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Hamilton Spectator
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Rookie Conservative MP Ned Kuruc got up off the mat after election loss to win Hamilton East—Stoney Creek
Three new MPs were elected in the April 28 election. • John-Paul Danko (Liberal) Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas • Ned Kuruc (Conservative) Hamilton East—Stoney Creek • Aslam Rana (Liberal) in Hamilton Centre Ned Kuruc grew up competing in martial arts from five years old, steeped in its ethos of discipline, hard work, and bouncing back when you hit the mat. Growing up, he won plenty in sports, but in his adult life took it on the chin in the political arena. Kuruc lost a municipal election bid in 2018, and in 2021 placed second to Liberal Chad Collins in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the pandemic federal election. 'Losing and failure are part of life,' said Kuruc. 'You pick yourself up and come back, keep moving forward … And when you put it all on the table, you can find peace in losing.' But for his latest run federally, there was no need to dip into his reservoir of positive thinking. Voters took Kuruc over the top in a rematch with Collins, to become the riding's first Conservative MP. He knows all about better late than never. He was the second child of Ilija and Ivanka Kuruc by eight years. 'I was the one that is like: 'Oh we have another child!'' he said, laughing. His given name is Nenad, which is Serbian for unexpected — 'unexpected blessing,' he added. Ned Kuruc, then 20, is pictured in August 2001, competing in discus at the Canada Summer Games in London. Kuruc was a star thrower all through high school at Orchard Park in Stoney Creek. In elementary school, when his older brother, Robert, heard kids mispronouncing Nenad's name, he told him: 'From now on you are Ned.' His parents immigrated to Canada in 1967 from then Yugoslavia, where his father had worked herding sheep. In Hamilton, he said his parents worked extremely hard for years. Ilija worked as a carpenter, and Ivanka in the former Levi Strauss jean-making plant on Barton Street East, and later at General Electric in Oakville. Kuruc got his first job at 13, delivering newspapers and washing dishes at Liuna Gardens. Ned Kuruc speaks to supporters after taking Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. In his teens, he was a champion track and field thrower (discus, hammer, shot put); in Grade 13 he was six-foot-five, 220 pounds. At 22, he won a silver medal at the Canada Summer Games. In his working life, he ran Attic Pizza sports bar in Stoney Creek with his brother, and embarked on starting other businesses related to sports media, and fighting sports, that frequently took him overseas. He stayed home once he started having children with his wife Lisa, who runs a business and is an eyebrow technician. Ned Kuruc with wife Lisa at his victory party after winning Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the federal election. Their kids are five, nine, and 21. 'Lisa is a great wife and she loves being a mom. (Politics) is tough on her, and for me to do this it's a team effort. If you don't have your partner with you sharing your vision, it's not possible. She is selfless that way.' He's a fan of documentaries ('I'm a database of mostly useless knowledge, my wife laughs about it') and not big on books, but cites Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' as one that sticks with him. It is much quoted for wisdom on winning battles in all walks of life. He may well have drawn from the ancient Chinese philosopher, when he plotted his comeback from 2021. He learned that next time his campaign needed 'a bigger runway' to build support. And so he did, connecting with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre two years ago, and meeting constituents early and often. 'Our team knocked on 100,000 doors by the end of it,' he said. It culminated in a win on election night. At his victory party, first he hugged Lisa, and then his father. His mother died 14 years ago. 'I'm close with my dad, and he was very emotional. He said congratulations, and I said: 'I love you. We did it.''
