In January, 2018, local media reported that a group of residents from Hamilton's suburbs, working under the name "Free Flamborough", had taken issue with the imposed boundaries and council's decision to not pursue an appeal.

"[21] The following month, Green invited ranked ballot-advocate Dave Meslin to speak in Hamilton on the issue, sparking a call for a citizen's group to promote the proposed electoral system.

In early 2015, activists feared the HSR had abandoned hope the project would be successful, as the agency's new director, Dave Dixon, had submitted for council's approval a request for new express buses totaling $302 million.

[27] Fears were abated in May, 2015, when Premier Kathleen Wynne and Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca announced the provincial government would fund the city's LRT project at 100% and invest in the construction of a new GO Train station in Stoney Creek at Centennial Parkway.

Tavares was notable during that campaign for demanding Ryan McGreal, the editor of local affairs website Raise The Hammer, purchase marijuana seeds from him before he would answer questions from the media.

[41] Schmidt-Jones was banned from Hamilton City Hall after throwing pumpkin seeds adorned with smiley faces at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016 to protest his support for oil pipelines.

In 2006, Di Ianni plead guilty to violating the Municipal Elections Act and was forced to return $26,000 in illegal contributions, make a $4,500 donation to charity, and write an essay on his actions.

[45][46] Identified as a neo-Nazi by the Southern Poverty Law Centre, Fromm was fired from his job as a public school teacher in Peel Region after attending far-right events and shouting racial slurs.

[52] Maureen Wilson, a former staffer with Hamilton Mayor Bob Wade and partner to former Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Chair Terry Cooke campaigned on an urbanist platform.

[52] Linda Narducci, a small-business owner and founding member of The Mustard Seed, a local organic co-operative, campaigned on improving pedestrian and cyclist safety as well as reviewing the ward's participatory budgeting project.

Lyla Miklos, a Unitarian lay chaplain and education worker sought the seat on a campaign of respecting the democratic process and speaking for marginalized Hamiltonians.

Kroetsch, who received the support of previous challengers to Farr - Terri Wallis (2014) and Matt Jelly (2010) - as well as former Green Party federal and provincial candidate Peter Ormond, campaigned for better communication and allocation of the city's existing public housing stock.

[62] On July 16, one day before incumbent councillor Matthew Green was scheduled to hold a press conference regarding his political future, NDP supporter and founder of a local consulting firm, the Empower Strategy group, Evelyn Myrie registered to run in Ward 3.

Alain Bureau, who had successfully advocated for the inclusion of a Gage Park stop on the B-Line LRT route ran on a platform of promoting healthy communities.

[69][70] More controversially, Merulla attacked public employees over wages, threatened to sue Vivian Saunders, a local resident focused on campaign finance accountability, over discrepancies in Merulla's 2014 campaign financial records, pushed for sanctions against Ward 12 councillor Lloyd Ferguson over an incident where Ferguson pushed local journalist Joey Coleman, and mocked Ward 14 councillor Robert Pasuta for missing some council meetings due to Pasuta's suffering a traumatic brain injury on his farm.

Karen Grice-Uggenti, the director of the Hamilton Mountain Liberal Party Association, wanted a pivot to BRT, and Steven Benson, a self-employed advertising executive, was undecided about LRT, instead focusing his platform on traffic calming.

The day before nominations were set to close, former Ward 9 councillor, 2014 mayoral candidate, Stoney Creek Progressive Conservative MPP, and provincial cabinet minister Brad Clark registered to seek the seat.

Ford, an HR manager, informed the Stoney Creek News that he opposed LRT and supported widening roads in the area, while noting "I hate politics, so maybe this is the right job for me.

"[97] Lakhwinder Singh Multani, a second-place finisher in the Ward 5 council race in 2000, also campaigned on better communication and opposing LRT, while also promoting the idea of making police more visible throughout the area.

[98][99] At his campaign launch, Thompson announced he would, if elected, ask the mayor to address power outage issues in Stoney Creek, hire 30 new police officers to combat crime, build a splash-pad in the Oceanic neighbourhood, and only serve two terms.

[104] Brenda Johnson, 2-term Ward 11 councillor, announced her intention to seek another term on council in September 2017 when former HWDSB Trustee Ian Thompson indicated he would be running for the office as well.

Scime focused on public safety, managing the area's growth, and supporting increased bus service to the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.

Speaking with the Ancaster News, Ferguson indicated that he had wavered on whether he would seek re-election, but ultimately decided to register again to complete pending projects in his community, though he noted he would likely not run again in the 2022 election.

A graduate of McMaster University, Marley indicated he was supportive of the city's LRT project, wanted to investigate public works efforts for low-income citizens, and improving the area's highway infrastructure to ease congestion.

[112] Gelder, a Dundas resident for two decades, supported the city's LRT project, and promoted the idea of complete streets, better public transit, and improved cycling infrastructure.

"[123] On July 26, the Stoney Creek News reported that candidate Jason McLaughlin had, in the past, posted lewd and sexist memes to his personal Facebook page and had been told by outgoing Ward 3 trustee Larry Pattison to address the issue.

[128] Incumbent Ward 13 trustee Greg Van Geffen announced in June 2018 that he was not seeking re-election to the public school board, citing the pressures of the job on his family and business.

[132] Shortly after being sworn in for a third term as Ward 7 Councillor, Scott Duvall announced he would be seeking the New Democratic Party's nomination to run in the 42nd Federal Election as their candidate on Hamilton Mountain.

[144] In an interview with the Hamilton Mountain News, McMaster political science professor Dr. Henry Jacek noted that he expected voter turnout to be very low, allowing a candidate to win with around 1,500 votes.

Taking aim at McMullen, who had secured the endorsement of the city's labour council and from Duvall's predecessor, Chris Charlton, the letter claimed "It is clear that (Qureshi) has risen above the pack and presents the ONLY choice if we are going to elect a strong progressive councillor for Ward 7.