'A new era': Hamilton city council and first woman mayor inaugurated after change election

A new city council was sworn in Wednesday evening and Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath — the first woman to hold the title — says it's "a new era."

"Tonight, we start a journey of change," she told a crowd of at least 400 people at the Hamilton Convention Centre during her inaugural address.

"Tackling challenges our city faces can be approached in two ways: reactively or thoughtfully."

Horwath and the city's 15 councillors gave the oath of allegiance. Nine of those councillors are new.

"I feel grateful to be surrounded at the council table by so many unique and diverse voices, all of whom are passionate about making Hamilton the thriving city it can be. The success story it should be," she said.

The ceremony included some remarks from Joseph Martin on behalf of Six Nations of the Grand River's elected council, as well as an appearance from spirit bear drummers and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada.

Horwath gave a roughly 20-minute speech, outlining the numerous issues the city and new council face, including street safety, hate incidents and forming a Public Advisory Committee within the first 90 days.

She said the biggest issue she heard during the campaign was the urgent need for affordable housing.

Council will eliminate the city's affordable housing wait list by working with non-profit housing organizations, private market developers and all levels of government to get projects started, she said.

Horwath also said more federal money is going to Hamilton to continue building homes.

"Safe, healthy, affordable housing is a basic human right," she added.

It's unclear if her vision and council's will align with recently announced provincial plans.

The city already had a potential fight on its hands even before the new council was sworn-in, after the provincial government ordered the city to expand its urban boundary and proposed removing some parts of the Greenbelt in Hamilton and Grimsby. The province says those expansions are needed to build more housing.

In a media scrum after the inaugural meeting, Horwath displayed optimism about the situation.