🔎 The race
Cambridge goes to the polls on **Monday, October 26, 2026** to elect a mayor, eight city councillors and two regional councillors, with **115,503 eligible voters**. Mayor **Jan Liggett**, first elected in 2022 with 12,567 votes (46.2%) over then-mayor Kathryn McGarry's 11,441, is seeking a second term against a five-person field — the largest mayoral race on the ballot in the city's modern history. Turnout in 2022 was just 28.87 per cent, and boosting engagement has been a stated goal of this cycle's community-organized events.
The field took shape slowly and shed two candidates. Ward 7 councillor **Scott Hamilton** was first into the race in May 2026, followed by construction business owner **Ryan Bolender** in July and Liggett herself in early August, according to reporting compiled by Waterloo Region Votes. BIA chair Brian Kennedy withdrew in mid-August citing a family loss, and a second candidate stepped down before certification; the certified list settled at six: Liggett, Hamilton, Bolender, Ken Roche, Tony Chaves and Ihtsham Haq — the latter two filing at the very end of nomination period.
The race's sharpest line runs between **Liggett and Hamilton**. At regional council, Liggett cast the only vote against the $3.1B ION light-rail extension from Fairway station to downtown Galt, preferring bus rapid transit, while Hamilton backs the extension; council also passed Liggett's 2024 motion asking the province for powers to clear encampments — Hamilton, Ross Earnshaw and Sheri Roberts voted no. Their second contrast is money: Liggett's first "strong mayor" budget proposed a 4.86% tax hike that council cut to 2.44%, a fight Hamilton frames as proof he builds budgets with council while critics call his support for the cut responsible for deferred projects.
The other four candidates run as outsiders. **Ryan Bolender** campaigns on "Respect Your Tax Dollars, Fix Core Services, Build a Better Cambridge" — tax increases at or below inflation, a discretionary-spending freeze and an efficiency audit — and briefly dominated regional news after CTV reported he was "under investigation for a potential bylaw violation" over a campaign video of him repairing a pothole without a permit. **Ken Roche**, a registered massage therapist who ran a near-zero-cost budget campaign and filed on the last day, and **Tony Chaves**, a community figure branding himself "a regular person who wants to help" per the Ontarians Against Corruption race profile, both pitch plain-spoken fiscal sanity. **Ihtsham Haq**, a small-business owner, is running on being "a stronger voice for every resident".
Below mayor, Ward 7 is open because Hamilton is moving up, and it draws five candidates including his 2022 opponent Manuel Da Silva. Seven other wards feature incumbents seeking re-election — including Ward 1's Helen Shwery, who lost in 2022 by 46 votes, won the November 2023 by-election, and now faces two challengers — while familiar defeatees keep trying: 2022 mayoral candidates Randy Carter (Ward 6) and Cody Botelho (Ward 8) both jumped to council races. For the two regional-council seats, incumbents Doug Craig (12,688 votes in 2022) and Pam Wolf (10,001) face Bryan Causarano-Bolton, Salman Arefin and 2022 runner-up-tier candidate Prakash Venkataraman.
The city itself runs no debates — "the municipal clerk does not organize debates or forums" — so the campaign's compare-the-candidates moments came from volunteers: ten free Cambridge Elects town halls in September and a CBC-moderated mayoral forum at the library's Old Post Office on October 5. One unusual wrinkle: local media reported that a U.S.-based prediction market had taken contracts on who wins Cambridge's mayor's seat, a sign of how the city's fights (LRT, data centres, encampments) have spilled past city limits.
⚡ Key issues
Taxes and the first strong-mayor budget
Cambridge's first budget under Ontario's strong-mayor system is the incumbent's scoreboard. Liggett's proposal of October 27, 2025 sought a 4.86 per cent property tax increase — "We know times are tough for many, and this plan strikes the right balance between affordability today and investment in tomorrow," she said — but council amended it down to 2.44%, financed partly from the rate-stabilization reserve, and Liggett chose not to use her veto power: "I am choosing not to veto Council's amendments to this Budget." The Ontarians Against Corruption race tracker summarizes the fight as $2.4M drawn from reserve plus deferrals of the Soper Park outdoor complex and a Savage Drive festival space. Challengers all attack on affordability from slightly different angles: Bolender pledges to "maintain property tax increases at or below inflation", while Chaves and Roche run on lower taxes and "value over prestige" spending.
