In a city known for its steel production, Hamilton has elected Keanin Loomis as its new mayor, replacing incumbent Andrea Horwath. Loomis, the president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, garnered 61,040 votes, significantly ahead of Horwath’s 21,223 votes, placing her third. He also surpassed second-place candidate Rob Cooper by 14,467 votes.
Loomis was born in Oswego, New York, and moved to London, Ontario at the age of 12 before settling in Hamilton in 2009. His victory gave him a chance to reflect on his journey.
“My childhood in Central New York, bouncing around the Fulton, New York area, I started off at Fairgrieve Elementary in Fulton, then Volney Elementary School, then back to Fairgrieve,” he said.
Loomis fondly recalled some of his favorite moments from growing up in New York.
“The place that I think of the most in terms of my happy place is Vernon Beach in Pulaski, New York,” he shared. “Because even when we moved to Canada, we would always come back to Vernon Beach during the summer.”
<p. He became emotional reminiscing about those trips and the time spent with his grandparents who have since passed away. Despite losing most family members over time, he still treasures the connections that link him to New York.
“I still have cousins in the Fulton area and I came back for Thanksgiving last year to be with my aunt for the final time because she was dying of cancer,” he mentioned.
Even under such circumstances, Loomis cherishes those experiences as joyful memories.
While embracing his American heritage, Loomis recognized that moving to Canada with his mother and stepfather played a significant role in shaping his dual identity that influences his life today.
“I went to the University of Waterloo here in Southern Ontario and that’s where I met my wife who’s from Hamilton,” Loomis explained. “But after that I went to law school in the States at William & Mary and then ended up in Washington D. C. for five years. That’s when I got disillusioned with the practice of law.”
This moment prompted Loomis to change career paths.
“I went into organizational management and realized that my vocation is leadership,” Loomis stated. “And I’ve been leading organizations in this community and then leading provincial and federal or national associations from this community.”
The lack of effective leadership was a major factor motivating Loomis’ campaign for mayor.
“I looked at the lack of leadership in my community and decided that I needed to step up and be the change that we needed to see,” Loomis said. “I’m raising three kids in this community and I’m concerned about the future of Hamilton.”
Loomis believes another essential element for unlocking Hamilton’s potential involves shielding it from tariff conflicts between Canada and the U. S.
“As mayor of Hamilton my focus is on protecting my community,” he stated. “When it comes to protecting workers and safeguarding families’ livelihoods within affected industries that’s where my attention will be directed.”
The newly elected mayor previously led the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce so he’s well-versed with cross-border relations thanks to his connections with Buffalo.
“I feel like Buffalo and Hamilton share a lot. Dottie Gallagher who was formerly head of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership was a good friend of mine; I did quite a bit across-the-border work while heading commerce,” Loomis noted.For Loomis who will take office on Nov. 15 strengthening ties between Hamilton and Buffalo forms part of his vision for fostering stronger partnerships during his tenure. window. fb Async Init = function() { FB. init({ app Id : ‘338882633976224’, xfbml : true, version : ‘v2.9′ }); }; (function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs=d. get Elements By Tag Name(s)[0]; if(d. get Element By Id(id)){return;} js=d. create Element(s); js. id=id; js. src=”https://connect. facebook. net/en_US/sdk. js”; fjs. parent Node. insert Before(js, fjs); }(document,’script’,’facebook-jssdk’));
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