Voters in New Hamburg say cost of living, housing top concerns in Ontario election

Affordability, housing and long-term care are among the top issues for voters who stopped to speak to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo in downtown New Hamburg, Ont.

New Hamburg is in the riding of Kitchener-Conestoga.

Jack Picassinos said he worries about if his kids can afford everyday items.

"The younger generations, they're going to struggle a lot," he said. "Inflation — that's top — COVID, gas prices, I've never seen it this bad."

He said he'd also like to see the next provincial government focus on health care and education.

Joan Grosso said there's many issues on her mind, but housing is a major one.

"My mortgage is coming due, so that means a lot for me. The interest rates, another one. I mean, there's just so many [issues] this time around," she said, adding unemployment to the list.

"My husband's out of work and it's just tough."

Grosso said she doesn't know who to vote for — although she thought Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford did a good job in the last four years. She added her advice for politicians is to "do what you say you're going to do."

Madeline Burns said she's not paid much attention to the election yet.

She said it's hard to find a place to live because the cost of homes and rent have been on the rise.

"I guess house availability, affordability, things like that," she said. "I really haven't lived here that long, but even the time that I've lived here, it's gone up a crazy amount. Was not expecting it."

Basic needs must be met: Voter

Anna Steinmann lives at Morningside Retirement Village in New Hamburg and said housing, helping people experiencing homelessness and dealing with a shortage of health-care workers are on her mind in this election.

"We live in a very privileged area and there's people who don't have all those benefits that we do in our community. So I think we need to go beyond our own community to care for other people," she said. "I think every person deserves their basic needs."

She said she's also heard from friends and family members about staff shortages in local long-term care homes.

"I think we need to consider the long-term care facilities and what has been exposed in those homes during the pandemic," she said.

Richard Quesnel said he hasn't really thought about the provincial election and what his top issue is, but said inflation, housing, affordability, the environment and health care are near the top.

Ultimately, though, he'd like to see some team work at Queen's Park.

"What I would really like to see is a single party that said, 'I'm willing to co-operate with any government that gets in power in order to help the people' rather than just tearing down the other parties," he said.

'Keep hoping for the best'

Paul Ming said there's a lot on his mind right now even beyond the provincial election.

"The train seems off the rail right now. So I'm pretty concerned about everything, more concerned about fixing world problems like Ukraine right now," he said.

"Housing has got out of hand. Our fuel and our cost of living has got out of hand," he said.

"I'm fortunate because I'm retired, but I worry about our youth of today, how they're even going to be able to afford to live comfortably in this country if it keeps getting out of hand financially."

He said he's working on an affordable housing project in town called the Love Your Neighbourhood Community and he hopes it will help.

Standing with Ming was Keith Wagler of Tavistock who said he has three grandchildren who are looking for housing but "there's no way under the sun that they can afford" to buy right now.

The health care system also needs to be revamped, Wagler said.

"I have no idea if anybody has a plan for that or not, but something needs to be done, so we'll see what happens," he said. "We just keep on hoping for the best."

Voting day is June 2.