Encampments, homelessness and the housing portfolio
Housing is one of the three core issues Ontarians Against Corruption flags for Cambridge. In November 2024 council passed Mayor Liggett's motion backing the Big City Mayors' ask for provincial powers to clear encampments, pursue involuntary mental-health and addictions treatment, tighten the Trespass Act and ban open drug use — "Hamilton, Earnshaw, and Roberts voted no," per ONAC, and the federal housing advocate later criticized what Liggett defended as a Charter-compliant approach. The same record includes defeats for affordable projects (a 24-unit proposal at the Preston Scout House was cancelled) alongside a July 2026 unanimous vote to deploy $1.5M from the affordable-housing reserve to buy land for non-profit rental housing. Expect the next council to fight over supportive housing siting again: Hamilton touts the strongest pro-affordable-vote record in the field, Liggett pairs housing with an enforcement-and-treatment frame, and Chaves centers help for first-time homebuyers.
Transit: the $3.1B ION extension to Galt vs. bus rapid transit
The single biggest infrastructure decision of the term happened at the Region: council approved extending ION light rail from Fairway station to downtown Galt — about $3.1B, or $4.3B in escalated 2033 dollars, with roughly $23.8M/year in operating costs — and "Jan Liggett cast the only vote against, preferring bus rapid transit". In February 2026 a Cambridge council motion seeking about $60M in reimbursement for ION Stage 1 cost overruns failed 4-5, with Liggett supporting and Hamilton questioning enforceability. Transit dominated the October 5 mayoral forum at the library, where five of the six candidates laid out plans for transit and the LRT; Hamilton supports the Stage 2 extension, Roche now backs LRT, Chaves pitches equitable transportation, and Bolender foregrounds roads, sidewalks and snow. The local transit group TriTAG put election surveys to every mayoral candidate for voters who want the detail.
Growth fights: subdivisions, towers and data centres on the 401
Cambridge's growth agenda has produced a string of divisive council votes that the next mayor will inherit. Council rejected a proposed 500-acre Northwest Hespeler subdivision for up to 11,000 residents 7-2 in May 2026 after staff cited missing studies and no consultation with the Grand River Conservation Authority or Six Nations — Liggett voted against, Hamilton was one of two voting to keep developer talks alive — and in July council rejected a 40-storey Preston tower compromise 5-4, with the two on opposite sides again. In September council declined the Canada-Ontario Development Charges Reduction Program 7-2. The city's role as a Highway 401 data-centre corridor is now an election issue in its own right: per ONAC's candidate tracker, Liggett moved the city's Data Centre Playbook direction, Roche wants new data-centre permits paused, and Hamilton opposes new ones until impacts are known. Land-use and growth-management questionnaires from Strong Towns WR and partners collect the candidates' full answers.
Core services, trust and the pothole incident
A first-time candidate's DIY road repair became the campaign's recurring parable. CTV News reported that Ryan Bolender — "a first-time candidate who owns a construction company" — was under investigation for a potential bylaw violation after posting video of himself filling a pothole in front of a resident's home without a permit; the Waterloo Region Votes index shows reporting that the investigation's result was held until after the election. Bolender turned it into his platform — "When I look at Cambridge's budget, I see your money. I will fight for every dollar of it the same way I've fought for my own" — with promises to audit core services and measure service standards, echoing grievances about snow clearing and road maintenance. Transparency is the shared currency: Hamilton's campaign counts his "One Million Steps Across Cambridge" door-knock mileage, Liggett points to pop-up mayor booths and budget surveys in the adopted-budget release, and every campaign promises a City Hall that answers the phone.
- The research cue about a 'Bishop's Park' growth fight turned up no Cambridge-Ontario reporting; the city's documented growth battles are the 500-acre Northwest Hespeler subdivision, the 40-storey Preston tower, development-charge cuts and data-centre direction, all covered above.
