Hamilton has elected its first-ever woman mayor in Andrea Horwath.
CP24 declared Horwath as the winner shortly after 11 p.m.
The career politician narrowly beat out former Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Keanin Loomis in Monday's election.
At least 86 per cent of polls are reporting and show Horwath barely defeating Loomis with 41.76 per cent of the vote to his 40.57. Meanwhile, former Hamilton mayor Bob Bratina came away with just 12.21 per cent at time of writing.
"Everybody knows that Hamilton is my pride, my inspiration, it has been for my entire life," Horwath said to her supporters following the late-night victory.
"I could not have asked for a better home town than this city we all love."
The result marks Horwath’s second tenure at Hamilton city hall. She previously served as city councillor between 1997 and 2004.
Horwath was elected as MPP for Hamilton Centre (then Hamilton East) in 2004 and eventually served as leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party.
She led the party to two terms as the official opposition, first in 2018 and then again in 2022. Horwath stepped down as the leader of the Ontario NDP following its loss to Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives the night of the June election -- which also saw the party shed seven seats.
At the same time, the 60-year-old politician was re-elected to her post in the legislature.
Horwath formally announced her intentions to re-enter municipal politics in July. Rumours about a potential mayoral run started to swirl a month earlier after outgoing mayor Fred Eisenberger announced he would not seek another term.
Horwath thanked her fellow running mates, as well as Eisenberger, as she pledged to amplify the voices of her constituents at city hall.
“I will be transparent, I will make sure that city hall is transparent and accountable. We deserve to be able to have that kind of transparency and that kind of accountability. Because guess what, it’s not my city hall and it’s not the council members’ city hall. It’s your city hall,” she said as her supporters sang her "Happy Birthday."
In the lead up to Monday’s election, Horwath said that Hamilton’s “best days are ahead” and that she would work on strengthening the city’s relationships with all levels of government.
Her mayoral action plan has placed housing affordability, public infrastructure, safe roads, and green initiatives as the focus of her first term as mayor.
ADVANCED VOTING NEARLY DOUBLES 2018 TURNOUT
Interest in Hamilton’s wide-open mayoral race was highlighted in the advance polls, which saw some 31,700 votes cast.
That’s a major jump from the 17,052 who voted in advance in 2018 and 13,242 in 2014.
Eisenberger won both of those elections and it's his departure that’s paved the way for new leadership at city hall -- something IELECT Hamilton says constituents desperately need.
“It’s time for change for our city … We need better leadership and better accountability,” board member Ryan Moran told CP24.com earlier this week.
The grassroots, volunteer-run organization has advocated for new faces around the council since May of 2021 and said a number of “disastrous” scandals in the city, including the Chedoke Creek sewage leak and the Red Hill Valley Parkway road surfacing cover up, have hollowed out voter trust.
“It’s a big time of change in Hamilton,” Moran said.
Horwath addressed the impressive advance voter showing earlier this month and said she was encouraged by the turnout.
“When it comes to the mayor’s position, experience is going to matter so that we can hit the ground running and really take advantage of the positive future that we have,” Howarth said.
