Kitchener South—Hespeler

Kitchener South—Hespeler entered the 2022 provincial election as an open seat after Progressive Conservative MPP Amy Fee announced in August 2021 that she would not seek re-election, citing the demands of raising four children as a single mother. Fee had won the newly created riding for the PCs in 2018. The riding, home to more than 105,000 residents, had experienced significant growth in both housing and industry during the previous term, particularly in the community of Hespeler where new home construction accelerated.

With no incumbent running, the race attracted six candidates vying to represent a riding where affordability, housing, and transit connections to the Greater Toronto Area were top concerns for voters.

Candidates

Jess Dixon (Progressive Conservative) — A criminal prosecutor who had been called to the bar in 2014, Dixon worked as an assistant Crown attorney at the Kitchener Crown Attorney’s office and served as both a federal and provincial prosecutor. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, she moved to Cambridge at age seven and later earned her law degree from the University of Ottawa.

Joanne Weston (NDP) — A Waterloo Region District School Board trustee who had lived in Kitchener and Cambridge for over 26 years. Weston campaigned on lowering car insurance rates, raising the minimum wage, and building supportive housing.

Ismail Mohamed (Liberal) — A first-generation immigrant who came to Canada as a teenager in 1993, Mohamed worked as a community services facilitator with the City of Kitchener. He was involved in addressing issues around housing, education, and human services.

David Weber (Green Party) — A retired member of the Waterloo Regional Police Service with a 30-year career, Weber had previously run as the Ontario Green candidate in the riding in both 2014 and 2018.

John Teat ran for the New Blue Party and David Gillies for the Ontario Party.

Local Issues

Housing affordability was the dominant issue in Kitchener South—Hespeler heading into the 2022 election. While the riding had seen substantial new residential development, particularly in Hespeler, home prices and rental costs had risen sharply across the Waterloo Region, putting homeownership out of reach for many residents. The IP Park Industrial Campus was expected to bring further employment growth over the following decade, but the housing supply was struggling to keep pace.

Transportation was another pressing concern, with residents advocating for two-way, all-day GO train service between the Kitchener-Waterloo region and Toronto. Many commuters relied on the GO corridor for work, and expanded service was seen as essential to the region’s continued growth and economic competitiveness.

Healthcare access rounded out the top concerns, with long-term care reform and home care improvements frequently raised by voters. The COVID-19 pandemic had exposed vulnerabilities in long-term care homes across Ontario, and residents wanted assurances that the provincial government would invest in safer, better-staffed facilities. Environmental concerns, including climate change policy, also featured prominently in local discussions.