The second week of the Brantford—Brant South federal by-election campaign is in the books, and the field is now seven candidates. The debate taped on Monday, November 9 at Rogers TV aired on RogersTV20 on Tuesday afternoon and is now on YouTube, Brad Ward was officially confirmed as the NDP candidate, and the campaigning — door-knocking, a new campaign office, and a Super Canvass — is in full swing. Here is what each candidate posted since our last roundup on Monday.
Kevin Davis — Conservative
Davis shared the full debate video on Wednesday, and marked Remembrance Day twice — a tribute in the morning, and a note that joining the Remembrance Day service was his final official duty as Mayor of Brantford, pictured in the mayoral chain of office. He also refreshed his campaign look on Tuesday, with a new headshot and a blue campaign banner as his cover photo.
Joy O’Donnell — Liberal
O’Donnell’s week was Remembrance Day and the doors. She posted from the Remembrance Day service on Wednesday and from a cadets’ vigil at the Brant War Memorial on Tuesday evening, thanked the debate organizers on Tuesday afternoon, and on Monday evening shared a door-knocking session with St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle and an endorsement from Jane Stewart, the former MP for Brant.
Dave Carrol — Independent
Carrol was the busiest candidate online this week, with nine posts. He opened his Campaign Cottage at 5 Cloverdale Ave on Monday evening — with former MP Phil McColeman and MPP Bobbi Ann Brady there — and posted a clip of his rally speech from the opening on Thursday morning. On Tuesday he pushed back on vote-splitting talk and asked which candidate will make a voter’s vote count. He marked Remembrance Day with a cenotaph photo and a challenge to overpay for poppies, shared the City’s Sensitive Santa event (Saturday, December 12, Sanderson Centre) as one of his favourite days of the year, and on Wednesday evening announced a Super Canvass for Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., meeting at 5 Cloverdale Ave, lunch provided.
Brad Ward — NDP
Ward’s week was about getting the campaign visible. The riding association announced on Monday afternoon that he was officially named the NDP candidate at the November 7 nomination meeting — closing the open question from last week’s roundup. His new campaign page launched on Tuesday, with a welcome post and a headshot, and on Wednesday it shared the national NDP’s graphic introducing its December 7 by-election candidates and posted from the Brantford Cenotaph. The riding association also marked Remembrance Day with “In Flanders Fields” and an image of “The Long Watch” poem. The association shared the campaign page’s welcome and Cenotaph posts as well, so those two items appear once here rather than twice.
Kathryn Kissinger — Green
Nothing new from Kissinger this week. The Green Party’s local page, GPCBrant, is inactive — its latest post is from December 31, 2025, and it still carries the previous candidate’s branding, with no Kissinger content.
Dirk Byers — Christian Heritage
Nothing new from Byers this week. He is confirmed on Elections Canada’s list as the Christian Heritage Party candidate, with Marcie Byers as his official agent, but no website, phone number or social media presence for his campaign has surfaced yet.
Mike Clancy — Independent
Nothing new from Clancy this week. His website, maturedemocracy.ca, is still a “coming soon” page, and no campaign posts have surfaced.
The debate
The candidates’ debate was taped on Monday, November 9 at Rogers TV, presented by the Chamber of Commerce Brantford-Brant and the Brantford Home Builders’ Association. It aired on RogersTV20 at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, and the full video is on YouTube — we posted it on Tuesday. All five candidates named at the time took part, including Kissinger.
Key dates
- Monday, November 16, 2:00 p.m. — nominations close
- Wednesday, November 18 — Elections Canada publishes the full list of confirmed candidates
- Friday, November 27 to Monday, November 30, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — advance polls
- Monday, December 1, 6 p.m. — last chance to vote at the local Elections Canada office or apply for a mail-in ballot
- Monday, December 7, 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. — polling day
What to watch next
Whether any further candidates file before nominations close on Monday, November 16 — the People’s Party still has not named a candidate — the full confirmed list on Wednesday, November 18, Carrol’s Super Canvass on Saturday, and whether Kissinger’s campaign becomes visible.
