Equity advocate Deirdre Pike to be Ontario Liberals' Hamilton-Centre candidate

Members of the Ontario Liberal Party's Hamilton-Centre riding association have nominated Deirdre Pike, a researcher, equity consultant and Hamilton Spectator columnist, to represent them in a looming provincial byelection.

Pike, who was the riding's Liberal nominee in 2018, says she's looking forward to campaigning on climate change, protecting the Greenbelt and increasing income security for people on social assistance. Once a supporter of the New Democratic Party, Pike says she turned to the Liberals because of former Premier Kathleen Wynne and her belief the Liberals are more likely to form government than the NDP, the official opposition since 2018.

"I think having a seat vacated in this riding presents a really strong opportunity for the Ontario Liberal Party to be, once again, the progressive voice taking action on behalf of people here," said Pike, a self-described "queer Catholic" who says she found success pushing for change from the inside of various establishments. "When I challenge things I want to do it in a way that is respectful and moves things forward."

Wynne introduced Pike at the riding association's online candidate presentations on Sunday, calling her a "force of nature" who she met many years ago when Pike was "really pushing [the] government on poverty reduction."

Pike's competition for the nomination was a candidate named Cameron McGill. Pike takes the torch from previous candidate Ekaterini Dimakis, who ran for the Liberals in the riding in the 2022 spring election but announced in November that she wouldn't seek the nomination for the byelection.

Byelection date to be set within about a month

The riding, which encompasses Hamilton's downtown and a sizable area to the east, is waiting on a byelection to produce its new member of provincial parliament, after former MPP Andrea Horwath officially stepped down to run for mayor in August. Well-known disability and encampment activist Sarah Jama was announced as the NDP's candidate in the fall. The Green Party of Ontario's website indicates the party is fielding hardware engineer Lucia Iannantuono.

Sarah Bokhari ran for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in last spring's provincial election, and her LinkedIn and Facebook accounts describe her as the party's "candidate of record" in Hamilton-Centre. The LinkedIn page describes her as an academic with three master's degrees, and says she lives in London, Ont. CBC Hamilton reached out to her and the party to ask about the byelection but did not hear back by the time of publication.

A spokesperson for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, which governs vacant seats at Queen's Park, told CBC that a writ – the official notice the election process is underway – must be issued by mid-February.

Under the Legislative Assembly Act, Section 27, a writ must be issued within six months of Aug. 17, the day that Ontario's chief electoral officer received the "warrant for the issue of a writ for the election of a member to fill such vacancy," said Nina Zemko of the legislature's Parliamentary Protocol and Public Relations Branch.

"It is the responsibility of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to appoint a day, which must be a Thursday, for the close of nomination of candidates for a by-election. The election will follow on the 14th day after."

The current Lieutenant Governor is Elizabeth Dowdeswell, although it is widely understood that the date for the byelection will be a decision made by Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet.

'Poverty and homelessness are very evident here'

Pike says that whenever the writ comes, she'll be ready. The riding association's vetting and nomination process took place through much of December, with members voting on Wednesday, so she won't get much of a break from campaigning with the election near in the future.

A known entity to many in the city through her regular columns in the Hamilton Spectator, Pike worked for about 20 years at Hamilton's Social Planning and Research Council, as a social planner, working on projects related to poverty reduction, affordable housing and homelessness, and creating 2SLGBTQI+ positive spaces.

She has worked in several Catholic organizations over the years as well, including at St. Joseph's Parish in Ottawa and Regina Mundi Catholic Church on the Hamilton Mountain. She now works as the justice and outreach program consultant for the Anglican Diocese of Niagara, focusing on climate justice, truth and reconciliation, human trafficking awareness, food insecurity, and anti-racism education. She also runs a consulting firm, Queer Positive Power, offering inclusivity training in workplaces.

Pike, 60, lives in the Strathcona neighbourhood with her longtime partner, Renee Wetselaar, and their cats, Ella and Shazoo.

She says the MPP job would be a chance to help address the deep inequality that exists in Hamilton-Centre, noting the Ford government cancelled the basic income pilot that was helping many in the city get by. She would like to see it return, along with changes to other social assistance programs that make it hard for recipients to thrive.

"It is very clear… that this riding has a vulnerability around economics, and people's experiences of poverty and homelessness are very evident here," she said. "People in this riding of all economic states care and are compassionate about this. We all want to make some change around poverty."