- CambridgeToday.ca, therecord.com and cambridgetimes.ca block automated access (HTTP 403 to the required curl check), so their articles — including candidate profiles (Roche's 'budget-friendly' bid, Chaves's club-president background, Haq's 'people are afraid to talk' comment), the strong-mayor-powers debate piece and the prediction-market story — are referenced in text without links or via the ONAC/Waterloo Region Votes trackers instead.
- The prediction-market item comes from the hub news scan (CambridgeToday, Sept. 25, 2026); no odds or market figures are stated here because they could not be independently verified.
- Bolender's pothole investigation: reporting compiled at Waterloo Region Votes indicates the city's investigation result was placed on hold until after election day; no outcome was found as of October 15, 2026.
- 2022 Ward 2 and Ward 4 vote totals are deliberately omitted (ranked-ballot final-count anomalies; suppressed in the source pack). Ward-7 and mayoral 2022 figures come straight from certified results in the pack.
- Spectrum's 2026 candidate survey (ourspectrum.com) returned responses from Chaves, Hamilton, Haq and regional candidates Craig and Causarano-Bolton, but the page failed the required HTTP-200 link check and is not cited; Causarano-Bolton's inclusion-and-shelter platform is summarized there.
- Ontarians Against Corruption (onac.ca) is an advocacy group, not a news outlet; its vote tallies (encampment motion, 7-2 Hespeler vote, 5-4 Preston tower, LRT split) are used with attribution and were cross-checked against cambridge.ca budget releases where possible.
- Ihtsham Haq's absence from the October 5 library forum is per CBC's coverage description of the five attendees; no link-verified source names his non-attendance directly.
- Several ward candidates (Linton, Spalding, Shah, McCormick, Teat, Alward, Fiddick, Malik, O'Hara, Abid, Shaikh, Arefin, Chhadiya, Pandit) have minimal published coverage; their profiles stick to certified-list facts.
- ACORN Waterloo Region grades cited come from its Oct. 9, 2026 report card; non-participation did not necessarily indicate any candidate's quality.
| Ihtsham Haq | 🔎 Small-business owner and father of two running as an outsider on the slogan "Your City. Your Voice. Your Future.", promising "stronger communities, better city services and support for local businesses". Did not appear at the October 5 library mayoral forum, where CBC's coverage lists the five other candidates as present. On strong-mayor powers, his documented position as tracked by Ontarians Against Corruption is reserving them for deadlock situations. |
| Jan Liggett Incumbent Elected 2022 · Mayor (46.2%) | 🔎 **Incumbent mayor**, in office since 2022 after eight years as a city councillor; her campaign site says her "life's work has been devoted to making Cambridge a safe, healthy, and prosperous community". She carried the first strong-mayor budget (proposed 4.86%, adopted at 2.44% without a veto), cast the region's only vote against the ION LRT extension to Galt, and drove the council's enforcement-leaning encampment motion — the clearest contrast with challenger Scott Hamilton. Her 2022 win: 12,567 votes (46.2%). |
| Ken Roche | 🔎 A blind registered massage therapist ("a blind guy with a clear vision," per his campaign tagline on the ONAC tracker) who filed his nomination on the final day, August 21, according to CityNews Kitchener's roundup. Runs a deliberately low-budget, "budget-friendly" campaign on non-tax revenue, pausing new data-centre permits, intensifying development along Highway 24 and — a shift from earlier scepticism — support for LRT. |
| Ryan Bolender | 🔎 Construction business owner with 28 years of project-management experience, first elected to nothing, running on "Respect Your Tax Dollars, Fix Core Services, Build a Better Cambridge": tax increases at or below inflation, a discretionary-spending freeze and an efficiency audit of city services. Made national news when CTV reported he was under investigation for a potential bylaw violation over a campaign video of him patching a pothole without a permit. |
