Kitchener South-Hespeler candidates discuss tariffs, local jobs and cost of living
There are 6 candidates running in this riding
There are six candidates running in Kitchener South-Hespeler in this federal election.
The candidates are (in alphabetical order by last name):
- Valerie Bradford, Liberal Party of Canada (incumbent).
- Lorne Bruce, New Democratic Party.
- Kathleen Dueck, United Party of Canada.
- Ethan Russell, Green Party of Canada.
- Matt Strauss, Conservative Party of Canada.
- Randy Williams, People's Party of Canada.
CBC K-W invited the candidates from the four major parties to take part in a panel discussion on The Morning Edition with host Craig Norris.
The topics covered included U.S. tariffs and the impact on jobs in Kitchener South-Hespeler and the cost of living.
LISTEN | Federal election candidates from Kitchener South-Hespeler share their top priorities:
Bradford, who won the seat in 2021, is the Liberal incumbent and she says being the MP for the riding is a "responsibility I do not take lightly or for granted."
Before becoming MP, Bradford worked as a business development officer with the City of Kitchener for 15 years.
As an MP, she chaired the science and research parliamentary committee and served on the public accounts committee.
Bruce of the NDP has run in the 2019 and 2021 elections for the party and has also served as president of Waterloo Regional Labour Council.
"I've worked with many community organizations on the issues that matter most to our community," he said.
Strauss of the Conservative Party said he's been a physician in the area for the last 13 years and was the chief of the ICU at the Guelph General Hospital for many years. He also the former acting medical officer of health for the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit.
Strauss' tenure in that role was controversial as he spoke out against COVID-19 mandates. The Ontario Liberals called for Strauss' appointment to the role to be vetoed because, health critic John Fraser said at the time, Strauss opposed "life-saving public health measures." The Ontario government did not veto Strauss' appointment.
Days later, some members of Haldimand-Norfolk's board of health said they were looking for ways to overturn Strauss being hired as the acting medical officer over comments he made online on Twitter (now X), including on Aug. 3, 2020 when he wrote that he'd rather give his children COVID-19 than a Happy Meal. That never happened and Strauss resigned from that role in 2023.
In 2022, he sued Queen's University in Kingston after he resigned from a position there. Strauss alleged "malicious, aggressive, condescending and defamatory statements" made about him. In May 2024 on X, Elon Musk tweeted he would financially support the lawsuit, however Strauss says he never accepted any money from Musk. The lawsuit remains before the court.
"I know how to lead during crisis and there are multiple crises going on in our country right now," Strauss said during the candidate panel.
He said he is also running in this election because of issues like cost of living, crime, housing, and "there's a lot of things that just aren't right."
Russell of the Green Party said he is "by far the youngest candidate here" and he is currently an early childhood education student at Conestoga College.
"I know the struggles that parents are going through right now. I've met parents who are simultaneously trying to attend college themselves and give a better life to their kid while raising a kid. And I've seen the stress that that puts on them," he said.
"I've seen certain successes come to us from Canada, but I've also seen generation after generation, Conservative and Liberal governments constantly failing."
Russell says there's a need for "real change."
WATCH | Kitchener South-Hespeler voters are worried about jobs amid U.S. tariffs. Here's where federal candidates stand on the issue:
On U.S. tariffs and local jobs
The Toyota plant is located in the riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler, as are other manufacturers. There are concerns about how U.S. tariffs could impact those companies and, in turn, the people who live in the area.
Bruce says the trade situation with the U.S. right now "couldn't be more of a bigger crisis."
"We're all affected by this," he said.
Bruce says Canada needs to diversify trading partners around the world while also protecting workers who are directly affected. That means having programs in place to expand employment insurance and make it easier for people to be eligible.
Strauss said as a child, he skipped three grades in school and was the victim of bullying, so he recognizes when someone is being a bully.
"[U.S. President] Donald Trump is a bully. He's bullying us," Strauss said. "What I know about bullies also comes from the movie Karate Kid. If you're getting bullied, you go to the gym, you learn karate, and then you might not even have to punch your bully in the nose. Bullies seek weakness. They look for it. And I'm sorry to say that after 10 years, our GDP per capita was roughly at parity with the United States and now it would be roughly 30 per cent lower. So he sees that weakness. He is praying on it."
