Kitchener South-Hespeler candidates discuss tariffs, local jobs and cost of living

There are six candidates moving successful Kitchener South-Hespeler in this national election.

The candidates are (in alphabetical bid by past 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 4 large parties to instrumentality portion successful a sheet treatment connected The Morning Edition with big Craig Norris.

The topics covered included U.S. tariffs and the interaction connected jobs successful Kitchener South-Hespeler and the outgo of living.

LISTEN | Federal predetermination candidates from Kitchener South-Hespeler stock their apical priorities:

Bradford, who won the spot successful 2021, is the Liberal incumbent and she says being the MP for the riding is simply a "responsibility I bash not instrumentality lightly oregon for granted."

Before becoming MP, Bradford worked arsenic a concern improvement serviceman with the City of Kitchener for 15 years.

As an MP, she chaired the subject and probe parliamentary committee and served connected the nationalist accounts committee.

Bruce of the NDP has tally successful the 2019 and 2021 elections for the enactment and has besides served arsenic president of Waterloo Regional Labour Council.

"I've worked with galore assemblage organizations connected the issues that substance astir to our community," helium said.

Strauss of the Conservative Party said he's been a doc successful the country for the past 13 years and was the main of the ICU astatine the Guelph General Hospital for galore years. He besides the erstwhile acting aesculapian serviceman of wellness for the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit. 

Strauss' tenure successful that relation was arguable arsenic helium spoke retired against COVID-19 mandates. The Ontario Liberals called for Strauss' assignment to the relation to beryllium vetoed because, wellness professional John Fraser said astatine the time, Strauss opposed "life-saving nationalist wellness measures." The Ontario authorities did not veto Strauss' appointment.

Days later, immoderate members of Haldimand-Norfolk's committee of wellness said they were looking for ways to overturn Strauss being hired arsenic the acting aesculapian serviceman implicit comments helium made online connected Twitter (now X), including connected Aug. 3, 2020 erstwhile helium wrote that he'd alternatively springiness his children COVID-19 than a Happy Meal. That ne'er happened and Strauss resigned from that relation successful 2023. 

In 2022, helium sued Queen's University successful Kingston aft helium resigned from a presumption there. Strauss alleged "malicious, aggressive, condescending and defamatory statements" made astir him. In May 2024 connected X, Elon Musk tweeted helium would financially enactment the lawsuit, nevertheless Strauss says helium ne'er accepted immoderate wealth from Musk. The suit remains earlier the court.

"I cognize however to pb during situation and determination are aggregate crises going connected successful our state close now," Strauss said during the campaigner panel.

He said helium is besides moving successful this predetermination due to the fact that of issues similar outgo of living, crime, housing, and "there's a batch of things that conscionable aren't right."

Russell of the Green Party said helium is "by acold the youngest campaigner here" and helium is presently an aboriginal puerility acquisition pupil astatine Conestoga College.

"I cognize the struggles that parents are going done close now. I've met parents who are simultaneously trying to be assemblage themselves and springiness a amended beingness to their kid portion raising a kid. And I've seen the accent that that puts connected them," helium said.

"I've seen definite successes travel to america from Canada, but I've besides seen procreation aft generation, Conservative and Liberal governments perpetually failing."

Russell says there's a request for "real change."

WATCH | Kitchener South-Hespeler voters are disquieted astir jobs amid U.S. tariffs. Here's wherever national candidates basal connected the issue:

On U.S. tariffs and section jobs

The Toyota works is located successful the riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler, arsenic are different manufacturers. There are concerns astir however U.S. tariffs could interaction those companies and, successful turn, the radical who unrecorded successful the area.

Bruce says the commercialized concern with the U.S. close present "couldn't beryllium much of a bigger crisis."

"We're each affected by this," helium said. 

Bruce says Canada needs to diversify trading partners astir the satellite portion besides protecting workers who are straight affected. That means having programs successful spot to grow employment security and marque it easier for radical to beryllium eligible.

Strauss said arsenic a child, helium skipped 3 grades successful schoolhouse and was the unfortunate of bullying, truthful helium recognizes erstwhile idiosyncratic is being a bully.

"[U.S. President] Donald Trump is simply a bully. He's bullying us," Strauss said. "What I cognize astir bullies besides comes from the movie Karate Kid. If you're getting bullied, you spell to the gym, you larn karate, and past you mightiness not adjacent person to punch your bully successful the nose. Bullies question weakness. They look for it. And I'm atrocious to accidental that aft 10 years, our GDP per capita was astir astatine parity with the United States and now it would beryllium astir 30 per cent lower. So helium sees that weakness. He is praying connected it."

Strauss says helium wants to spot Canada physique a beardown system truthful Trump is incapable to "shove america astir anymore." That means gathering LNG terminals, pipelines, atomic reactors and railways, arsenic good arsenic knocking down interprovincial barriers and integrating the system amended with oversees countries.

