Kitchener Centre: Get to know this riding's candidates, their priorities, voters and top issues

Political campaigning is in full swing in Kitchener Centre. Candidates are canvassing the riding, hoping to secure votes ahead of the September 20 election.

The candidates are Green candidate Mike Morrice, Conservative candidate Mary Henein Thorn,NDP candidateBeisan Zubi,People's Party of Canada candidate Diane Boskovic and the Animal Protection Party's candidate is Ellen Papenburg.

Incumbent Liberal candidateRaj Saini had initially sought re-election but has since ended his campaign.

CBC K-W put together a riding profile that includespolitical platform priorities, a background on the candidates and a riding breakdown.

Who lives in Kitchener Centre?

There are about 105,260 people living in the riding with more than83,000eligible voters, according to Elections Canada. The riding that stretches about 42 km covers downtown Kitchener, Victoria Park, Belmont Village, various businesses, non-profits and hospitals.

According to the 2016 Statistics Canada census, the average age of the population is 41.

There are almost 48,000 private households and 47,000 people are married or living common law, while the rest are not. Most private households have two people in them with about 2,000 households with five or more people.

The language data, which excludes parts of the population, suggests about 76,000 people listed English as their mother tongue and about 24,000 did not. Some top non-official languages spoken are German, Spanish, Serbian and Arabic.

Sample data suggests about 17,400 members of the population identify as visible minorities includingBlack, South Asian, Southeast Asian and Arab.

The average total income for the population aged 15 and older in private households in 2015 was about $32,500. The average total household income for that population during the same time was about $60,000, which was below the Ontario average of about $74,000.

According to Elections Canada data, there was a 66.6per cent voter turnout inthe last federal election in Kitchener Centre.

• Elections Canada: Poll-by-poll voting results

Eligible voters who spoke to CBC K-W said top issues in the area revolve around housing, homelessness and climate change.

Raj Saini[Update: Has ended campaign for re-election]

On Sept. 4, Saini announced he was ending his campaign for re-election in Kitchener Centreafter a series of allegations of unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate comments were made public. In a statement, Sainidenied all the allegations as "unequivocally false" but said he would no longer be running to win his seat. Read more.

The seat is currently held by Liberal Raj Saini, who first won in 2015 and secured the seat again in 2019 by capturing 36.6 per cent of the vote. That year, he was up against returning Green candidate Mike Morrice, who garnered 26 per cent of the vote.

Political priorities:

• Environment and climate change.
• Housing crisis.
• Transportation and housing infrastructure.
• Economic recovery.
• Pharmacare.

Saini is a pharmacist and small business co-owner in the community, which he's been a part of since 1995.

He said he sought re-election because "I felt with experience in my background in health care, small business, the environment that I would have a broad view in making sure I can represent my community."

Sainisat on the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee. In his previous term, he supported a motion that promoted a study with a goal of lowering drug costs and increasing access to medicine. Saini has also supportedprivate member's bills that promoted net zero gas emissions by 2050 and restrictive measures for foreign nationals responsible for human rights violations.

Last federal election, the Greenvote spiked from three per cent to 26 per cent, with the Liberal vote 10 per cent higher. Saini said he's confident his time on Parliament Hill will capture votes again.

"This is going to be an extremely important election and we need the right people there to advocate for us on our behalf to making sure that not only do we build back better, but all the challenges that we'll face, you'll have somebody that has the experience, knowledge and ability to really advocate for the community," said Saini.

Saini enjoys spending time with his parents and extended family.

Mike Morrice

A familiar face and name to many in the riding, Morrice is again vying for the federal seat. He ran in the 2019 federal election and finished second, garnering 14,394 votes to Saini's 20,316.

Political priorities:

• Housing crisis and affordability.
• Long term care, health care.
• Mental health supports.
• Environment and climate change.
• Gender-based violence.
• Indigenous reconciliation.
• Anti-Black racism.

"It feels really important for the voice of our community to be heard in Ottawa and to be a good advocate on all concerns across our community, recognizing that so often the case, whether talking about climate change or housing, we need good policies," said Morrice.

"As a Green MP, the focus is on putting our community first, party second," he added.

Morrice studied business and computer electronics at Wilfrid Laurier University. He founded Sustainable Waterloo Region, a non-profit that offers programs that help businesses become more environmentally and economically sustainable.

