4 ridings to watch in the Hamilton-Niagara area this Ontario election [Video]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has officially triggered an early provincial election after meeting with Ontario’s lieutenant-governor Tuesday.

With voting day set for Feb. 27, many of the parties are still scrambling to confirm candidates to run in the province’s 124 electoral districts.

It’s early days yet, but some interesting local storylines are already clear. In Hamilton, Niagara and surrounding areas, here are four local races worth watching over the next four weeks. 

Hamilton Centre

Sarah Jama was elected as an Ontario New Democrat MPP in a March 2023 byelection after that party’s former leader Andrea Horwath vacated her Hamilton Centre seat to run for mayor of Hamilton. 

Jama won with 54 per cent of the vote, more than double the second-place candidate, Liberal Deirdre Pike, and three percentage points less than Horwath had earned in 2022.

But Jama was ousted from the Ontario NDPin October, 2023, and has been an Independent ever since. She confirmed this week …