Ward boundary changes

The upcoming municipal election in October promises to bring big changes in Hamilton, in part because an Ontario Municipal Board decision last December forced new ward boundaries on the city.

Almost all the wards changed under the boundary review but none more so than ward 8 which was split in half up Garth street. In October the east side will be ward 8 and the west side ward 14.

Wards 7 and 8 on Hamilton mountain have 55 000 to 60 000 residents each, where most other wards have 30 000 to 40 000 residents. Flamborough’s ward 14 though, only has about 16 000 people.

The old ward 14 in Flamborough will now be split between the Ancaster and Dundas wards, leaving rural homeowners without a voice, according to some critics.

In the new configuration, wards 7 and 8 become wards 7, 8 and 14.