Photo: Municipal Affairs and Housing · CC BY 2.0Kitchener has one council seat for every 29,450 residents, more than 98% of municipalities in Ontario
Kitchener’s council of 11 was elected in October 2022, with Berry Vrbanovic as mayor. Ontario voted again on 26 October 2026, and the province hasn’t published that election’s open file yet, so these are the 2022–26 council’s names. For federal votes, Kitchener belongs to Kitchener Centre, its riding (a federal electoral district, which elects one MP); Kelly DeRidder (Conservative Party of Canada) holds it. For the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Kitchener spreads over 3 ridings: Kitchener Centre, Kitchener South—Hespeler and Kitchener—Conestoga. No open record names Kitchener’s MPP, so none is named here; the Legislative Assembly of Ontario lists its members.
What stands out in how Kitchener is governed
Many residents per seat
Kitchener council spreads its seats over a big population; the typical municipality in Ontario has one seat per 1,540 residents. Council size ↓
Turnout below the norm
Kitchener council drew fewer of its electors to the polls in 2022 than the typical Ontario municipality (35%). How Kitchener voted ↓
Split between ridings
The riding line runs through Kitchener: Kitchener Centre has 44% of its residents, Kitchener South—Hespeler most of the other 56%. Member of Parliament ↓
Low spending per resident
Per resident, Kitchener council’s 2024 spending sits under 67% of Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities. Council money ↓
Compared with the province’s municipalities of 1,000+ residents (2021 Census; MAMH, MMAH and Statistics Canada).
Three governments, and who does what
Kitchener, a city in Ontario, shares the work with the province and Ottawa.
Local services, by-laws and property tax.
Spends most on social services and child care, then roads and transit (2024 return).
Schools, health care, highways, municipal law.
ola.org ↗Passports, pensions, EI, defence, immigration.
ourcommons.ca ↗Who to ask
Green: municipal. Gold: provincial. Grey: federal.
Above Kitchener’s council sits Waterloo Region, the upper tier, which runs services across all its municipalities.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Kitchener, from the most recent elections.
- 1Kitchener councilelected October 2022Berry Vrbanovic
- 2Legislative Assembly of OntarioKitchener Centre · Kitchener South—Hespeler · Kitchener—Conestoga
- 3House of CommonsKitchener Centre · 44%
- 4House of CommonsKitchener South—Hespeler · 37%
- 5House of CommonsKitchener—Conestoga · 19%
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada
Who was elected to Kitchener council in 2022
Everyone elected in 2022, with their votes; Ontario’s file gives each seat’s votes but not the ward’s name.
- Berry Vrbanovic
- Debbie Chapman
- Scott Davey
- Bil Ioannidis
- Margaret Johnston
- Christine Michaud
- Dave Schnider
- Paul Singh
- Jason Deneault
- Ayo Owodunni
- Aislinn Clancy
11 members and how they were elected
| Name | Seat | Votes | Share of the seat’s votes | On the last council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berry Vrbanovic | Mayor | 26,846 | 80% | Yes |
| Debbie Chapman | Councillor | 2,276 | 60% | Yes |
| Scott Davey | Councillor | 2,375 | 69% | Yes |
| Bil Ioannidis | Councillor | 1,620 | 42% | Yes |
| Margaret Johnston | Councillor | 2,596 | 88% | Yes |
| Christine Michaud | Councillor | 1,638 | 58% | Yes |
| Dave Schnider | Councillor | 3,284 | 82% | Yes |
| Paul Singh | Councillor | 2,060 | 75% | Yes |
| Jason Deneault | Councillor | 532 | 30% | No |
| Ayo Owodunni | Councillor | 844 | 32% | No |
| Aislinn Clancy | Councillor | 1,765 | 36% | No |
Voters pick a mayor for the whole municipality and the rest of Kitchener council ward by ward. The contest for mayor went to Berry Vrbanovic, with 80% of the votes.
Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario)
Kitchener voted less than most of Ontario in 2022
Turnout in the October 2022 municipal elections, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is Ontario’s median.
On 24 October 2022, only 20% of electors voted for Kitchener council, a weaker showing than most of Ontario.
How Kitchener voted: same source as Councillors, above.
When Kitchener votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchener council | 26 October 2026 | 28 October 2030 |
| Legislative Assembly of Ontario | 27 February 2025 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
There are no 2025 counts here: Elections Canada’s terms bar their commercial reuse, so 2021 is the latest open result. The next council election in Kitchener falls on 28 October 2030, the fourth Monday in October every four years under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Parliament was last elected on 28 April 2025, and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on 27 February 2025.
Election dates: the legislatures, MMAH and MAMH
Kitchener spans 3 ridings for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Provinces and territories run schools, health care and municipal law; each riding elects one MPP.
MPP: see the legislature’s list
ola.org ↗MPP: see the legislature’s list
ola.org ↗MPP: see the legislature’s list
ola.org ↗Every one of them sends a separate MPP to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and each covers part of Kitchener. Southern Ontario’s ridings are the 2013 federal ones by statute, which is how this page places the town.
Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada
Kitchener has 3 MPs
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Kitchener Centre · Conservative Party of Canada · 44%
en.wikipedia.org ↗Kitchener South—Hespeler · Conservative Party of Canada · 37%
en.wikipedia.org ↗Kitchener—Conestoga · Liberal Party of Canada · 19%
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Liberal Party of Canada71
- Conservative Party of Canada50
As Wikidata records them.
In Ontario, Kelly DeRidder belongs to a minority: the Conservative Party of Canada has 50 of 122 seats, the Liberal Party of Canada 71.
