Kitchener South—Hespeler

Kitchener South—Hespeler straddles the southern portion of the City of Kitchener and the northern part of the City of Cambridge above Highway 401, in Ontario's Waterloo Region. The riding covers approximately 111 square kilometres and had a population of 105,309 in the 2021 census. It is one of the most ethnically diverse ridings in the region, with visible minorities comprising over 36 per cent of the population, including significant South Asian, Black, and Latin American communities. The historic village of Hespeler, amalgamated into Cambridge in 1973, lends the riding part of its name.

Candidates

Valerie Bradford (Liberal) * Bradford grew up on a dairy farm in Dunnville, Ontario, and raised three children as a single mother. She holds a Diploma in Travel and Tourism from Humber College, a certificate in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo, and completed the Ontario Management Development program at Mohawk College. She worked as a financial advisor at CIBC before becoming a Business Development Officer for the City of Kitchener from 2005 to 2020, focusing on the manufacturing sector.

Tyler Calver (Conservative) A former broadcast journalist with CTV Kitchener and other outlets in Ontario and Manitoba, Calver drew on his years of interviewing residents about community issues as motivation to run for office. He won a virtual nomination contest to represent the Conservatives in the riding.

Suresh Arangath (NDP) A financial advisor and community volunteer, Arangath has lived in Kitchener South—Hespeler for 16 years with his wife, Beena, and their two children. He is an active volunteer with the Waterloo Food Bank and at Sunnyside Home Long-Term Care. He was a first-time candidate in 2021.

Melissa Baumgaertner (PPC) An alumna of Seneca College, Baumgaertner grew up in the Laurentian Hills area of the riding. She spent six years in Alberta building a career in restaurant and event management before returning to Kitchener, where she subsequently worked in the software industry.

About the Riding

Manufacturing is the backbone of Kitchener South—Hespeler's economy. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada operates a major assembly plant in Cambridge, employing approximately 8,000 workers and producing the Toyota Corolla and Lexus RX models. The plant anchors an extensive network of parts suppliers and logistics firms throughout the riding. Roughly 20 per cent of the local workforce is employed in manufacturing, making the riding more reliant on this sector than most urban Ontario constituencies.

The riding also benefits from its position within the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo metropolitan area, which had a combined population exceeding 575,000 in 2021. Retail, healthcare, and social assistance round out the employment base. Conestoga College's Doon campus, located in the riding, trains students in skilled trades and technology programs that feed directly into local industry.

Housing affordability and urban growth were pressing issues in 2021. The riding's population has grown rapidly, and new subdivision development in southern Kitchener has strained municipal infrastructure, including roads, transit, and schools. The opioid crisis, which has hit the Kitchener-Cambridge corridor hard, was a major concern among residents, with calls for expanded mental health and addiction services.

Hespeler's heritage main street, with its 19th-century mill buildings along the Speed River, contrasts with the newer suburban developments that dominate much of the riding. This mix of old and new, industrial and residential, gives Kitchener South—Hespeler its character as a working community shaped by manufacturing traditions and newcomer energy.