Hamilton mayoral candidates clash over housing, taxes, safety in first debate

Three candidates vying for Hamilton’s top seat took to the debate stage this morning, trading barbs and sharing their visions for the city. The Chamber of Commerce mayor’s debate covered building affordable housing, how to create a safer downtown, and got heated in a discussion about rising property taxes.

Just three of the 13 candidates running for mayor were invited to debate today — current Mayor Andrea Horwath, former Chamber of Commerce leader Keanin Loomis and Ward 8 Coun. Rob Cooper.

The candidates covered a range of topics at the first mayoral debate today — from AI data centres to how they view the city’s downtown core, and what they would do differently to bring it closer to its potential.

“We’ll focus on the fundamentals of a downtown which is safe and welcoming public spaces, reliable city services, strong businesses and investment and more people choosing to spend their time downtown,” Loomis said.

“I’ve said it’s a very dangerous, unsafe place,” Cooper said. “These other two candidates don’t believe it is. If you can’t call it out, you can’t fix it. So what I believe is that we’ve got to prevent crime. There’s got to be a greater role of engagement in our schools with our police.”

Meanwhile, Horwath defended her record on downtown, while saying more needs to be done to get homeless people into housing.

“And you’ll see the changes that are happening right now in our downtown,” Horwath said. “We’ve increased street patrols by police, which is helping in our BIAs, and they tell us that. The other improvement in our downtown is the TD Coliseum.”

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Affordability came up throughout the debate, and came to a head when candidates were asked about property taxes. Hamilton households saw a 3.87 per cent increase in 2026, and the forecast for 2027 shows an 8.2 per cent hike — though the mayor has already promised to cut down that number.

“Trump and his tariffs are before us yet again,” Horwath said. “And that requires different solutions and immediate action. And that is why I’m going to keep property taxes below inflation.”

“I believe the key to staying at the rate of inflation is the fact that we’re going to focus on outcomes,” Cooper said. “If we’re not delivering, we’re not doing it.”

And after much back and forth between Horwath and Cooper, Loomis chimed in.

“I think it’s becoming clear to everybody that we need a grown up in City Hall,” Loomis said. “A complete city reset. We’re going to do so by introducing zero-based budgeting, which means every department should be made to justify every single dollar they spend.”

All candidates agreed that building affordable housing is important for the city, but Cooper and Loomis both took issue with Horwath’s use of her strong mayor powers to push forward affordable housing developments in Stoney Creek that were opposed by the local councillor.

“That’s leadership,” Horwath said.

“Leadership is listening to your constituents,” Loomis said.

“Leadership is building housing when you’re in a housing crisis,” Horwath responded.

Mayoral candidates are set to face off several more times in the next few weeks.

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