KITCHENER, ON—A union of some 850 workers in the Waterloo region has transformed its members’ opposition to water privatization into a voting issue in the upcoming local elections. And it has unveiled a list of municipal and regional candidates who share members’ determination to keep water public and who have signed a Keep Water Public pledge as confirmation.
In late 2025, the Ford Conservatives passed legislation that will be used to force Ontario municipalities and regions to create water corporations from publicly owned and operated water and wastewater infrastructure. This law, which is seen by many workers, legal experts and civil society groups as a first step to private, for-profit water and wastewater, has become an election issue in many municipalities.
Collecting pledges from candidates who vowed to keep water public was an initiative of CUPE 1883, which represents Region of Waterloo inside workers in customer service, housing, public health, transit, regional libraries, planning, information technology and water services.
Our local is proud to endorse candidates who will fight for public services and especially fight to keep water public in the Region of Waterloo,” said CUPE 1883 President Noelle Fletcher. “We sent surveys to all regional council candidates because we need elected representatives who are committed to being accountable to the people.”
The surveys also covered questions about child care and affordable housing in the region. But a commitment to keeping water under public control was a central concern, especially in the wake of last December’s water capacity constraint in the Mannheim Service Area, and which affected Kitchener, Waterloo and parts of Cambridge, Wilmot and Woolwich.
Local candidates in the Waterloo region who pledged to keep water public are:
- Scott Hamilton, mayoral candidate, Cambridge;
- David Alton, mayoral candidate, Kitchener
- Stephanie Goertz, mayoral candidate, Wilmot
- Bryan Causarano-Bolton, candidate for regional councillor—Cambridge
- Pam Wolf, candidate for regional councillor—Cambridge
- Anna Meksavanh, candidate for regional councillor—Kitchener
- Colleen James, candidate for regional councillor—Kitchener
- Joe Gowing, candidate for regional councillor—Kitchener
- Matt Rodrigues, candidate for regional councillor—Kitchener
- Lindsay Manary, candidate for regional councillor—Waterloo
“Our local is proud to endorse these candidates, because they have committed to accountability to local residents and workers and to protecting our public water system,” said Fletcher, noting that CUPE 1883 members had attended election town halls, sat in on all-candidates panels and canvassed for the endorsed candidates.
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For more information, contact
Mary Unan, CUPE Communications, 647-390-9839, [email protected]
Jen Cyr, Municipal Election Coordinator, CUPE 1883 [email protected]
