Alex Wilson is a brilliant thinker, a person who is deeply considerate, is committed to public service, and will continue to contribute for decades to come.
Wilson is one of Hamilton’s best policy wonks, but not at all a politician. On Friday, Wilson announced they will not seek re-election this fall, voluntarily leaving City Council after one term at age 29.
I have mixed feelings about the announcement. On one hand, I am disappointed — we need all the good people we can get in politics. On the other hand, I know this is the best decision for Wilson. I’ve often remarked Wilson will be a great addition to the Ontario civil service if they chose that route, or a stellar chief of staff or senior advisor if they return to their previous work as a political staffer.
I first met Wilson on a Sunday morning over coffee in late 2017. One of their student politics colleagues arranged the meeting, telling me that Alex wished to become more involved in the broader Hamilton community.
I remember the meeting well because I was impressed by how well-researched they were. At some point, I tweeted about the meeting using he/him pronouns. The next time I saw Wilson, they politely and gracefully shared they use they/them pronouns, but did not mind my tweet.
After graduating, Wilson went to work for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas MPP Sandy Shaw as a constituency assistant and excelled in the role. They built relationships and community knowledge that were foundational to their successful 2022 council run.
Defeating an incumbent councillor is no small feat in Hamilton politics. It has only happened a handful of times. Wilson won with a convincing 57.94 per cent of the vote.
Unapologetically a progressive-left politician, Wilson is one of the few young NDPers of their political cohort who is effective at building relationships between the two largest factions of Hamilton’s NDP. Part of the university-educated left wing of Hamilton’s left, Wilson is welcomed by the older working-class, pulled-themselves-up-by-the-bootstraps wing of Hamilton’s NDP.
In closing, I’ve watched Wilson grow as a community leader. I’ve watched as they built relationships while not compromising on their left-wing political views.
If Hamilton’s NDP hopes to win federally, reclaim Hamilton Mountain provincially, and hold Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas when MPP Sandy Shaw eventually retires, it will need more people like Alex Wilson to broaden its coalition.
Of course, Wilson could decide to pursue a non-partisan civil service role. No matter what Wilson does next, they will remain a meaningful contributor for decades to come — a leader among their generation.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: May 2, 2026
Last updated: May 2, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
Thanks for publicly sharing how brilliant and deeply considerate and committed to community Alex is, Joey. Truly they’re a marvellous person, and you’re right to predict a stellar future for this unassuming genius!
Alex Wilson was one of the smartest councillors Hamilton has ever had. Thank you so much for your excellent service Alex! My entire family will miss your thoughtful intellect at council meetings. I hope you stay close to work in our community in order to rescue us from climate change deniers and those who think “growth” is the only way to move forward. The kind of status quo “growth” that is discussed in politics today is sorely outdated because it’s impossible to sustain. Humans have the most to lose here – nature doesn’t need us at all! We’re the ones in need of nature’s life-giving bounty. All we really NEED to survive is clean water, clean air, nutrient-rich soil and seeds to grow food and lumber to build shelters. Today’s problems are often caused by people demanding too much from planet Earth, and not respecting its very real limits. The changes in our climate are a warning that Earth is reaching those limits, life-threatening limits. Political parties are the least of our worries today – we all need to pull together and find solutions that stabalize the world’s climate, now. That should be everyone’s priority and I give many thanks to Alex for trying to work towards solutions in Hamilton. I wish all councillors would – and most still do thank goodness – but I’m very worried about what the next election may bring to our good city. If smart people like Alex think council can’t be effective in bringing positive change to Hamilton, then what kind of council will we end up with? Will people who care about the average taxpayer and worsening climate disasters run for office? I certainly hope so!
Thanks for writing this, Joey! I am taking a minute to leave a nice comment here because I’m frustrated that only people with mean things to say are appending themselves as angry footnotes to articles about Alex in various local outlets.
Alex Wilson is a person with so much integrity that they deserve nothing but respect, no matter whatever political differences people may have with them. Your article conveys exactly this point.
Alex’s excellent contributions will be missed on council and in committees, I look forward to seeing whatever future role they play, but also just seeing them around the city in the meantime!
Joey is bang on with his assessment of Alex Wilson. I have known Alex for a few years and appreciate his clear thinking and excellent communication skills. I hope he finds a role in which he has great impact on our municipal, provincial, and federal politics. We need the more thoughtful and influential people to redirect the bad direction that we humans are heading. I agree with those who recognize that we must protect our environment from the abuses of profit motivated and otherwise thoughtless development. Unneeded development outside of the urban boundary, harmful impacts of warehouses on headwaters, and other wasteful projects that reflect human greed are taking us in a direction from which it will be difficult to recover.
He might be a great guy to have a coffee with or go for a bike ride but he was a horrible councillor for the riding he covered. His only interest was downtown Dundas. He was never be open to growth or representing tax payers. Often calls to him went unanswered or emails were ignored. Looking forward to getting to know the other 2 candidates. I hope no one encourages Alex to continue in politics. He needs to learn from the school of hard knocks and get a job that exposes him to real life challenges.
Sandy Shaw is the same….no responses. And Filomenna Tassi was the same.