CBC
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Meet the 4 new MPs elected in Hamilton and Niagara
Social Sharing Hamilton and Niagara residents have voted to send four new people to represent them in Ottawa. MPs-elect John-Paul Danko and Aslam Rana won for the Liberals in Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas and Hamilton Centre, respectively. For the Conservatives, Ned Kuruc took Hamilton East—Stoney Creek and Fred Davies was voted in for Niagara South. Danko and Davies were already serving their respective communities as municipal councillors when the federal election held Monday was called. Rana and Kuruc have been active in party politics, but this will be the first time they've held elected office. All will be new to the House of Commons. Kuruc and Rana both defeated incumbent candidates in their ridings, which isn't easy to do, Kuruc told CBC Hamilton. In 2021, he ran and lost in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, coming second to Chad Collins. This time, Collins came second to him. The riding has been held by Liberals for most of its existence. Kuruc, a 44-year-old mortgage specialist who's lived in Hamilton his whole life, said he started knocking on doors to campaign about a year and a half ago. He'd log about 20,000 to 25,000 steps a day, he said. "Our goal was to try to talk to as many people as possible." Before that, he spent time campaigning in Hamilton for Pierre Poilievre in the Conservative leadership race. WATCH | Federal election night '25 in 3 minutes: Federal election night '25 in 3 minutes 3 days ago Duration 2:40 "The whole election is bittersweet because I won but we didn't form government on the national side," Kuruc said. The Liberals, led by Mark Carney, won a minority government. Still, the Conservatives gained multiple seats, something Kuruc said he's pleased about. The party's focus on change, affordability and public safety strongly appealed to Hamiltonians, he said. On Canada's relationship with the U.S. — another major issue this election — Kuruc said he hopes Carney will prioritize defending the country from economic harm, especially considering so many industrial manufacturing jobs are based in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. "I will be there to protect jobs and to protect workers," Kuruc said. "I have no problem working with anybody on any party lines to solve that issue." Hamilton Centre winner looks forward to moving to the city The Liberals' response to that issue resonated with voters, Rana said. The 52-year-old civil engineer and engineering professor at Toronto Metropolitan University lives in Mississauga, but said he plans to move to Hamilton, where he's been interested in running for office since 2015. "I told my friends and my classmates [who live] here that whenever I get a chance, I will go and I will do my best and to lift up this neglected riding," Rana told CBC Hamilton prior to his victory on Monday. He said he'll focus on housing and infrastructure in the riding, drawing on his engineering background to make improvements. Rana's win over incumbent NDP candidate Matthew Green was a surprise to many. Green won by about 9,000 votes in 2021, beating the second-place Liberal candidate. But Rana said he was confident going in because he thought voters would support Carney and the Liberals. "I really appreciate each and everybody, and I'm thankful to my party, who had confidence in me," the MP-elect said. "I'm going to make the difference." 2 area councillors become MPs In neighbouring Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, voters elected a new MP from the same party as before. Former Liberal MP Filomena Tassi announced in the fall she would not run for re-election. Danko, Hamilton's Ward 8 city councillor, ended up running for the party. The 47-year-old, who is also an engineer, told CBC Hamilton he's "excited" to get to work in Ottawa. "One of the biggest issues that we heard from residents at the door was the cost of housing and just generally the cost of living," Danko said. "I think the insight that I have in understanding the investments that we need in housing in Hamilton but also in the economy in the city Hamilton is something that I'm excited to bring to Ottawa." Danko added there are some "loose ends" he needs to tie up as a councillor and he's confident in his colleagues to continue serving the city. Davies is the regional councillor for Port Colborne, Ont., who will now be the MP for Niagara South. Ridings were redistributed before this election and Niagara South changed quite significantly. It has a new name and includes much of what used to be called Niagara Centre, as well as about one-third of the riding formally called Niagara Falls. In 2021, both those ridings were close Conservative-Liberal contests. This time, the Conservatives won both, as Davies beat former Liberal MP Vance Badawey. Davies did not respond to a request for comment before publication. His campaign website said he's "known for his hands-on approach to business," and "knows what it takes to create jobs and support families." Here's the full list of who won in the Hamilton area Monday night: Brantford—Brant South—Six Nations: Larry Brock, Conservative. Burlington: Karina Gould, Liberal. Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North: Dan Muys, Conservative. Haldimand—Norfolk: Leslyn Lewis, Conservative. Hamilton Centre: Aslam Rana, Liberal. Hamilton East—Stoney Creek: Ned Kuruc, Conservative. Hamilton Mountain: Lisa Hepfner, Liberal. Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas: John-Paul Danko, Liberal. Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake: Tony Baldinelli, Conservative. Niagara South: Fred Davies, Conservative. Niagara West: Dean Allison, Conservative. St. Catharines: Chris Bittle, Liberal.
