Hamilton Centre

Hamilton Centre occupies the urban core of Hamilton, Ontario, running from Hamilton Harbour in the north to the base of the Niagara Escarpment in the south, and bounded roughly by Kenilworth Street to the east and Highway 403 to the west. The riding covers approximately 47 square kilometres and is one of the most densely populated constituencies in the Hamilton area. Its neighbourhoods—including the downtown core, Corktown, Beasley, Stinson, Kirkendall, and the International Village—reflect the city's industrial heritage and its ongoing transformation.

The 2021 census recorded a population of approximately 106,000. The median age of 38 is younger than the Ontario average. Average individual income sits at roughly $44,600, and the riding has high concentrations of rental housing and affordable housing stock. Hamilton Centre has long been shaped by its working-class roots in the steel and manufacturing sectors, though the local economy has diversified considerably.

Candidates

Matthew Green (NDP) — Born and raised in Hamilton, Green holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and legal studies from Acadia University. He was elected in 2014 as the first Black Canadian to serve on Hamilton City Council, representing inner-city Ward 3. During his time on council, he advocated for affordable housing, street safety, and the regulation of payday lending. He joined the NDP in 2017 and was first elected to Parliament in 2019.

Margaret Bennett (Liberal) — Bennett is a certified financial planner and national recruitment strategist who lived in Hamilton's Stinson neighbourhood, where she co-chaired the community association. An advocate for public transit, she served as the Lakeshore West representative on the GO Transit Consumer Advisory Committee.

Fabian Grenning (Conservative) — Grenning is an accountant and president of Grenning & Co., a firm serving the Greater Hamilton Area. He was involved in the Hamilton community through business and economic development committees within the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

Kevin Barber (PPC) — Barber came to Hamilton in 1984 to study Broadcast Journalism at Mohawk College and remained in the city. He has worked in the music industry and for fifteen years operated BOXO Studio from his Cumberland Avenue home, producing albums and hosting the Barber Shop Podcast.

About the Riding

Hamilton Centre has been an NDP stronghold at the federal level since the riding was first contested in 2004. The constituency's political character reflects its demographics—a densely populated, historically industrial landscape with a strong union tradition rooted in the steel mills that once defined Hamilton's identity. Stelco and Dofasco shaped generations of working families in the downtown core and surrounding neighbourhoods.

Affordable housing and homelessness are among the most acute issues in the riding. Hamilton experienced sharp increases in average rent over the 2010s, and the downtown core has a large population of residents in precarious housing situations. Gentrification pressures have intensified as the city attracts newcomers priced out of the Toronto market, driving up costs in neighbourhoods that were historically affordable. The opioid crisis has also weighed heavily on the riding, with Hamilton's public health system working to deliver harm reduction, community outreach, and treatment services.

The riding's economy has evolved from its manufacturing roots toward healthcare, education, and the service sector, with McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences as major employers in the broader Hamilton area. The downtown core has seen investment in arts and culture, and the James Street North corridor has become a recognized cultural district. However, pockets of deep poverty persist alongside revitalization, and the tension between new development and the needs of long-standing residents remains a defining feature of political life in Hamilton Centre.