Voters say they want big changes in St. Catharines, Hamilton and Burlington

Voters in St. Catharines, Hamilton and Burlington have something in common this 2026 election — most say they want to see big changes at the municipal level.

What are the issues that are driving residents to vote one way or the other?

In St. Catharines, flooding infrastructure and relief, as well as safety, are big concerns.

“The property tax rate has gone up quite a bit since we’ve lived here, and the flooding concerns. The mayor, I know, said he had the province come in and help, but I don’t know what they did,” says a voter.

“We’ve had a lot of infrastructure problems with the flooding in the old section of the city, so that’s been huge,” says one resident.

“Safety is number one priority. I feel safe in the majority of the neighbourhoods, but there are also places where I would not go,” adds another resident.

Voters in Hamilton say everything from property taxes to AI data centres are top of mind.

“The property taxes, the traffic grid in Waterdown, infrastructure … and hoping for a change,” says a voter.

“Housing, affordability,” says a resident.

“Taxes and security in the area,” says another Hamiltonian.

“AI data centres. We want to make sure that if one is built, the people living in that city are given some compensation for the hit to electricity and water prices,” says a young citizen.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Burlington’s 2026 municipal election

In Burlington, residents say high-rise buildings, property taxes and transparency are the biggest issues at the ballot box.

“Too many high rises, too much traffic, and more transparency,” says one voter.

“For the councillors and the mayor to be more fiscally responsible,” says a resident.

“Lower taxes, transparency with the government,” adds another local.

“Not having taxes going up too much, and in this end of Burlington, there are too many high rises that are supposed to be going up,” says another.

Most voters CHCH News spoke with on election day said they are hoping to see change around their city’s council table.

“The entire council, we need people who are not politicians running things,” says one voter.

“Especially at the top,” adds another.

“Well, we would like to see some change. They make promises — we’ll see if they come through with those promises that they make,” says another person.

“Change is good. New blood in there, new ideas,” a voter stresses.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Hamilton’s 2026 municipal election