Hamilton Spectator
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Most Hamilton Conservative candidates skip televised election debates
All but one of Hamilton's federal Conservative candidates appear to be skipping televised local election debates . Cable 14 partnered with local news agencies, including The Spectator, to stage candidate debates in each of the five Hamilton-based federal ridings. Ken Hewitt, the Conservative candidate in the Hamilton Mountain riding, was the sole Tory candidate expected to take part. Hamilton East—Stoney Creek's Ned Kuruc, Erika Alexander in Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, Hamilton Centre's Hayden Lawrence and Dan Muys in Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North all either declined or did not respond to invitations to the televised debates. Cable 14 general manager Jonathan Freedman said the lack of attendance from candidates is 'disgraceful.' 'The candidates that are running in the ridings should be here debating,' he said, adding the forums give voters a chance to see and make a choice on who the right candidate is for their riding. Cable 14 was forced to cancel the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek debate slated for Wednesday because the only major party candidate who agreed to attend was Liberal incumbent Chad Collins. Freedman said the Tory candidate, Kuruc, declined the invitation to take part, while organizers got 'complete radio silence' from NDP candidate Nayla Mithani. The Green Party did not field a candidate. Kuruc, who did not reply to Spectator requests for comment, was also a no-show at debates hosted by the Stoney Creek Chamber of Commerce and the Bosnian Islamic Centre of Hamilton. In an interview, Collins said he was disappointed by his Tory challenger's decision to skip the Cable 14 debates, which he called a tradition at all three levels of government. 'Debates are important because it gives residents, especially those who are undecided, the opportunity to make an informed decision about how they cast their ballot,' he said. During Monday's Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas debate , Liberal candidate John-Paul Danko questioned whether the missing Tory candidate 'actually exists,' while Green candidate Georgia Beauchemin questioned whether Alexander was a 'paper candidate.' Alexander told The Spectator in a later interview her campaign is 'focusing on voter contact, so we're out 12 hours a day' and added the national Conservative campaign did not tell her to skip the debate. The candidate also said she was unsure whether her campaign received a 'proper' invitation. Cable 14 moderator Mike Fortune said at the start of the debate the candidate did not respond to emails, calls or messages on social media inviting her to attend. In Hamilton Centre, the campaign for Conservative candidate Lawrence declined to participate, telling Cable 14 that 'Hayden would be focusing on door-knocking.' Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas Liberal candidate John-Paul Danko, NDP candidate Roberto Henriquez and Green candidate Georgia Beauchemin squared-off during the televised Cable 14 debate April 21. Conservative candidate Erika Alexander did not take part. Muys, the Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North incumbent, said he was attending the Hamilton Jewish Federation's Yom Hashoah Holocaust commemoration Thursday evening when the debate is scheduled — something he 'agreed to a month ago.' Muys also noted he has attended two debates during this campaign — an all-candidates debate in Paris and an all-party forum hosted by the Hamilton Muslim Association. The federal Tory no-shows come after all but one Progressive Conservative candidate — Flamborough-Glanbrook's Donna Skelly — skipped the Cable 14 debates during February's provincial election . McMaster University political scientist Peter Graefe said the absence of a debate is 'a loss' for the community to see candidates defend their ideas, as well as evaluate their personalities and competence. 'If you want the support of the people in a riding, you should show up in places where the people in the riding can assess your talent and quality.' Graefe said while candidates from different parties skip debates for various reasons, there seems to be 'fairly strong evidence' that Conservative candidates are 'almost systematically avoiding' debates. He said one reason could be the party has a sophisticated technology for tracking voters and may feel their time is better spent engaging specific voters likely to vote Conservative, versus a debate. He added the Conservatives may also be particularly concerned about message control. Hamilton East—Stoney Creek Conservative candidate Ned Kuruc took part in the televised Cable 14 debate in the 2021 federal election alongside Green Party candidate Larry Pattison. Kuruc declined to participate in the debate during this campaign — as did NDP candidate Nayla Mithani — leading to its cancellation. 'They don't want the party's message for that day being derailed by what some no-name candidate in some riding they might never hope to win said at some candidates meeting,' he said. —With files from Matthew Van Dongen.
