Kitchener-Waterloo·Waterloo Region Votes

These Kitchener voters don't know who will get their vote in this Ontario election

With the Ontario election well underway and voters heading to the polls on Feb. 27, candidates are running on messages that may or may not resonate with voters. A local panel of three Waterloo region residents joined host Craig Norris on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition to talk about what matters most to them.

'I'm not particularly impressed' with candidate options, voter Mohammad Abu-Rshaid says

Hannah Kavanagh · CBC News · Posted: Feb 04, 2025 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: February 4

A woman in a purple sweater and a man in a grey sweater stand side by side, smiling. — Sherrie Sweeney, left, and Tom Hiller are both long-time Waterloo region residents. They have different ideas of what's most important for the Ontario government, but agree that they are still largely undecided on who they'll vote for in the Ontario election on Feb. 27. (Karis Mapp/CBC News)

As Ontario voters prepare to go to the polls, some say they still have a lot of thinking to do about who will get their vote.

In a voter panel on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition, three people told host Craig Norris there's a lot on their minds when it comes to top issues. All had different backgrounds and perspectives, with one thing in common: they weren't sure who they were voting for yet.

One of the big issues was whether there was a need to call an election at all.

Kitchener South-Hespeler voter Sherrie Sweeney said she thinks Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford's vie for a stronger mandate doesn't hold much weight.

"I took a little look and apparently he has a majority that is insurmountable even if all the other parties coalesce," Sweeney said. "I don't know how much stronger a mandate he needs, and the cost and timing of it just seems very disingenuous to me."

But while Sweeney said she was "flabbergasted" they were going to the polls, Kitchener Centre voter Tom Hiller pointed out the need for a "united front" against the American tariffs being imposed on Canada.

That being said, Hiller is disappointed in local PC candidates.

"The Progressive Conservative candidates for both ridings [Kitchener Centre and Waterloo] are parachuted in and don't have a local history. And that, quite frankly, offends me," Hiller said.

Mohammad Abu-Rshaid is a university student and a voter in Kitchener-Conestoga. He said that housing an affordability are his major concerns in this election.

"Doug Ford got rid of rent regulations back in 2018, and for non-rent-controlled units, which some students are becoming increasingly exposed to, that would mean eviction by rent increase," Abu-Rshaid said.

"It's a tough pill to swallow for the younger community."

Portrait of a young man — Mohammad Abu-Rshaid is a Generation Z voter from Kitchener-Conestoga who says housing is a top issue for him in this Ontario election. (Mohammad Abu-Rshaid)

At the same time, he acknowledged that Ford did help reduce tuition and freeze it — which helped, until inflation and a crackdown on international student enrolment hit universities' net incomes. Now, he said, there simply isn't enough support or money for young people who want to pursue post-secondary education.

"We're seeing local universities under a significant amount of financial stress … there are a lot of disincentives for students going to university," he said.

LISTEN | Local voters share top issues they'd like addressed during the Ontario election:

The Morning Edition - K-W17:53Local voters share top issues they'd like addressed during the Ontario election

Three voters from Waterloo region join The Morning Edition for a talk about this Ontario election, what they’re thinking in the early days, their top issues and if they feel it was necessary to hold an election right now.

Mental health, addiction, homelessness and health care were also topics of conversation.

"Underfunded social programs and access to mental and physical health care, to me, is the foundation of a civil society," Sweeney said. She's spent the last decade of her life working in social services and says that Ontario needs to spend money where it actually matters.

"Spend the money where it's needed," Sweeney said.

Here are the local candidates running in the Ontario election so far

What are your top issues this provincial election?

Hiller said he believes there's more nuance to where money is being thrown.

"This is an economic war that we've had imposed on us, and when it gets right down to the nitty gritty, money talks. Without money, those social programs are going to have difficulty," Hiller said.

Abu-Rshaid said that he's seen his younger peers struggle to find primary health care in Ontario and resort to emergency rooms for problems that "a simple 15 minute conversation with a family doctor would have easily solved."

"I need access to affordable healthcare, affordable housing and a prospect of a good job," he said. "We don't want booze at the convenience stores or fights about bike lanes… as a Gen Z voter, you want the same thing that almost everyone else wants."

All three said they intend to vote in the Feb. 27 election, but they have some work to do to get to know the candidates first.

"I have not [decided] and I'm not particularly impressed," Abu-Rshaid said.

Hiller, who said he typically leans right of centre but can't vote for a candidate who isn't actually from the area, said his vote will most likely go to the NDP or the Greens

"That does not make me happy, but one of them will get my vote," he said.