Local leaders ready to work with re-elected Ford PCs

The mayors of Kitchener and Waterloo, and the chair of the region, are ready to work with the re-elected provincial government.

All three officials took a second to congratulate Doug Ford and the Progressive Conservatives for winning their third-straight majority government. The leaders echoed similar sentiments of being prepared to work more with the elected members of provincial parliament.

“I’m keen to continue working with them in common cause on the priorities of the region,” Karen Redman, Region of Waterloo chair, told CityNews.

Days before the election, the region put out a list of things it wanted to work towards with the next government. Some of those priorities included, the economy, housing, transit, managing assets and funding framework.

Ford said he called the snap election to gain a new mandate from Ontarians to help him deal with the trade-war with the U.S.

“I think the threat of tariffs shows us that we need a targeted infrastructure funding to support businesses and keep projects on track and maintain affordability for residents,” Redman said.

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Kitchener Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic, said seeing the five incumbents re-elected showcases how hardworking they have been for their constituents.

But, he did cite that more needs to be done in the region.

“Obviously, there was a lot of work done on housing on planning,” he said. “We look forward to continuing that work with the government going forward, making sure that we’re doing everything we can to support the housing industry to get more housing built and to make it more affordable.”

That includes bringing more supportive housing projects to the area and helping people with mental health and addictions.

Waterloo Mayor, Dorothy McCabe, extended her thanks to the PCs and also re-elected MPP Catherine Fife, saying she has a “list” of things she wants this next government to accomplish.

“I think top of the list is we really need a new fiscal and economic funding formula,” she said. “We need a new framework for how we fund municipalities particularly for things like housing.”

McCabe said the province needs to work together and find solutions, since it isn’t just Waterloo struggling to keep up with responsibilities.

“We really need to work collaboratively on on this because continuing to download responsibilities that are provincial responsibilities to municipalities is not the answer,” she said. “I look forward to working with Premier Ford and the new cabinet on finding ways where we can collaborate and move forward together.”

Local voter turnout results for Waterloo Region

Despite Ford and the PCs winning a majority, voter turnout remained low, just slightly up from 2022 numbers.

Locally, voter turnout reflected the broader trends across the province, which is that many eligible Ontarians are not doing their civic duty.

Cambridge

Number of registered electors: 95,786

Voter turnout: 45.86%

Kitchener Centre

Number of registered electors: 87,834

Voter turnout: 46.96%

Kitchener Conestoga

Number of registered electors: 79,677

Voter turnout: 51.20%

Kitchener South—Hespeler

Number of registered electors: 87,011

Voter turnout: 43.93%

Waterloo

Number of registered electors: 94,451

Voter turnout: 52.81%

Redman said governments need to take more action to engage people to ensure a “dynamic, robust, democratic process.”

“But I would have to tell you, it’s Canada, it’s the middle of the winter, and it is inclement weather,” she said. So I don’t think anybody should be surprised that at this juncture in a winter election, the voter turnout has been less than optimal.”