[1] The suburban communities of Ancaster, Flambrough, Glanbrook, Dundas and Stoney Creek, each elected town councils for the last time before amalgamation.

[2] Voter turnout remained steady in 1997, amidst events such as Premier Mike Harris' Common Sense Revolution service cuts, the Plastimet Fire, and plebiscites on smoking by-laws and a proposed casino.

[2] For the 1997 election, the City of Hamilton switched from paper ballots to a new automated voting system.

This system saw voters mark their choices on a paper ballot, enclose it in a 'privacy sleeve' and feed it into a computer that automatically tabulated the results.

[20] Mark Davies, the former executive director of the Mental Health Rights Coalition of Hamilton-Wentworth and independent candidate in Wentworth East in the 1995 Ontario provincial election had initially filed to contest the seat, but withdrew before the close of nominations.