| Scott Hamilton Serving council — different office Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 7 | 🔎 **Ward 7 city councillor since 2022** (elected with 1,514 votes), first into the mayoral race, campaigning on door-knocking — his site tracks his campaign in "One Million Steps Across Cambridge". Backs the ION LRT Stage 2 extension to Galt, voted against Liggett's encampment-powers motion, supported the 16-storey compromise on the Preston tower, and voted against continuing Northwest Hespeler subdivision talks, per the ONAC vote tracker. His ACORN Waterloo Region report-card grade of "A" was the only one awarded to a Cambridge mayoral candidate. |
| Tony Chaves | 🔎 Community volunteer and Portuguese-club figure pitching himself as "a regular person who wants to help" in the ONAC profile, with no campaign website — his listed contacts are an email and social accounts on the Waterloo Region Votes candidate page. Platform per that tracker: help for first-time homebuyers, lower property taxes, equitable transportation and infrastructure-before-growth planning. |
| Bryan Causarano-Bolton | 🔎 Challenger for one of Cambridge's two regional-council seats, campaigning at causbolt.ca on inclusion, emergency-response reform and shelter access; earned an "A+" in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card. Filed his nomination on March 7, 2026, the earliest of the regional candidates, per the city's certified list. |
| Doug Craig Elected 2022 · Regional Councillor | 🔎 **Incumbent regional councillor**, re-election bid at dougcraig.ca; topped the 2022 regional vote with 12,688 votes. Emphasizes fair access to regional housing, public health, transit and employment services. |
| Pam Wolf Elected 2022 · Regional Councillor | 🔎 **Incumbent regional councillor**, elected in 2022 with 10,001 votes, seeking another term; received an "A+" in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card. |
| Prakash Venkataraman Ran 2022 · Regional Councillor | 🔎 Returning candidate for regional council, having run in 2022 (5,118 votes) and finished outside the two winning seats; on the city's certified list for 2026. |
| Salman Arefin | 🔎 Third challenger for Cambridge's two regional-council seats; certified on the city's candidate list, where his listed campaign channel is an Instagram account. Little published campaign coverage was found. |
| Helen Shwery Incumbent Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 1 | 🔎 **Incumbent Ward 1 councillor** — lost the 2022 race by 46 votes (1,062 to Donna Reid's 1,108), then won the November 2023 by-election, as her campaign site notes. Facing two challengers in 2026. |
| Jeff Donkersgoed | 🔎 Ward 1 challenger campaigning at jeffward1.ca; earned an "A+" in ACORN Waterloo Region's renter-focused 2026 report card. |
| Saleem Shaikh | 🔎 Certified Ward 1 candidate on the city's official list, where his listed campaign channel is an Instagram account; little published coverage was found. |
| David Craig | 🔎 Ward 2 candidate (distinct from regional councillor Doug Craig) campaigning at votedavidcraig.ca, one of the earliest filers in the city, May 8, 2026, per the certified list. |
| Mark Linton | 🔎 Certified Ward 2 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| Matt Rogers | 🔎 Ward 2 candidate running for the seat again after losing it in 2022; an "A+" recipient in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card. |
| Mike Devine Incumbent | 🔎 **Incumbent Ward 2 councillor**, first elected in 2022, seeking re-election against three challengers including 2022 opponent Matt Rogers. |
| Corey Kimpson Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 3 | 🔎 **Incumbent Ward 3 councillor**, elected in 2022 with 1,152 votes, running again at coreykimpson.ca against two challengers. |
| Kiran Abid | 🔎 Ward 3 candidate who filed her nomination August 14, 2026, per the city's certified list; little published campaign coverage was found. |
| Shaun Spalding | 🔎 Certified Ward 3 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| Ahmad Jawad Malik | 🔎 Certified Ward 4 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| David O'Hara | 🔎 Ward 4 challenger to incumbent Ross Earnshaw, certified on the city's official list; little published campaign coverage was found. |
| Ross Earnshaw Incumbent | 🔎 **Incumbent Ward 4 councillor**, seeking re-election; voted against Mayor Liggett's November 2024 encampment-powers motion, per the ONAC vote tracker, and received a "B" in ACORN Waterloo Region's report card. |
