What to know
- Keanin Loomis was elected Hamilton’s next mayor. His priorities include improving public safety, addressing homelessness, repairing roads, strengthening transit connections, and increasing accountability and transparency at City Hall.
- Alvin Tedjo won Mississauga’s mayoral race. His platform focused on affordability, including a proposed freeze on the city-controlled portion of residential property taxes for up to two years, building more housing and improving MiWay and GO Transit services.
- Patrick Brown secured a third consecutive term as Brampton’s mayor. He plans to advance his $9.4-billion “Big Brampton Build,” including hospital expansion, transit improvements, recreation facilities, downtown revitalization and public safety investments.
- The new municipal council term is scheduled to begin Nov. 15, with all three mayors expected to advance their campaign promises on housing, infrastructure, public services and community safety.
The results are in for three major mayoral races across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with voters in Hamilton and Mississauga electing new mayors and Brampton residents re-electing their current mayor.
Monday’s municipal election included cities across southwestern Ontario. Keanin Loomis took the top job in Hamilton, Alvin Tedjo won the mayoral race in Mississauga, and Patrick Brown secured a third consecutive term in Brampton.
The three mayors campaigned on different priorities, from improving city services and managing housing taxes to building more homes and expanding transit and health care.
Here’s who won and what they promised voters.
Keanin Loomis elected mayor of Hamilton
Keanin Loomis has been elected Hamilton’s next mayor, taking the top spot from incumbent mayor Andrea Horwath in what some called a rematch of the 2022 mayoral race.
Loomis previously served as president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction. He was also a board member of the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority before stepping down for this year’s election. Loomis ran for mayor previously in 2022, losing to Horwath.
His campaign focused on his “SMART” plan, which stands for safety, mobility, accountability, responsive government and taxpayer respect.
For Loomis, public safety was a major priority. Through his campaign, he promised he would improve neighbourhood safety with plans to respond to the homelessness crisis, as well as mental health challenges and other public disorder.
He also said he would prioritize downtown safety, cleaner public spaces and safer roads.
On infrastructure, Loomis said he would continue addressing Hamilton’s road repair needs, using preventative maintenance before they break down over time and long-term planning. He also looks to improve connections between Hamilton Street Railway buses, the future light-rail transit system and existing GO Transit.
Loomis also campaigned to improve accountability at City Hall. He proposed zero-based budgeting, a financial method where the city must build their budget requests completely from scratch rather than automatically carrying over or incrementing the previous year’s funding.
He also promised a review of ongoing city operations and a more transparent budget process that gives residents an earlier chance to participate.
Loomis said he hopes to modernize the 311 service, replacing the city’s existing 905-546-CITY customer service line with a system to help residents access municipal services without being continuously transferred between departments.
Additionally, Loomis pledged to support Hamilton’s steelworkers and attract more commercial and industrial investment to the city.
Alvin Tedjo elected mayor of Mississauga
Alvin Tedjo has been elected Mississauga’s next mayor, following a competitive three-way race.
The former Ward 2 city councillor beat out Carolyn Parrish and Crombie, both incumbents finishing behind him.
Tedjo’s campaign focused on affordability, community safety, housing, small-business support and improving transportation across the city.
One of his most prominent promises was to freeze the city-controlled portion of residential property taxes for up to two years in order to help with the cost of living. He also added that he planned to review city spending and seek out additional funding from higher levels of government.
For housing, Tedjo promised to make it easier to build a wide range of homes, including townhouses, multiplexes, rentals and affordable housing. He proposed the creation of a Mississauga Housing Corporation to look into underused properties, as well as work with private builders and non-profit housing providers to build new housing.
On transportation, Tedjo promised to improve the MiWay bus service with more direct routes, express services, expanded late-night and off-peak service, as well as better connections between neighbourhoods. He also wanted a dedicated lane for bus transit and pushed for more frequent, all-day GO Transit service.
Tedjo proposed additional police resources when it came to public safety, as well as more support for small businesses who want to prevent break-ins.
Patrick Brown re-elected mayor of Brampton
Patrick Brown has been re-elected mayor of Brampton, securing a third term in the city’s top job, beating out Wesley Jackson and Prabh Gill during the race.
Brown’s campaign heavily focused on the “Big Brampton Build,” 11 major infrastructure projects, valued at $9.4 billion.
His platform focused on completing projects that were already underway during his second term, as well as securing additional investment into health care, transit, recreation and downtown revitalization.
Brampton’s second hospital is another one of Brown’s focuses, planned for the former Peel Memorial site. The proposed project includes a multi-storey hospital building and a 24-hour emergency department.
Additionally, Brown promised to advance the Hazel McCallion light-rail transit extension into downtown Brampton, which would possibly include a section under a tunnel.
Brown also plans to look into work toward a comprehensive cancer care centre at Brampton Civic Hospital.
Recreation projects, including the Embleton Community Centre and the proposed Howden Recreation Centre, are also on Brown’s radar.
Downtown revitalization plans include rebuilding sections of Main and Queen streets, improving public spaces and continuing work on Riverwalk, a flood-protection project along Etobicoke Creek.
Brown’s campaign also emphasized public safety, investments in police infrastructure, as well as transit facilities to support the city’s growing population.
The new council term is scheduled to begin Nov. 15.
