Hamilton East—Stoney Creek

Hamilton East—Stoney Creek occupied the eastern portion of the City of Hamilton, stretching from the older residential and industrial neighbourhoods east of Ottawa Street northward to Hamilton Harbour and eastward to encompass the former city of Stoney Creek along the Lake Ontario shore. The riding sat north of the Niagara Escarpment and included a mix of dense urban fabric in its western half and lower-density suburban development in Stoney Creek.

Candidates

Wayne Marston (NDP) — Marston had been a fixture in Hamilton labour and political circles for decades before his election to Parliament. He served as president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council for eleven years and was a school board trustee for Ward 5 on the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board from 2000 to 2006. He had previously run for the NDP in the former Hamilton East riding in 1993 and 1997, finishing second to Liberal cabinet minister Sheila Copps on both occasions. He won the newly created Hamilton East—Stoney Creek seat in 2006, defeating Liberal incumbent Tony Valeri, and was re-elected in 2008. In Parliament, he served as the NDP critic for human rights and was vice-chair of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights.

Brad Clark (Conservative) — Clark was a familiar figure in Hamilton-area politics. A graduate of Mohawk College's radio broadcasting program, he had owned and operated a small business and served as executive director of the Songwriters Association of Canada. He was elected as the Progressive Conservative MPP for Stoney Creek in 1999 and served in the Ontario cabinet as Minister of Labour and Minister of Transportation under premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. After leaving Queen's Park, he served as Hamilton city councillor for Ward 9 beginning in 2006.

Michelle Stockwell (Liberal) — Stockwell carried the Liberal banner in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the 2011 campaign. Detailed biographical information from the period is limited.

David Hart Dyke (Green Party) — Hart Dyke was the Green Party candidate in the riding. He had run for the Greens in previous Hamilton-area elections.

Other candidates included Gord Hill (PC Party), Greg Pattinson (Libertarian), Bob Mann (Communist), Wendell Fields (Marxist-Leninist), and Bob Green Innes (Canadian Action Party).

About the Riding

The riding's western half included Hamilton's industrial north end along the harbour, where Stelco and ArcelorMittal Dofasco maintained steel-making operations that had long defined the city's economic identity. ArcelorMittal Dofasco was the city's largest private-sector employer with approximately 5,000 workers. The harbour-front lands also included port facilities connected to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway shipping network.

Stoney Creek, the riding's eastern community, had a more suburban and commercial character, with big-box retail along the QEW corridor and residential development spreading along the lakeshore. The area had a significant Italian-Canadian population that shaped local community life and small business. The Battlefield House Museum and Park in Stoney Creek commemorated the War of 1812 battle site. Heading into 2011, economic concerns centred on the health of the steel industry and manufacturing sector, which had shed jobs during the 2008-2009 recession, as well as transit infrastructure and commuter access to the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.