"It's been Conservative Party argumentation for the past 4 years that we should beryllium pursuing the CANZUK idea, synchronizing our regulations with the different Commonwealth countries similar the U.K., Australia, New Zealand," helium said.

Russell said his uncle works astatine Toyota and his begetter works astatine Kuntz Electroplating, truthful the menace to section manufacturers is 1 helium understands.

"I deliberation a truly large happening that we request to absorption connected is however decades of backmost and distant from Liberal, Conservative authorities person simply dug america into a spread wherever our system is wholly focused connected the United States," helium said. "This is an contented that goes each the mode backmost to radical similar Brian Mulroney."

He said fixing the system doesn't mean "attaching to different partner" for commercialized and CANZUK isn't needfully the reply either.

"There are truthful galore countries that privation our products that we conscionable don't privation to merchantability to due to the fact that we privation to vessel 90 per cent of it to the States. I consciousness similar making that alteration archetypal and foremost is 1 of the biggest points. And past we tin speech astir the thought of further diversifying," helium said.

Bradford said Trump "is the large disrupter of satellite economies" but the Liberals volition look to diversify the economy.

She said Liberal Leader Mark Carney has already started gathering with premiers crossed Canada successful his relation arsenic Prime Minister to speech astir interprovincial commercialized barriers "which person held backmost our productivity and system for years."

"Our attack with President Trump is we don't respond to the nonsense helium says," she said.

On rising outgo of living

Russell says arsenic a young idiosyncratic successful college, he's felt the load of rising costs for lodging and different indispensable items.

"The information that present successful Kitchener we person a batch of antithetic types of housing, mid-rise apartments, high-rise apartments, your household homes, multiplexes, but not everyplace does person that. And we request to truly propulsion our municipalities to alteration the laws to get things similar fourplexes and mid emergence apartments that are affordable to beryllium built," Russell said.

He said the authorities needs to physique affordable homes. As well, the national authorities needs to diversify the economy.

"By investing further into things similar our manufacturing manufacture that let america to crook our lumber into finished goods alternatively than conscionable earthy lumber oregon focusing much connected vigor sources that aren't conscionable lipid and gas, we tin make a genuinely thriving system that tin trim the outgo of living," helium said.

Bruce said nutrient and structure are the 2 basal needs for quality survival.

"When we look astatine shelter, I look astatine the proposals from the different parties and they're talking astir immoderate incentives for radical to get into the lodging marketplace for buying homes, wherever I look astatine the immense rental marketplace that's retired determination and I deliberation it's important to admit the information that radical can't get successful the location marketplace due to the fact that they can't prevention wealth to  spend to bargain a home," helium said.

"I deliberation we request to person a bully hard look astatine however the rental marketplace isn't capped," helium said, adding rent increases and evictions request to beryllium dealt with.

For food, Bruce says he's worked successful the market concern for much than 40 years.

"When you're talking astir affordability, I spot those families connected a regular ground struggling," helium said.

"Many neighbourhoods, radical from each walks of life, it's a communal denominator with folks."

Bradford said lodging is the astir important contented erstwhile it comes to affordability and "it comes down to proviso and demand."

She said the national authorities has been giving backing for lodging and volition proceed to bash that if elected.

"We person committed to gathering 500,000 caller homes a year. We're going to bash this by utilizing modular technology, which we person the capableness of locally," Bradford said.

"You tin physique these homes successful factories twelvemonth circular and past determination them into place. So we request to get our lodging built faster. They request to beryllium modest, affordable homes."

Bradford added the Liberal's determination to make $10-a-day kid attraction has helped families chopped costs.

Strauss said the Liberals haven't done capable to physique lodging successful the past decennary and that's wherefore determination is presently a shortage of affordable homes.

"We can't support doing this. The Conservative program is to incentivize results alternatively than procedure. And I deliberation it's going to work," Strauss said.

He said ostentation has besides played a large relation successful raising costs.

"We conscionable person to halt spending wealth connected not our priorities and enactment the wealth successful the things radical need."

Other candidates

In her bio connected the United Party's website, Kathleen Dueck says she has volunteered successful the assemblage done wellness and wellness programs, women's groups, helping with children's programs and moving successful crockery kitchens. She has worked arsenic a bookkeeper and served arsenic a guidance caput astatine a section precocious school.

"Kathleen is passionate astir restoring Canada to the state and prosperity it erstwhile knew," the bio says.

Randy Williams describes himself connected his website arsenic a "steadfast blimpish with heavy Christian beliefs."

Dueck and Williams person been sent questions by email. When they respond, the answers volition beryllium added to this story.

Voters spell to the polls connected April 28.