With Mayoral Contender, Rob Cooper

Councillor Rob Cooper, who was elected to Ward 8 in a recent byelection and has since announced his intention to seek the mayor’s office, joins the growing field that includes incumbent Mayor Andrea Horwath and former chamber executive Keanin Loomis.

Cooper has framed his campaign around affordability, fiscal discipline, and what he describes as the need to run City Hall with stronger business practices. In the following interview, we asked Councillor Cooper to elaborate on his motivations for running, the ideas behind his approach to governing, and how he believes he distinguishes himself in what is shaping up to be a closely watched mayoral contest.

What follows is our conversation with Rob Cooper.

You are running against an incumbent mayor with extensive political experience and a recent near victor in Mr. Loomis who presents himself as an executive outsider. Some observers suggest your bid may be premature given your relatively short tenure on council. How do you respond to those who question whether this is the right timing for you to seek the mayor’s office?

I ran on real change in Hamilton. When I joined City Council, I discovered that the ability to change the direction of the city largely resides with the mayor, for better or worse.

Over the last four years, the city has increased taxes by 23 percent, and every meaningful benchmark at the city has gotten worse.

Hamilton is a multibillion-dollar city. Mayor Horwath has never run a multibillion-dollar organization, and neither has Mr. Loomis. The learning curve for them has been, and would continue to be, steep. Every $13 million mistake represents roughly a one percent tax increase for every taxpayer in Hamilton. There have been a lot of $13 million mistakes.

Hamiltonians expect better.

The difference is that I have spent my career successfully transforming complex multibillion-dollar organizations and have the experience to deliver real change for the City of Hamilton. Both of the other candidates are learning on the job. As Hamiltonians have discovered over the last four years under Ms. Horwath, that is a very expensive approach.

I am running for mayor because Hamilton needs experienced leadership right now to transform the city and unlock its potential to be the economic engine of Canada.

You have stated that Hamilton must be run like a multibillion-dollar business — a phrase frequently used in politics. On Day One of a Cooper administration, what specific operational or governance changes would demonstrate that this is more than rhetoric? What would residents tangibly see or experience differently?

For me, that begins immediately with the 2027 budget.

On day one, residents would see a shift toward a budget that is tied to outcomes and service levels that matter to them. Too often, municipal budgets focus on spending rather than results that matter to residents.

Running the city like a business means asking clear questions. What services do residents expect? What outcomes are we trying to achieve? And are we delivering results that make people’s lives better?

It also means strengthening accountability. Departments should be measured against clear performance metrics, just like in any major organization. Residents will be able to see where their tax dollars are going and what they are getting in return.

Hamiltonians can expect to experience a city that is more responsive, more transparent, and more disciplined with public money.

You have indicated that you see no need to expand the municipal workforce. In light of population growth, infrastructure renewal demands, development approvals, and public safety concerns, where do you believe current staffing levels are misaligned with performance expectations?

This is not about simply adding more bodies to the system. It is about making sure the system works effectively and that we are delivering real outcomes that matter to Hamiltonians.

We will use technology and process improvements to dramatically improve service delivery. We need to make better use of those tools and ensure that staffing is aligned with performance and service expectations.

My approach would be thoughtful and innovative. Instead of automatically expanding the workforce, we should focus on redesigning processes, using technology, and ensuring the right people are in the right roles to deliver results for residents.

You have described your professional history as one of “rescuing organizations.” Municipal governments, however, function within statutory mandates, collective agreements, and provincial oversight. In what areas can a turnaround model realistically be applied — and where do you
acknowledge its limits?

Throughout my career, organizations have brought me in to help them transform, whether by improving performance or recovering from difficult situations. I believe strongly that if you are going to lead transformation, you need both experience and knowledge to support it. It cannot be about learning on the job.

I have extensive educational training and 13 professional designations and degrees, including an MBA and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), and have completed executive programs at institutions such as McMaster University, Harvard Business School, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, INSEAD, and London Business School. Credibility matters when you are leading an organization through change.

At Stelco, I served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. I reworked the company’s financial plan in order to protect jobs. When the company faced bankruptcy protection, I raised half a billion dollars from investors in New York, Boston, and Toronto in under 30 days. That helped protect workers’ pensions and stabilize the company.

At TD, I worked on regulatory and capital risk disclosure under Basel standards. That work led to identifying products that had no viable market. Those products were removed, and when the financial crisis hit, TD was the only bank in Canada without write-offs.

At McMaster University, while serving as Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Internal Auditor, and Chief Risk Officer, I helped launch sustainability initiatives that gave students experiential learning opportunities. That program eventually became a four-level minor degree and saved both $10 million and 30 million kilograms of carbon while helping make McMaster one of the leading universities in sustainability. 

The lesson from all of these experiences is that transformation comes from aligning strategy, finances, and outcomes. That approach absolutely applies to municipal government, especially when it comes to budgeting, service delivery, and long-term planning.

With Mayor Horwath presenting continuity and experience, and Mr. Loomis offering executive-
sector credentials, what is the singular defining distinction that positions you not merely as an additional option, but as the strongest alternative to lead Hamilton at this moment?

The defining difference is experience.

I bring both the credentials and the real-world executive leadership experience required to run a complex, multibillion-dollar organization.

As we have seen over the last four years, it is a very expensive approach for taxpayers to pay for someone to learn on the job and how to manage an organization of this scale.

Beyond that, I have a clear vision for Hamilton’s potential.

Hamilton has extraordinary strengths. We have the port, the airport, strong manufacturing, skilled trades, and one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country. Few cities have this combination.

Hamilton has the potential to become the economic engine of Canada.

I have lived here my entire life. I experience the same frustrations that many Hamiltonians feel about how the city is run. That is exactly why I am running.

Hamilton can do better. I believe Hamilton is capable of much more, and I am ready to lead the change needed to make that happen.

Thank-you Rob for engaging with Hamiltonians on The Hamiltonian!