Kitchener South--Hespeler

Kitchener South--Hespeler sits in the southern portion of Waterloo Region, combining neighbourhoods in south Kitchener with the former town of Hespeler, which was amalgamated into the City of Cambridge in 1973 alongside Preston, Galt, and Blair. The riding is bisected by Highway 401 and threaded by the Grand and Speed rivers, with a mix of established residential areas, newer suburban subdivisions, and an industrial base anchored by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, which employs approximately 8,000 workers producing the Toyota Corolla and Lexus RX models. Manufacturing, retail, and health care are the riding's largest employment sectors.

Candidates

Matt Strauss (Conservative) is a physician and the first Conservative ever elected in this riding. Born in 1986 and raised in Hespeler, Strauss trained as an internist and intensivist, serving as Medical Director of Critical Care at Guelph General Hospital and holding an assistant professorship at Queen's University. From 2021 to 2023, he served as acting Medical Officer of Health for Haldimand-Norfolk, an appointment that drew public attention for his critical views on COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates. He was nominated as the Conservative candidate in November 2023.

Valerie Bradford (Liberal) is the incumbent, first elected in 2021. She grew up on a dairy farm in Dunnville, Ontario, and raised three children as a single mother. Before entering politics, she worked as a financial advisor at CIBC and then spent 15 years as a Business Development Officer for the City of Kitchener while chairing the Workforce Planning Board. In Parliament, she chaired the science and research committee and sat on public accounts.

Lorne Bruce (NDP) has worked in the grocery industry for more than 40 years and serves on the executive board of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 175/633. A father of two and former president of the Waterloo Regional Labour Council, Bruce ran as the NDP candidate in the riding in both 2019 and 2021, campaigning on workers' rights and climate action.

Ethan Russell (Green Party) ran on a platform centred on environmental sustainability and affordability.

Randall Williams (People's Party) campaigned on reducing government spending and defending individual freedoms.

Kathleen Dueck (United Party of Canada) also stood as a candidate.

About the Riding

The 2025 campaign in Kitchener South--Hespeler was shaped by anxiety over manufacturing jobs and US tariffs. The Toyota plant is the single largest employer in the riding, and the prospect of a 25 percent tariff on Canadian-assembled vehicles sent ripples through the workforce and the network of parts suppliers that feed the plant. Candidates debated how best to protect the automotive sector and diversify the local economy.

Cost of living was the other overriding concern. Housing prices in the riding climbed steadily through the early 2020s, and many younger residents reported being priced out of homeownership. Rental vacancy rates dropped to near-historic lows across Waterloo Region, compounding affordability pressures for working families. The riding's proximity to the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College amplifies demand for rental housing, and transit improvements remained a recurring topic as residents sought better connections between Hespeler, south Kitchener, and the broader regional transportation network.