10/01/2026
Housing, youth opportunities, policing and support for Black-led organizations were among the issues at the centre of a Hamilton mayoral debate last week, as candidates faced questions about the experiences of Black communities in the city.
Four of the city’s 13 certified mayoral candidates attended the event hosted by the Afro Canadian Caribbean Association (ACCA) and held at its Barton Street E. space: incumbent Mayor Andrea Horwath, Keanin Loomis, Scarlett Gillespie and Nathalie Xian Yi Yan.
Organizers said the event was intended to give Black residents an opportunity to hear directly from candidates about issues affecting their families, businesses and communities.
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“Black communities are an important part of the social, economic and cultural fabric of Hamilton,” said Evelyn Myrie, president of ACCA.
People filled several rows of seats at the Thursday evening event, held in partnership with several Black-led organizations and community groups, including the Somali Community in Hamilton, Ghana Association of Hamilton, Nigerian Canadian Association of Hamilton, Cameroon Association of Hamilton, Black Health Table Advisory Group, Hamilton Black Health Community Leaders Forum and Sisters in Sync.
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Mayoral candidate Pamela Mitchell, who had been scheduled to attend, cancelled at the last minute. Ward 8 councillor and mayoral candidate Rob Cooper was also expected but did not attend.
Myrie told the crowd Cooper had requested security in order to attend because he felt unsafe, though “not from us,” she said.
A Rob Cooper name card can be seen on a table, without a person behind it.
Organizers said they were disappointed that Rob Cooper, Ward 8 councillor and mayor candidate, did not attend the event. (Eva Salinas/CBC)
“We organized this debate because there are important issues affecting Hamilton's Black communities that we wanted all mayoral candidates to address,” Myrie later told CBC in a statement.
Cooper’s team told Myrie “he had safety concerns related to the presence of another candidate, and I take those concerns seriously,” she said. “His absence was nevertheless disappointing because our community deserved the opportunity to hear directly from him about these issues.”
CBC Hamilton reached out to Cooper for comment but did not receive a response.
A focus on housing needs, building trust with police
Candidates didn’t debate each other on issues but were each given one minute to respond to individual questions asked by the moderator, followed by several audience questions, on topics ranging from health inequities, police use of force and support for the Francophone community.
Housing was one of the first major issues discussed. Organizers highlighted the disproportionate representation of Black residents among people experiencing homelessness in Hamilton. While about five per cent of Hamilton’s population identifies as Black, organizers said Black residents represented 17 per cent of respondents experiencing homelessness in the city’s 2024 Point-in-Time Connection dataset.
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Horwath said housing has been her “passion,” and Hamilton needs to build on housing projects that are already working, while focusing on whether public spending is translating into more people having safe and stable homes.
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Loomis said the city needs to move faster to get housing built, “use city land better” and work with non-profit and community housing providers. He also emphasized involving residents earlier in the development process.
Gillespie pointed to long wait times for geared-to-income rentals and supportive housing, drawing on her own experience with housing insecurity. She also proposed creating a separate wait list for Black residents, like there exists for seniors.
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The discussion extended beyond housing.
Kojo Damptey, a Ward 14 council candidate who was in the audience, said he wanted to hear what mayoral candidates would do for Black seniors struggling with property taxes and aging at home, Black youth looking for programs and opportunities, Black-led organizations seeking funding and communities affected by hate incidents and police use of force.
Youth were also a major theme. Joëlle Kabisoso of Sisters in Sync told CBC Hamilton young people have told her they feel there are limited employment and programming opportunities in Hamilton and that programs often do not last long enough to provide stability.
She said some young people also feel they are used as “a photo opportunity” by politicians without being meaningfully engaged in decision-making. Kabisoso said organizations can help young people understand how municipal government works, but city officials also need to make that connection directly.
The turnout Thursday from the community to hear from candidates was impressive, she added.
Candidates took turns pledging support for Black-led organizations and youth recreation and entrepreneurship initiatives. Organizers also asked the candidates if they would support a formal mechanism to address anti-Black racism within the city. Horwath, Loomis and Gillespie all said yes, with most adding they would need to consult to create it.
To the question of how to advance trust between Hamilton police and Black communities, Horwath said consulting with community about the hiring next year of the next police chief, while Loomis said police need to work on crime prevention, creating a downtown safety plan and supporting recreation, mental health and addiction services. Gillespie said there needs to be harsher consequences for racism and white supremacy at work, and alternative outlets for youth. Xian Yi Yan suggested the creation of traffic officers to free up police to do other kinds of policing.
Residents hoping for more engagement
Three separate images of people talking excitedly with others.
Candidates mingle with residents after the debate, from left: Scarlett Gillespie, Keanin Loomis and Andrea Horwath. (Kezia Royer-Burkett/CBC)
For some residents, the debate was viewed as the beginning of a larger conversation rather than a conclusion.
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Hamilton resident Terri Bedminster, who is also the executive director of Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health, said she would like to see more opportunities for candidates to engage directly with Black residents on issues affecting the community.
“We have heard a lot tonight,” she said Thursday evening, adding that she hopes the candidates continue the dialogue beyond the debate.
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“I hope the next mayor will bring the change this city needs,” said Fatuma Mohamud, a resident who attended the debate to hear directly from candidates. “This election is very important because of the state of the city,” she told CBC Hamilton, citing issues such as public safety, addiction and homelessness, affordability, housing, and employment as those needing attention.
“Hearing from [the candidates] gave me more information to consider when I’m thinking about my vote," she said.
Daunte Hillen, an 18-year-old candidate for Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustee for Wards 8 and 14, said he wanted to see mayoral candidates engage more directly with residents on the Mountain.
Hillen said where residents live can affect the issues they face and argued that Mountain residents should also have opportunities to hear directly from mayoral candidates.
The debate is one of several opportunities to hear from mayoral candidates ahead of the municipal election on Oct. 26.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kezia Royer-Burkett
Freelance reporter
Kezia Royer-Burkett is an author, communications expert, and social entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in journalism and community engagement. She holds an Honours degree in Communications and Multimedia from McMaster University and is a contributor to Local-news.ca and CBC Hamilton. Kezia is also the author of 31 Affirmations for Melanin Women and the host of Pages of Me Podcast.