Strauss says he wants to see Canada build a strong economy so Trump is unable to "shove us around anymore." That means building LNG terminals, pipelines, nuclear reactors and railways, as well as knocking down interprovincial barriers and integrating the economy better with oversees countries.
"It's been Conservative Party policy for the last four years that we should be pursuing the CANZUK idea, synchronizing our regulations with the other Commonwealth countries like the U.K., Australia, New Zealand," he said.
Russell said his uncle works at Toyota and his father works at Kuntz Electroplating, so the threat to local manufacturers is one he understands.
"I think a really big thing that we need to focus on is how decades of back and forth from Liberal, Conservative politics have simply dug us into a hole where our economy is entirely focused on the United States," he said. "This is an issue that goes all the way back to people like Brian Mulroney."
He said fixing the economy doesn't mean "attaching to another partner" for trade and CANZUK isn't necessarily the answer either.
"There are so many countries that want our products that we just don't want to sell to because we want to ship 90 per cent of it to the States. I feel like making that change first and foremost is one of the biggest points. And then we can talk about the idea of further diversifying," he said.
Bradford said Trump "is the great disrupter of world economies" but the Liberals will look to diversify the economy.
She said Liberal Leader Mark Carney has already started meeting with premiers across Canada in his role as Prime Minister to talk about interprovincial trade barriers "which have held back our productivity and economy for years."
"Our approach with President Trump is we don't react to the nonsense he says," she said.
On rising cost of living
Russell says as a young person in college, he's felt the burden of rising costs for housing and other necessary items.
"The fact that here in Kitchener we have a lot of different types of housing, mid-rise apartments, high-rise apartments, your family homes, multiplexes, but not everywhere does have that. And we need to really push our municipalities to change the laws to get things like fourplexes and mid rise apartments that are affordable to be built," Russell said.
He said the government needs to build affordable homes. As well, the federal government needs to diversify the economy.
"By investing further into things like our manufacturing industry that allow us to turn our lumber into finished goods rather than just raw lumber or focusing more on energy sources that aren't just oil and gas, we can create a truly thriving economy that can reduce the cost of living," he said.
Bruce said food and shelter are the two basic needs for human survival.
"When we look at shelter, I look at the proposals from the other parties and they're talking about some incentives for people to get into the housing market for buying homes, where I look at the huge rental market that's out there and I think it's important to recognize the fact that people can't get in the house market because they can't save money to afford to buy a home," he said.
"I think we need to have a good hard look at how the rental market isn't capped," he said, adding rent increases and evictions need to be dealt with.
For food, Bruce says he's worked in the grocery business for more than 40 years.
"When you're talking about affordability, I see those families on a daily basis struggling," he said.
"Many neighbourhoods, people from all walks of life, it's a common denominator with folks."
Bradford said housing is the most important issue when it comes to affordability and "it comes down to supply and demand."
She said the federal government has been giving funding for housing and will continue to do that if elected.
"We have committed to building 500,000 new homes a year. We're going to do this by using modular technology, which we have the capability of locally," Bradford said.
"You can build these homes in factories year round and then move them into place. So we need to get our housing built faster. They need to be modest, affordable homes."
Bradford added the Liberal's move to create $10-a-day child care has helped families cut costs.
Strauss said the Liberals haven't done enough to build housing in the past decade and that's why there is currently a shortage of affordable homes.
"We can't keep doing this. The Conservative plan is to incentivize results rather than procedure. And I think it's going to work," Strauss said.
He said inflation has also played a big role in raising costs.
"We just have to stop spending money on not our priorities and put the money in the things people need."
Other candidates
In her bio on the United Party's website, Kathleen Dueck says she has volunteered in the community through health and wellness programs, women's groups, helping with children's programs and working in soup kitchens. She has worked as a bookkeeper and served as a guidance secretary at a local high school.
"Kathleen is passionate about restoring Canada to the freedom and prosperity it once knew," the bio says.
Randy Williams describes himself on his website as a "steadfast conservative with deep Christian beliefs."
Dueck and Williams have been sent questions by email. When they respond, the answers will be added to this story.
Voters go to the polls on April 28.
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