Know your riding — Canada Votes 2025: Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake

• Read all of CBC Hamilton's coverage of the federal election here. 

Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake is a riding with a new name and significantly different boundaries following a 2023 redistribution. But the candidates should be familiar. 

In 2021, Conservative candidate Tony Baldinelli took Niagara Falls with 38 per cent of the vote ahead of second-place Liberal Andrea Kaiser at 33 per cent. The two are set for a rematch this election. 

Voters have elected Conservatives consistently since 2004. The boundary 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 mixed urban-rural riding mostly includes the municipalities of Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. It borders Lake Ontario to the North and the United States to the east.

The median total household income of residents in the riding was $78,000, per the latest census. About 20 per cent of residents identified as visible minorities. The 342-square-kilometre riding has a population of about 114,000. 

CBC Hamilton sent a survey to major party candidates, or their party representatives, asking why people should vote for them. Here's some of what they said, organized alphabetically by candidates' last names.

Dinah Althorpe, People's Party of Canada

Dinah Althorpe did not respond to CBC Hamilton's survey before publication.

A Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., resident, Althorpe believes "health comes before wealth," according to her campaign website. She said she is "deeply committed" to values including women's rights, freedom of expression and medical rights. 

Tony Baldinelli, Conservative

Baldinelli did not respond to CBC Hamilton's survey before publication.

"After 10 failed years of Liberal leadership, Canadians from all walks of life are rallying behind our common sense Conservative message of putting Canada First-for a change," he said on Facebook, adding he and his party will "keep pushing for a brighter future for us all."

Andrea Kaiser, Liberal

Kaiser did not respond to CBC Hamilton's survey before publication.

Her website says she "has spent her adult life working to grow our local economy and strengthen our community" as a business leader working in the wine industry, Niagara regional councillor, former three-term municipal councillor, and active community volunteer.

"Through her nearly 15 years in local politics, she earned a reputation for working with people from different political parties to deliver real change for Niagara. She is able to bring people together because she values local democracy, honesty — and results."

Shannon Mitchell, NDP

Shannon Mitchell, 38, worked with Ontario NDP MPP Wayne Gates as a constituency assistant, and is a two-term District School Board of Niagara trustee, first elected in 2018.

"Canada must invest in the things that make us proud to be Canadian—to protect our future. That means standing up to for-profit, American-style private healthcare and strengthening our public healthcare system," a representative for Mitchell said. "[Mitchell] knows that working people and seniors deserve real change—affordable homes, food on the table, and a future they can believe in."

Celia Taylor, Green Party

Celia Taylor, 63, owns a business that offers legal education and resources.

The Greens are concerned with the cost of living, affordable housing, keeping the environment safe for future generations, and providing doctors for every Canadian, Taylor said. "I am experiencing a lot of what everyday people in Canada are experiencing such as paying rent, being able to afford food, finding steady work that will [pay] the bills. I can relate to their struggles because I am also experiencing the same struggles."

Also Running:

• Yawar Anwar, Centrist Party of Canada: Anwar's party platform includes "defending Canada against Trump's aggression," cutting income taxes by 50 per cent and fixing healthcare and housing.  
• Daniel Shakhmundes, Libertarian Party of Canada: Shakhmundes' website said he is a computer scientist and entrepreneur based in Niagara-on-the-Lake. His "dedication to individual liberties and technological innovation aligns with the principles of the Libertarian Party of Canada, which seeks to reduce governmental responsibilities and expenses, empowering individuals to manage their lives through free and voluntary exchange."