| Nazim Shah | 🔎 Certified Ward 5 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| Sheri Roberts Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 5 | 🔎 **Incumbent Ward 5 councillor**, elected in 2022 with 1,550 votes, facing a single challenger; voted against the November 2024 encampment-powers motion, per the ONAC tracker. |
| Adam Cooper Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 6 | 🔎 **Incumbent Ward 6 councillor**, elected in 2022 with 1,336 votes, the only councillor unopposed-adjacent in a crowded field this time: he faces three challengers including a former mayoral candidate. Cambridge Elects held a Ward 6 all-candidates meeting September 23. |
| Barbara Harrington | 🔎 Ward 6 challenger who previously ran for Ward 4 in 2022; an "A" recipient in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card. |
| Chris McCormick | 🔎 Certified Ward 6 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| Randy Carter Ran 2022 · Mayor (6.0%) | 🔎 Ward 6 candidate who placed third in the 2022 mayoral race with 1,644 votes (6.0%) and is now seeking a council seat; little current campaign coverage was found. |
| Dani Ieso | 🔎 Ward 7 candidate in the open seat left by mayoral candidate Scott Hamilton; earned an "A+" in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card. Cambridge Elects held a Ward 7 all-candidates meeting September 9. |
| David Guerin | 🔎 Ward 7 candidate; an "A+" recipient in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card, contesting the seat Hamilton is vacating. |
| John Teat | 🔎 Certified Ward 7 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| Manuel Da Silva Ran 2022 · Councillor, Ward 7 | 🔎 Ward 7 candidate running for the third time — he placed second to Scott Hamilton in 2022 with 420 votes — and an "A+" recipient in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card. |
| Tasneem Chhadiya | 🔎 Ward 7 candidate featured in a Cambridge Today ward spotlight in August 2026, one of five contesting Hamilton's vacated seat; little independently linkable campaign coverage was found. |
| Arpan Pandit | 🔎 Ward 8 candidate featured in a Cambridge Today ward spotlight in August 2026; little independently linkable campaign coverage was found beyond the city's certified list. |
| Chris Alward | 🔎 Certified Ward 8 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| Cody Botelho Ran 2022 · Mayor (5.7%) | 🔎 Ward 8 candidate who ran for mayor in 2022 (1,538 votes, 5.7%) and is now seeking a ward seat; received a "D" in ACORN Waterloo Region's 2026 report card. |
| George Fiddick | 🔎 Certified Ward 8 candidate on the city's official list; no substantial published campaign coverage was found. |
| Nicholas Ermeta Incumbent Elected 2022 · Councillor, Ward 8 | 🔎 **Incumbent Ward 8 councillor**, comfortably re-elected in 2022 with 2,295 votes, now facing four challengers including a former mayoral candidate. |
🎙 Debates & forums
The city runs no official debates — "the MEA does not require debates to be held, and the municipal clerk does not organize debates or forums" — but community groups filled the gap. **Cambridge Elects** hosted ten free, livestreamed town halls in September, each following a 90-minute moderated format with public question submission; the mayoral town hall ran September 24 at YMCA Cambridge, with ward meetings including Ward 3 (Sept. 8), Ward 7 (Sept. 9) and Ward 6 (Sept. 23) listed on Waterloo Region Votes. The main event was the **Cambridge Public Library mayoral forum** on October 5 at the Old Post Office: "More than 100 community members gathered... to learn more about the candidates running for mayor," moderated by CBC K-W's Craig Norris, with cost of living, transit and the LRT, arts funding, inclusion and U.S. tariffs on the agenda; CBC posted the transit-and-LRT segment as video covering the five candidates who attended — Bolender, Chaves, Hamilton, Liggett and Roche (Haq did not attend).
🗞 On the radar — local coverage
- US-based prediction market platform taking bets on Cambridge mayoral race
- Cambridge mayoral candidates weigh in on strong mayor powers ahead of vote
- Cambridge mayoral candidate steps down, five candidates remain
- Free municipal election town halls planned for Cambridge voters