The MP’s record
Mapped onto today’s Kitchener Centre, the 2021 vote favoured the Green Party of Canada with 33%, which makes Kelly DeRidder’s 2025 win a gain. Kelly DeRidder was elected to the Commons for the first time in April 2025.
MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026
Kitchener Centre changed hands in 2021, to Mike Morrice (Green Party of Canada)
Kitchener Centre as it stood from 2013: the 2019 and 2021 counts, before the riding was redrawn for 2025. It held 44% of Kitchener’s residents.
The 2019 vote had gone another way, to Raj Saini (Liberal Party of Canada) at 37%. Mike Morrice (Green Party of Canada) took Kitchener Centre in 2021 with 35% of the vote, 5,335 votes ahead of Mary Henein Thorn (Conservative Party of Canada).
All 6 candidates in Kitchener Centre, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Morrice | Green Party of Canada | 17,872 | 34.9% |
| Mary Henein Thorn | Conservative Party of Canada | 12,537 | 24.5% |
| Beisan Zubi | New Democratic Party | 8,938 | 17.5% |
| Raj Saini | Liberal Party of Canada | 8,297 | 16.2% |
| Diane Boskovic | People's Party of Canada | 3,381 | 6.6% |
| Ellen Papenburg | Animal Protection Party of Canada | 154 | 0.3% |
Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Kitchener council spends less per resident than most
The 2024 financial return: spending by service and revenue by source, per resident, compared only with Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities.
Spending per resident by service, 2024
What pays for it
Shares of revenue, town and province.
Local taxpayers carry a smaller share than elsewhere: 27% of revenue, where the province’s returns show 42%. Kitchener council’s borrowing is light: $79.3M long term, $270 a resident where the median is $440. On top of that comes Waterloo Region: $2,285 a resident across its area, led by social services and child care. In 2024 the median among Ontario’s lower-tier municipalities was $1,901 a resident; Kitchener council spent $1,612. No service costs more than water, sewers and waste, at $416 per resident and 26% of the total. Full-time staff number 1,386, about 4.7 to every thousand residents.
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water, sewers and waste | $121.9M | $416 | 26% |
| Recreation and culture | $114.2M | $389 | 24% |
| Other | $70.7M | $241 | 15% |
| Police, fire and protection | $67M | $228 | 14% |
| Roads and transit | $44.6M | $152 | 9% |
| General government | $23.9M | $81 | 5% |
| Planning and development | $22.9M | $78 | 5% |
| Social services and child care | $4.2M | $14 | 1% |
| Public health and paramedics | $3.6M | $12 | 1% |
| Social housing | $197K | $1 | 0% |
Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Kitchener council beside its neighbours
Residents (2021 Census) per council seat, head of council included, beside nearby municipalities; the tick is the provincial median.
How Kitchener council compares is at the top of the page; here it stands beside its neighbours.
Residents: 2021 Census; seats: the province’s council list
Having a say in how Kitchener is run
Check or update the federal list.
elections.ca ↗Every MP lists an office.
ourcommons.ca ↗Ridings, registration and voting dates.
elections.on.ca ↗What this data can and can’t tell you
- Council money. The 2024 Financial Information Return, totals after adjustments by service, per resident with the return’s own population. A lower tier’s figures leave out its county’s or region’s spending, so lower tiers are compared only with lower tiers.
- Council size. The council size includes the head of council; the population is the 2021 Census, the whole city’s for a neighbourhood.
- Which riding. The 2021 Census homes of a place’s residents fix its ridings, and one is shown once it holds 5% of them.
- Election results. Official counts for 2019 and 2021 are by the 2013 ridings; Elections Canada also re-counted the 2021 ballots onto the 2023 ridings by polling division, and that estimate is what “today’s boundaries” means here.
- Not on this page. No party tally for the council, which the open lists don’t record, and no band councils.
- Who holds each seat. Who holds each seat is read from Wikidata, so a very recent change in the Commons may not appear yet.
Questions about how Kitchener is run
Who is the MP for Kitchener?
Kitchener has more than one: Kelly DeRidder (Conservative Party of Canada) for Kitchener Centre, and Matt Strauss for Kitchener South—Hespeler.
Which party won Kitchener in the 2021 federal election?
In 2021 it was Mike Morrice (Green Party of Canada), in Kitchener Centre; Kitchener Centre has elected Kelly DeRidder since.
Who is the MPP for Kitchener?
Each of Kitchener Centre, Kitchener South—Hespeler and Kitchener—Conestoga elects its own MPP to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and Kitchener lies across them.
Who heads the council in Kitchener?
Berry Vrbanovic was elected mayor in October 2022, for the 2022–26 term of Kitchener council.
How much does Kitchener council spend?
Kitchener council spent $473.2M in 2024 for about 293,470 residents; its largest service line was water, sewers and waste, at $121.9M.
Which regional body is Kitchener part of?
Kitchener is part of Waterloo Region, the upper tier, whose regional council runs services such as water and policing.
How is Kitchener council elected?
Kitchener council: the mayor is chosen by the whole municipality, the councillors ward by ward.
What was the turnout in Kitchener?
Turnout for Kitchener council reached 20.3% in October 2022 (Ontario median: 35.5%).
Sources: MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · Southern Ontario ridings: the 2013 federal boundaries (Representation Act, 2015), Statistics Canada · Councils: Ontario 2022 Municipal Election data, MMAH (OGL-Ontario) · Money: Financial Information Return 2024, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Next municipal election: the province’s municipal election act · Municipality types: Statistics Canada census subdivisions · Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).