He continues to do work at Laurier as a socialentrepreneur-in-residence, supporting youth with big business plans.

Morrice is a board member at Kitchener Housing Inc. (currently on leave),and Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. He previously worked with the SanguenHealth Centre, Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee and Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church.

"I think folks like myself should be doing more listening and my sense is, folks across our community, they should be supporting someone who is going to be genuinely listening to their concerns, trying to see where there is some common ground and making progress on those things," he said, noting he'll be working across party lines to move forward important policies, if elected.

Mary Henein Thorn

Henein Thorn is the official Conservative candidate in Kitchener Centre.

Political priorities:

• Canada's post-pandemic recovery plan.
• Housing crisis and affordability.
• Mental health crisis.
• Government accountability.
• Environment and climate change.

It's not her first swing at politics as she's previously ran in the 2018 provincial election for the Progressive Conservatives.

"I want to have a voice at the table. I want to know how these decisions are being made and how it's affecting us. What I want for my family is what I want for everybody else's family," she said.

Henein Thorn has been living in the riding for more than four decades working as an entrepreneur and small business owner.

She was also a constituency case manager in the office of former Kitchener Conestoga MPP Michael Harris, as well as a special assistant in the office of Diane Finley, former Minister of Public Works and Government Services under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Henein Thorn was appointed VP Ontario Trillium Foundation board and iscurrently on leave during the election campaign.She's the former chair of the Grand River MS Society and former board member for the Uptown Jazz Festival. She's also previously worked with House of Friendship and Passion for Fashion, a project for victims of domestic violence.

"I've been around a long time and I've served the community at different capacities it's my experience in federal and provincial governments and my connections on all levels of government. I think that's really important. I'm not a rookie. To get things done, we need those established relationships," she said.

Henein Thorn lives with her husband and son in the Stanley Park neighbourhood.

Beisan Zubi

NDP'sZubi is a first-time candidate in a federal election, coming from a political and communications background.

Political priorities:

• Housing crisis and affordability.
• Environment and climate change.
• Worker rights, guaranteed basic income.
• Social welfare system, including pharmacare.
• Indigenous reconciliation.
• Anti-oppressive policy solutions across systems and institutions.

Zubi is a social responsibility and equitable communications consultant and small business owner. She's previously worked in communication roles at Communitech and the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

She got her start in politics by working for the late Jack Layton, former leader of Canada's New Democrats on Parliament Hill. Zubi also previously ran in the 2018 regional election.

"I think that the NDP, with Jagmeet Singh in the leadership position, is the progressive option. I don't think that the Liberal's deserve a majority government. I think Kitchener Centre is a prime riding to deny them a majority government I think this is an opportunity for us to hold the powers at be to account, but also be part of electing an NDP MP that will join NDP MPs across the country to fight for progressive policies on Parliament Hill," she said.

Zubi is a board member at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, community ambassador with the Housing Homelessness Umbrella Group and a volunteer at the KW Multicultural Centre. She said sexual assault and harassment and the housing crisis are issues important to her as she has had lived experience.

Zubi was previously nominated for the Arab Women of Waterloo Region Awards and has helped other BIPOC residents get involved in the community.

She's been in Waterloo Region for about five years and lives downtown with her dog.

Diane Boskovic

Boskovic is the riding candidate for the People's Party of Canada.

The party has indicated online its political priorities including:

• Freedom of expression.
• Public finance.
• Health care.
• Veteran affairs.
• Indigenous issues.
• Internal trade.
• Foreign policy.

Boskovic was born and raised in Kitchener and studied child and youth care at Mohawk College, according to a Facebook post.

The party's online page said Boskovic "has a love of uniting all Canadians and reminding them to remember who they are."

CBC KW has reached out toBoskovic for a request for comment.

Other candidates:

Ellen Papenburg represents the Animal Protection Party and more information about Papenburg can be found here.

Vaccination status

Political and health leaders across Canada have reiterated the importance of vaccination on curbing COVID-19 infection and the economy.

CBC K-W asked each Kitchener Centre candidate what their vaccination status was.

Saini, Morrice and Zubi all said they were fully vaccinated.

Henein Thorn did not provide an answer, saying, "I think that's private for me. I do encourage Canadians to get the vaccine, but that's their choice."