Hi r/kitchener,

Matt Parker, Ward 3 candidate.

I just want to do an obligatory "Get out and Vote!". Voter turn out in ward 3 in 2022 was 15%... Kitchener can do better than that.

I'm not going to tell you how to vote; my job is to give you another option and to hear you out. I've heard from hundreds of residents about a variety of concerns, and I hope those concerns bring you out to the polls.

If you still haven't, do some last minute research to better inform your vote. https://waterlooregionvotes.org is an excellent resource for that.

You've still got 3 hours to participate and make your voice heard. Vote your conscience, and do your duty for your city.

Sincerely,

Matt Parker

www.mattpforward3.ca

He also littered these pamphlets all over every floor in my building. Super unattractive move!

So apparently no right on red pilot program started today…noticed the signage up at Fairway/Lackner popped up! Also no “NEW” traffic signs either! So good luck one and all….its in for the year!

I swear I’m gonna cop so much road rage by following the road signs!

Edit: article links from June with possible “major intersections” deemed by the overlords. https://kitchener.citynews.ca/2026/06/02/region-could-test-no-right-turns-at-red-lights-at-major-intersections/

New paved multi-use path along University Ave. has utility poles in the middle of the path and elevated manholes. Yes, they paved around tge poles, but I don't understand why even bother when half of the path is going to be nearly unusable in these areas. At least a few areas have widened sidewalks, but it still looks like a botched and unplanned job left half-done.

At least it is better than the condition it was in before and gives high school students a better surface to get to school, but I can't get over the fact that this was the compromise they thought made sense. It was a needed piece of infrastructure, but ROW, you can do better.

Urgent help needed in rehoming/fostering a cat

Due to unforeseen Visa conditions I need to leave Canada in the next 5 days and have to leave my cat behind.

I am unable to know what the exact return date would be - but I should be back here by December mid week or early January.

I am seeking a temporary foster at this time for my cat- someone who can take his possession and take care of him while I am gone.

If interested please message me as it would help me out a lot.

I know we’re only at 43/44 polls counted, but I’m genuinely gutted. Voter turnout is on par/even lower than last election, and Berry is set for another four years. Also extremely disappointed with the re-election of the ward 6 councillor.

Update: and the results are in. F*ck this.

I’m in Kitchener, Ontario, and wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar experience with TD Insurance.
I’ve been a long-term TD customer with years of driving experience and a clean claims history. My policy renewed on July 1, but after updating my address recently I was told my premium would be going up.
I decided to shop around and got cheaper quotes from both Aviva and belairdirect using my new address. Naturally, I asked TD why my long driving history and claims-free record weren’t making more of a difference, especially when other providers were offering me lower rates.
The representative suggested increasing my deductible to reduce the premium where it is already $1000.I understand how that works, but it doesn’t really answer my question about why I’m paying more with TD in the first place.
Now I’m considering switching, but because I’m leaving before my renewal date, there’s a cancellation fee. I’m okay with paying it if I save money overall, but it’s frustrating that being a long-term customer doesn’t seem to offer much benefit.
I understand insurance premiums depend on several factors, but you’d think a clean driving record and years of experience would count for something.

Have you had similar premium increases with TD?

Last night, two dudes walking a bike across the street at Belmont and Union were glued to their phones the entire time. These dudes didn’t even look up once???? They were so glued they didn’t even realize the opposite light had changed to green and their crossing light was a solid red hand. We waited for these guys to cross in the left turn lane but it was dark and they were hard to see.

If another car was coming down Union in the straight lanes toward Westmount they could have been hit. We gotta do better.

I subscribe to the TL;WR newsletter, a weekly compendium of events happening in and around Waterloo Region, curated and published by Alex Kinsella.

While it's difficult to learn of and write about every event that's occurring, the newsletter does a pretty decent job of highlighting the major events.

There's also a web version, in case you don't want to have yet another email land in your In box. https://www.tlwr.ca/

I have no association with TL;WR or its author, just wanted to share a good source for cultural and entertainment news.

Election day is this Monday. Polls are open until 8 p.m. and some local municipalities offer online voting. Go to https://wrvotes.com/ to get more information.

This post covers Kitchener. For Waterloo/Wilmot, Woolwich/Wellesley, and Cambridge/North Dumfries, see the region-wide post on /r/waterloo.

Many people here have said they're struggling to find information on the WRDSB trustee candidates. Here's what I've found, building on Lauren Weinberg's excellent roundup in Citified: https://citified.substack.com/p/municipal-election-2026

Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), a hard-right religious lobby, has green-lit enough candidates to fill 10 of the board's 11 seats, including three of Kitchener's four. Trustee races get almost no attention and it feels like even fewer people are paying attention this election, so their green-lit candidates could win control of the school board without most of us noticing until it's done.

Consider this a list of who not to vote for. If you like what CLC is selling, well then I guess it's a list of who to vote for.

