Chris Erl

Happy Election Day, #HamOnt! Polls are open from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Don't skip the school trustee section of your ballot! If you want to know more about the people running for trustee in your ward, check out my handy 2026 School Trustee Candidates factsheet here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

My 2026 #HamOnt School Trustee Candidate factsheet is live! I'll keep updating it as more information is made available, but there's already plenty of information to help you make an informed decision this election: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

No new Incline today, but definitely check out the CBC Hamilton coverage of the 2026 #HamOnt municipal election. Highly recommended for staying up-to-date with the state of the races across the city!

For anyone keen on some brief historical background on industry in #HamOnt, check out my classic newsletter piece from 2023, "Children of the Plume": theincline.email/p/children-o...

#HamOnt: oh no we can't build 60 units of affordable housing on an underused parking lot and ensure 12 units will go to veterans and that they'll be accessible to people priced out of the housing market won't somebody think of the defenceless cars waaahhhhhhhhhh New York:

Are they giving Stoney Creek voters false hope? open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

I have such incredible anger at this decision. Campaigns are being given advice that leads them to violate #HamOnt city policies that the IC themselves said are confusing. This is outrageous. I'm absolutely livid.

ChatGPT posters and flyers are polluting real life and driving me insane. Please respond to this with the worst ones you've seen irl. I'll post some in the thread www.404media.co/we-are-livin...

If the #HamOnt councillor/mayoral candidate doesn't want "buildings to languish", then he should support proven solutions: stronger regulation, tough penalties for absentee/corporate speculators + land profiteers, more municipal investment in heritage, & expropriation. Actions > populist signaling.

Provincial Conservatives: We’re expanding the airport and destroying the island & waterfront whether you like it or not. Just like we destroyed the Science Centre & Ontario Place. Fuck you. Federal Liberals: Yasss sissy that landing 🏳️‍🌈💨🛬🏙️ we’ll paint the runway rainbow to replace Hanlans Beach 😍😍

#HamOnt is *raging* about the proposed AI Data Centre at Burlington+Gage, but here's a little Municipal 101 for context: • Proposal is at the Committee of Adjustment (CoA) • CoA *IS NOT* City Council • CoA *IS* a 7-member quasi-judicial citizen tribunal • CoA will discuss proposal June 4 at 9:30 AM

AOC on possibly running for the Senate or President: They assume my ambition is a title or a seat. My ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country. Presidents come and go, elected officials come and go, single payer healthcare is forever.

Let's see if I've got this: A right-wing #HamOnt mayoral candidate gets *multiple* profiles in the local paper AND a 1,100 word write up in the National Post where his inaccurate claims earn NO pushback... ...but no one asks questions during the campaign launch for the candidate leading the polls?

wow yeah maybe somebody should spend six years writing a dissertation on political parties at the local level in Canada www.tvo.org/article/anal...

Today's long-anticipated "school board overhaul" legislation shows that community pushback works. Ontarians said loud and clear that they did not want to lose elected school board trustees and we *won*. Our democracy might be in trouble, but it persists ✊ #onpoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Headlight survey! Survey on headlights! Questions on car light too bright! Car make too light much bright car light! Sorry, got excited. Transport Canada is collecting opinions on road user experiences with headlights that are too bright. tc.canada.ca/en/corporate...

Editorial: Here’s why Avi Lewis is the wrong choice to lead the NDP – by a centrist Liberal

Imagine what it would be like to have a Premier who cared as much about all of Ontario as Ford does about the 0.06% of the province's landmass that is part of the City of Toronto? #onpoli

A trio of Canadian fascists paid Nigel Farage (far-right Brexit leader & possibly the UK's next PM) to film a video trying to goad #HamOnt Mayor Andrea Horwath into attending a racist comedy show. We have to tackle hate in Hamilton, even when it's this stupid. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...

I've been around Ontario long enough to know that whenever they dangle booze in front of the voters like keys in front of a baby they're about to do something *unbelievably* corrupt. At THIS level of "Drinks Some Beer, Losers", I have to imagine Algonquin Park is becoming a chemical weapons plant

The amount of work the next government will need to do to reverse the illogical, irresponsible, irrational actions of the Ford Government will be immense and can't start soon enough. #onpoli globalnews.ca/news/1172382...

Hamilton! Join me March 9 for an evening of movement-building. This campaign is about returning the NDP to its roots as the party of the 99%, standing with workers and empowering the grassroots. Bring a friend! Reserve your spot now: https://avilewis.link/hamilton

It's 2029. Potholes on Barton swallow three more cars today as kids & racoons fight in the crumbled ruins of rec centres. From the ghost town of #HamOnt City Hall, Councillor Whitehead's mic is cut when he calls Mayor Cooper's 2.5% tax increase "basically communism". www.thespec.com/news/council...

