouch for only one person (except in long-term care facilities).
Polling locations can be found by typing your postal code into the Elections Canada website. People can also contact local candidates for help to find their polling locations and some candidates will also offer transportation help if necessary.
Get to know your riding
Want to know more about your riding, the candidates and the local issues that matter to them? CBC Hamilton has a profile for each of the 12 ridings in the Hamilton and Niagara area. Find out more about:
Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations.
Burlington.
Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North.
Haldimand—Norfolk.
Hamilton Centre.
Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.
Hamilton Mountain.
Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas.
Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Niagara South.
Niagara West.
St. Catharines.
The issues
Over the course of the campaign, CBC Hamilton heard from residents who said that in addition to the U.S. tariffs, other issues would also help shape how they vote. These include:
Cost of living.
Housing.
Public safety.
Health care.
Climate change and the environment.
"I check [food] prices constantly — there's no room for anything extra," Hamilton resident Joe Struthers told CBC News.
"If my landlord decides to sell, I'd probably end up homeless. I couldn't afford anything else in the city."
Another resident, Jessica Fawcett, an occupational therapist and a mother of two, says her family's financial future feels uncertain — squeezed by the lack of affordable daycare and the prospect of renewing her mortgage at a much higher interest rate next year.
Shri Kulkarni, a tech worker and a father in Burlington, thought buying a home would offer his family security. Instead, he says they're feeling the financial strain more than ever.
"We bought during the peak," he said. "Now mortgage rates are way up, and home values are down. We're stuck — can't sell, can't save, and every month costs us more."
Leaders made several visits to Hamilton
In their costed platforms, the Liberals promised to generate revenue by boosting investment. The Conservatives said they would pay for significant tax cuts by slashing government spending and upping revenue from home-building and policy changes, such as repealing Ottawa's Impact Assessment Act. The NDP said it would invest billions in health care and tax the wealthy.
The leaders of the Conservative Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party (NDP) visited Hamilton during the first week of the federal election campaign. McMaster University politics Prof. Peter Graefe said those visits highlighted the importance of the area to the parties.
Graefe said the NDP leader "wants to hold on to the one seat that he has in the city — Hamilton Centre," but also he sees a possibility to expand his caucus in Ottawa, with the Hamilton Mountain seat.
The riding was held by the NDP from 2006 until 2021, when then MP Scott Duvall said he would not seek reelection. Former journalist Lisa Hepfner won for the Liberals.
For Poilievre, Graefe said he might want to reach for the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek (HESC) seat, where the current incumbent is Liberal Chad Collins.
Carney was also in Hamilton on March 12 when he visited steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco. During the visit he spoke with steelworkers about the tariffs on Canadian steel and his confidence in the future of the company.
The leaders of the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP all made subsequent trips to Hamilton throughout the five-week campaign, including Carney on Sunday.
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Article content Murray asked Reed to step in as the bank's president in early February 'to help stitch together the coalition of governments' needed to bring the idea to fruition. Article content 'Every European nation has been briefed,' Reed said. Article content 'And we did the briefing for Canada right after the election' with senior people in Prime Minister Mark Carney's office, the Privy Council Office, and departments including National Defence, Finance, Global Affairs and Treasury Board. Article content Reed also briefed officials in Singapore last week and plans to do the same in Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand this week. Article content 'We're trying to drive this around a consensus of a dozen anchor nations,' he said. Article content NATO figures from last June suggest Canada spent just 1.37 per cent of its GDP on defence in 2024. The Liberals have said they expect it to reach two per cent by 2030 'at the latest.' Article content But that's not fast enough for Trump, who has complained repeatedly about Canada piggybacking on the U.S. for military protection. Article content 'While I don't like what he's saying, I see this as an opportunity to get ourselves going,' Reed said. 'We have not done our job in a long time. We've not fulfilled our commitments, and this a kick in the pants to say who are we, and what do we stand for?' Article content Later this month, Reed expects NATO countries to accept a new spending minimum of 3.5 per cent of GDP for defence and 1.5 per cent for border security. Article content 'To go from our base today … it's another $100-110 billion a year to ramp up to that,' he said of Canada. 'And that's not in future dollars. That's in last year's dollars. So, any available mechanism that can help grow the industrial base and get them towards those NATO soon-to-be targets is going to be well received.' Article content Article content Founding members of the bank will start meeting in the fall to hammer out details. Reed anticipates standing up the bank next year. Article content 'I like the idea of another mechanism, and a very powerful and large one, and I think a very influential one, that can help us do more in the defence and security domain in Western democracies,' said retired general Rick Hillier, Canada's former top soldier, who has joined the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank's board of directors. Article content He predicts Canada is going to need 'a revolution in defence and security procurement' to solve the Canadian Forces' equipment woes. Article content More money could accelerate the acquisition of new aircraft, warships and submarines, he said. Article content 'The component I'm most worried about is the army,' Hillier said. 'The army is broken. We're down people. Our bases and our infrastructure are in very sad condition. And we lack every kind of capability that a force needs in the kind of areas where we would find ourselves fighting right now. If things go south in Eastern Europe and (Vladimir) Putin and Russia get into some kind of thing they can't extract themselves from and start heading into Lithuania and Latvia, where there are several thousand Canadians, our sons and daughters, we are ill-prepared to insure that they're ready to look after themselves.' Article content Article content The army lacks self-propelled artillery pieces, air defence systems, technology that can detect, track, and neutralize drones, and equipment to remove minefields, Hillier said. 'We need to focus a huge amount of that defence spend on the army.' Article content Canada has also been lagging in spending to defend our north, he said. 'We've got to know what's going on in the Arctic, to be able to see what's going on specifically, to be able to communicate what's going on and then to be able to respond to what's going, whether its air, land, or depending on the time of year, sea forces. Right now, we can only do a very small part of that.' Article content The country needs satellites and ultra-long endurance drones to cover the north, Hillier said. Bases should be built in Inuvik, Rankin Inlet, and Iqaluit, he said. 'Then you have to connect … those spots by upgrading the airfields across the north.'
