By-election called for Hamilton Centre to fill vacated Horwath seat

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Published February 15, 2023 at 11:36 am

city of hamilton centre mpp andrea horwath byelection by election ontario sarah jama Deirdre Pike Peter Wiesner Lucia Iannantuono
The Hamilton Centre by-election will be held on Mar. 16, 2023. Voters will fill the MPP seat vacated by Andrea Horwath, now the city's mayor.

We knew it was coming, we just weren’t sure when.

The Ontario government confirmed Wednesday that a by-election in Hamilton Centre would be held on Mar. 16, 2023, leaving one month for candidates to endear themselves to the 76,000 voters in the city’s most progressive electoral district, which the New Democrat Party has dominated for decades.

Andrea Horwath, who was also the party’s leader, had been the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Hamilton Centre since 2007 before stepping down and successfully running in the city’s mayoral race in 2022. While the district was redrawn just before Horwath’s tenure, the area was represented by another NDP MPP, David Christopherson, throughout the 1990s.

city of hamilton centre mpp andrea horwath byelection by election ontario sarah jama Deirdre Pike Peter Wiesner Lucia Iannantuono

Representing the NDP in the upcoming by-election will be Sarah Jama, while the Liberals will turn to Deirdre Pike, Peter Wiesner will represent the Progressive Conservatives, and Lucia Iannantuono will run for the Green Party.

The last time an NDP or Liberal MPP has not represented Hamilton Centre was in 1967.

Under the provincial Election Act, elections must be called on a Wednesday and held on the fifth Thursday after the date of the issue of the order.

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