KITCHENER CENTRE

Kitchener Centre is the most compact riding in Waterloo Region at 42 square kilometres. It has the lowest median household income at $60,091, the highest poverty rate at 16.5 per cent, and a population of 105,260, according to the 2016 census.

The riding is bounded by the Grand River to the east, to the north by Breithaupt Park and runs southwest to where Fischer-Hallman Road and the Conestoga Parkway meet. It includes Kitchener’s downtown along with outlying neighbourhoods such as Forest Hills, Breithaupt Park area, and Stanley Park.

THE CANDIDATES

New Blue Party Peter Beimers is a truck driver.

Liberal party Kelly Steiss works at City of Kitchener community centres. Her past political experience includes a bid for mayor of Waterloo in 2018’s municipal elections. Progressive Conservative party Jim Schmidt spent two decades working for Waterloo Region District School Board in facility services before becoming a small-business owner.

New Democratic Party Laura Mae Lindo has represented the riding since 2018. She is an activist and educator with a PhD in Education.

Green Party Wayne Mak is a software technology specialist, implementing medical information systems.

THE ISSUES Housing

The NDP are proposing ending zoning that permits only singlefamily homes, bringing back rent control, creating a portable housing benefit and building 100,000 units of social housing over the next decade. The Green Party plans to implement a multiple homes speculation tax on purchases of new homes for buyers who already own two or more homes or condos, starting at 20 per cent for the third home purchased and increasing with each additional home. Also, the Greens will expand zoning options to increase housing supply.

Health Care

The Progressive Conservatives will spend $158.8 billion over 10 years, with a portion of that on hospitals. Hospital operating budgets were just given a $827-million boost as well. The NDP will hire 10,000 personal support workers and 30,000 nurses, as well as 300 doctors in northern Ontario, including 100 specialists and 40 mental-health practitioners. The Liberals will raise base pay for personal support workers to $25 an hour and guarantee access to mental-health services for all health professionals. The Greens want to expand the number of women’s health clinics and abortion clinics in Ontario.

Climate Change

Both the NDP and the Liberals propose to reduce Ontario’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The NDP would establish a new cap-and-trade system. The Liberals propose to strengthen requirements of industrial emitters and put $9 billion over four years into a clean economy plan. The Green Party says it will amend the Greenbelt Act to make putting new highways through the protected areas illegal, and significantly expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It further proposes to add 4,000 electric and fuel-cell buses by 2030.

Anti-Racism and Inclusion

The NDP proposes to implement a provincial anti-racism strategy, appoint a minister responsible for anti-racism, erect a Holocaust memorial on the grounds of the legislature and pass the Our London Family Act to combat Islamophobia. The Liberals plan to provide culturally competent gender-affirming health, mental health and longterm care, as well as create a new fund to hire more police officers from under-represented communities. They will also ensure regular police training on de-escalation, anti-racism, cultural sensitivity and mental health. The Greens promise to immediately clean up mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows First Nation.

Infrastructure

The Progressive Conservatives are planning highway projects that include: Highway 413 and the Bradford bypass; widening Highway 401 east from Pickering; and improving the QEW Skyway. The Liberals plan is to make all transit fares across the province $1 per ride and reduce monthly transit passes to $40 until January 2024. The Green Party plans on implementing time-of-day pricing on transit to make off-peak use cheaper, cancelling Highway 413 and creating a dedicated truck lane on Highway 407 that is toll-free.

BACKGROUND

Laura Mae Lindo became the riding’s newest MPP in the last provincial election, turning the notoriously bellwether riding orange. Lindo unseated Daiene Vernile, the former Liberal minister of tourism, culture and sport, who won the riding in 2014.

Kitchener Centre had previously served as a good bellwether, according to political science experts, traditionally electing a member of the governing party because it is neither big city or rural.