4 ridings to watch in the Hamilton-Niagara area this federal election

Liberal Leader Mark Carney met with the Governor General on Sunday to start a federal election, which will take place April 28.

Across 12 ridings in the Hamilton-Niagara area, political parties are preparing local candidates to get out and campaign for your vote.

Here are four ridings worth keeping an eye on. 

Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas

No matter who wins, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas will have a new member of Parliament. 

The riding in Hamilton's west was represented by Liberal Filomena Tassi going back to 2015. She was the first federal Liberal elected in the city since 2004. In the 2021 general election, Tassi won about 44 per cent of the vote. The riding's boundaries changed slightly in 2023 during a national redistribution.

Tassi, who most recently served as the minister of the Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, announced she would not run again in the fall, citing a "deeply personal" reason. 

On Sunday afternoon, the Liberal Party announced Hamilton's Ward 8 city councillor, John-Paul Danko, as their new candidate for the riding. Danko was first elected a councillor in 2018.

He will contest the riding alongside candidates including Erika Alexander for the Conservatives, Roberto Henriquez for the NDP, Georgia Beauchemin for the Green Party and Ava Sharavi for the People's Party of Canada (PPC).

Alexander is the granddaughter of well-known Hamilton politician Lincoln Alexander, Canada's first Black member of the House of Commons and first Black lieutenant-governor of Ontario.

Hamilton Mountain

In 2021, Liberal candidate Lisa Hepfner beat NDP candidate Michael Allen by 835 votes, securing 34 per cent of the vote to his 32 per cent. Hepfner, a former journalist, is running for re-election. 

Prior to Hepfner's victory, the riding had been held by the NDP since 2006. Now, candidate Monique Taylor, who previously served as member of provincial parliament for Hamilton Mountain, will try to win the riding back for the NDP. 

Also contesting Hamilton Mountain is Bing Wong with the PPC. The Conservatives and Greens have yet to announce candidates. 

The riding boundary now extends south of Rymal Road.  

Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara South

Voters in the former ridings of Niagara Falls and Niagara Centre have new names and big boundary changes to get used to.

Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake encompasses much of what used to be called Niagara Falls in northeast Niagara Region. It no longer contains Fort Erie, Ont., which is now part of Niagara South. The southern riding also contains most of what used to be called Niagara Centre.

In 2021, Conservative candidate Tony Baldinelli took Niagara Falls with 38 per cent of the vote to the second-place Liberal's 33 per cent. Liberal Vance Badawey took Niagara Centre with 35 per cent of the vote to the second-place Conservative's 31 per cent. 

This time, Baldinelli will face candidates including Andrea Kaiser with the Liberals, Dinah Althorpe with the PPC and Karen Fraser with the Green Party. The NDP has not announced a candidate yet.

Badawey will campaign for re-election against Conservative candidate and regional Coun. Fred Davies, Chantal McCollum with the NDP and Peter Taras with the PPC. The Greens have yet to announce a candidate. 

Boundaries change throughout Hamilton-Niagara area

You can look up your riding and see the new map on the Elections Canada website.

Here are a few more notable changes:

• Hamilton Centre now includes Princess Point and extends further east to Parkdale Avenue.
• Flamborough—Glanbrook—Brant North, which used to be called Flamborough—Glanbrook, no longer includes the Trinity neighbourhood on the east Mountain. That area is now part of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.
• Niagara West now extends a bit into the City of St. Catharines, Ont.
• The riding of St. Catharines now includes Brock University.