Kitchener South—Hespeler

Kitchener South—Hespeler straddles the southern reaches of the City of Kitchener and the historic village of Hespeler in the City of Cambridge, a corridor shaped by manufacturing heritage and rapid suburban growth in the Waterloo Region. Progressive Conservative MPP Jess Dixon, a former assistant Crown attorney who won the seat in 2022, sought re-election after a term marked by her high-profile work on intimate partner violence. Dixon chaired a legislative subcommittee on the issue and served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Energy and later to the Associate Minister of Women's Social and Economic Opportunity. The snap election called by Premier Doug Ford in February 2025 cut short the subcommittee's work, which had accumulated months of testimony from survivors and experts.

The riding's demographics encompass established residential neighbourhoods, new subdivisions, and a growing population of immigrants and young families drawn by the Region of Waterloo's technology and manufacturing sectors. Housing affordability, health care access, and the economic uncertainty posed by trade tensions with the United States dominated the campaign conversation.

Candidates

Jess Dixon (Progressive Conservative) — A former assistant Crown attorney who spent a decade prosecuting cases in Ontario courts, including domestic violence matters. First elected in 2022, Dixon served as parliamentary assistant in the energy and women's opportunity portfolios and chaired the legislature's intimate partner violence subcommittee. She holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa and an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Guelph.

Ismail Mohamed (Liberal) — A community leader with nearly two decades of experience developing and leading programs to support families and seniors in South Kitchener. Mohamed came to Canada as a teenager with his family in 1993 and leads Ethic Talent Corp., a consulting firm that delivers culturally relevant solutions for organizations and businesses across the Waterloo Region. He also ran as the Liberal candidate in the riding in 2022.

Jeff Donkersgoed (NDP) — A secondary school music teacher with the Waterloo Region District School Board and organizer with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. Donkersgoed has held elected positions with the Waterloo Region Labour Council and sits as a member-at-large on the Arts and Advisory Committee with the City of Cambridge. He resides in Hespeler with his family.

Jessica Riley (Green Party) — An honours graduate in business administration who works for a company specializing in international sustainable food packaging. Riley became involved in Green politics during the 2021 federal election and volunteered with Kitchener Centre MPP Aislinn Clancy's successful 2023 by-election campaign.

Minor candidates included John Soule (New Blue Party).

Local Issues

Health care access was the foremost concern for residents of Kitchener South—Hespeler throughout the 2022-2025 term. The shortage of family physicians across the Waterloo Region left thousands of residents without primary care, and wait times at area emergency departments remained a persistent frustration. Dixon pointed to the provincial government's expansion of medical school seats and nurse practitioner programs, while her opponents argued that the pace of change had not kept up with the region's population growth.

Housing affordability intensified as a challenge in the riding during the term. The City of Kitchener set a target to build 35,000 new homes by 2031 and received a federal Housing Accelerator Fund allocation of over forty million dollars to fast-track construction. The city granted funding to several not-for-profit affordable housing projects, including supportive housing for women and youth experiencing homelessness. Despite these investments, affordable rental units remained scarce and the gap between incomes and home prices continued to widen, particularly for newcomers and young families.

The economic uncertainty created by escalating trade tensions with the United States added an unusual dimension to the campaign. The riding's manufacturing base, which includes automotive parts suppliers and technology firms with cross-border supply chains, faced the prospect of tariffs that could disrupt production and employment. Candidates debated how to diversify Ontario's trade relationships and support small businesses and workers through the disruption.