If you're not familiar with CLC, their agenda includes fighting sex ed that teaches kids consent and how to recognize and report abuse, banning books, attacking anti-racism and inclusion work, opposing acceptance of LGBTQ people, and outing trans kids. Listen for their dog whistles: "parental rights," "gender ideology," "age-appropriate," and, ironically, "keep politics out of schools."

Kitchener elects four trustees, and CLC voters tend to vote as a bloc. If votes are split among the non-CLC candidates, CLC picks can win seats with a small share. The names recommended below are candidates who look like the strongest opposition or keep getting suggested to me by people who are following these elections closely. If you prefer another non-CLC candidate, go for it. I'm just one guy on the internet.

Every "Avoid" name below has a CLC green light, except Julia Malott. Names are listed alphabetically by last name.

• Avoid:
  • Ahmed Kassad
  • Mandy Kaur
  • Sajid Kolsawala
• Also avoid:
  • Julia Malott. CLC hasn't published an evaluation of her positions, so she has no green or red light. She's a trans woman, but she's a conservative who argues against trans-inclusive school policies and has become a go-to trans voice for people pushing policies that hurt trans kids. Her National Post columns say making schools tell parents about a student's new name or pronouns isn't "outing," and she has pushed that policy at the WRDSB.
• Vote:
  • Mark Cairns
  • Brent Hutzal
  • Rachel McQuail
  • Sara Taghizadeh-Heroux

Please vote in the trustee race, and use all your votes.

Source for CLC's trustee ratings: https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/compare-candidates/level/pst/province/on

Lucky to get in without much lineup, but grab if you can..

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic on pace to win 4th term

Let's keep this post more about turnout than specific candidates etc... there are enough posts about that already. Just want to keep it positive and encourage folks to be engaged with their City!

Simple comments like "I voted!" or "I voted in the advanced poll!" will be met with virtual high fives and inspiring gifs. 💯

Me and wife recently started a vinyl collection. So far famous metal banda have been ok to locate and buy. However, when trying to find even Canadian bands such as Beyond Creation, Archspire, Hors Temps, etc... hasn’t been easy. Not everything is on Amazon either. Will we have to go to Toronto? I think we’ve been to every record store here in KW at least. Any recommendations?

My girlfriend wants to go to a nice pumpkin patch this weekend that's also scenic so we can take some pictures. Any recommendations? Willing to travel up to an hour outside of KW as well, but would like to stay local.

Does anyone know if this building is rent controlled, I have found online that it was occupied in 2018, but need to know exact dates as anything after Nov 15,2018 is not to be considered rent controlled.

I'm not exactly sure when this was switched, I could be late to the party, but I noticed the Queen St crossing now has "Stop For Pedestrians" signs as well as the shark tooth stop bars, indicating drivers are now required to yield to pedestrians as it's a legal crossover.

I was very surprised that the switch wasn't accompanied with big "NEW" signs to call out the change - again, maybe there were and have already been removed.

Even though I'm mainly a driver there, I'm glad to see the switch as trail users were constantly not realizing that they did not have the right of way at that specific crossing. It was a dangerous mix of bikes driving into traffic and drivers stopping when they had the right of way.

Abbey has escaped her adoptive home the evening of October 24th and is missing from Tisdale Court in Kitchener! She is a very skittish retired mill momma who will be extremely scared and likely hiding, please check under sheds/porches/in secluded areas.

DO NOT CHASE!

Please call or text any reports of sightings.

Abbey is microchipped but escaped without her ID tags on.

Today, I saw a man licking the inside of an empty chip bag beside the dumpster at my apartment building downtown.
I brought him some yogurt, peaches and Bugles, and offered him a seat on my stoop so he could eat somewhere other than beside the garbage.
I can’t stop thinking about it.
Tomorrow, I’m voting on one issue: homelessness.
I want people permanently housed. But until that happens, I also want safe, accessible places where people can get food, use a washroom, get warm and simply exist with some dignity.
I’m not interested in moving encampments from one neighbourhood to another and calling it progress.
I understand that Waterloo Region has primary responsibility for homelessness services, so I’m particularly interested in the regional council candidates.
Which candidates have put forward concrete, realistic proposals to get people housed AND provide safe spaces in the meantime?
I’m looking for actual policies, commitments and track records, not campaign slogans.
If you’ve researched the candidates, I’d genuinely appreciate hearing what you’ve found, preferably with sources.

Municipal and school board voting is tomorrow. I put together one guide that covers all seven municipalities:

- Where and when to vote, with links to each city's and township's official election page

- Every race and candidate, in alphabetical order, with incumbents marked

- Links to candidates' own answers (Waterloo Region Votes, TriTAG, Cycle WR, Strong Towns, CBC surveys)

- How the outgoing Regional Council voted on 10 decisions, as reported by the Record

No endorsements, just the information.

Disclosure: I run TraceCivic, a free nonpartisan civic information site.

Snowbirds in town or something new? Heard them coming while sitting in the backyard.

Putting in my attic floor with two bedrooms, in hallway so probably have fan running and occasionally the light