Keanin Loomis is running for mayor of Hamilton #HamOnt #YHMvotes2026

Ontario is being run into the ground by a premier who thinks boomerisms are a substitute for policy smfh

ATTN: Ward 3 & Main St neighbours. Councillors who live no where near you are trying to stop Main St safety & complete streets interventions this budget. I know families who lost loved one or experienced critical injuries and will continue to fight for you. Pls email ward3@hamilton.ca to connect.

Canadian friends: today is *the very last day* to buy a membership in the NDP and have a say in who the party's next leader will be. Only members can vote in March. On climate and economic justice, we need a strong third party. Don't sit it out! act.lewisforleader.ca/become-an-nd...

I’ve been away from Substack, and other social media platforms for almost three months. Here’s why. open.substack.com/pub/margaret...

For CBC Arts, I wrote about why I think Canada needs to revel in the beauty of its weirdest impulses www.cbc.ca/arts/canadia...

From a Canadian military publication: hybrid warfare includes "cyber warfare, economic coercion/blackmail...disinformation campaigns & psychological warfare" When will our federal gov't show the courage to recognize the imminent threat we face and take steps to isolate the rogue state to our south?

Today on The Incline → David Lewis's early political campaigns in #HamOnt, Avi Lewis's run for the leadership of the #NDP, and politics in this messy moment. theincline.email/p/a-sea-of-c...

Under my leadership, the next time the NDP holds the balance of power in parliament, we’ll have one demand: proportional representation. Sous ma direction, la prochaine fois que le NPD détiendra la balance du pouvoir au Parlement, nous n'aurons qu'une exigence : la représentation proportionnelle.

Today on The Incline → When it comes to crime in #HamOnt, it's a case of feelings vs. facts. And with #YHMvotes2026 on the horizon, some on the city's political right are going all-in on feelings. theincline.email/p/crime-story

Co-sign. Given this & the long-standing neglect of Canada’s post-secondary system, it’s hard not to think that spending billions to attract foreign researchers is more about assuaging Canada’s epic inferiority complex (look how many real scholars we got!) than advancing the Canadian research sector.

Fresh Start Wilf Perreault 2023

Today on The Incline → An end-of-year check-in and a reflection on the loss of a dedicated community champion in #HamOnt. theincline.email/p/the-public...

Doug Ford's government uses a lot of "D" words to justify their actions. But they're undermining the most important “D” word of them all - democracy. #onpoli #ontpoli (Totally forgot to post this yesterday when it was published, but here's a gift link to my latest in The Spec: tinyurl.com/533jm9rm)

This is maybe old news at this point, but peeps in #hamont should not go to any other businesses owned by these union-busters. That means don’t patronize: Mulberry Coffeehouse Paisley Coffeehouse and Eatery Donut Monster Redchurch Station 1 Coffeehouse (in Grimsby)

Oooh the worst boys you know are fighting

Of the 620 comments on the #HamOnt Jamesville MZO that were deemed acceptable to publish, the breakdown is: Pro MZO → 88.9% Anti-MZO → 5.5% Mixed* → 5.6% * mixed, meaning generally supportive, but with requests to adjust what is approved or focus more on affordable/supportive housing

I’m having trouble squaring this announcement with the fact that, at least in Ontario, universities are in a decades-long underfunding crisis that governments are refusing to address and in many cases are making worse.

50 days to build something bigger. If you’ve been fired up by this campaign, why not make it official? Join the NDP and help elect @avilewis.ca. The last day to join is January 28, 2026.

My #SpotifyWrapped is out...and once again all the data is wrong. I wrote a post on how 'Spotify has a (Meta)Data Issue'. www.jasonlamb.org/blog/spotify...

Today on The Incline → After a wall goes up in front of the #HamOnt Salvation Army, many in the community wonder if its days are numbered. A long look at the past, present, and future of the York Boulevard shelter. theincline.email/p/the-perks-...

If you want @avilewis.ca as the next leader of the NDP, you must become a member of the party by January 28, 2026. Sign up here: avilewis.link/join #cdnpoli #ndp

November 15 marked a full three years in my role as Councillor for Ward 2. Every year, around this time, I write about another year gone by, what I’ve learned in this job, what people tell me when they see me at a meeting, stop me in the street, or share their thoughts with me in an email. #HamOnt