CRAIG CASSAR
Councillor for Ward 12 - Ancaster & West Flamborough
BIO
Craig was born in Hamilton and lived in the Vincent neighbourhood in east Hamilton for 5 years prior to living abroad for several years. He attended elementary and high school in Burlington and then McMaster University where he graduated with an honours Bachelor of Commerce in 1998.
Through a 24-year career in leadership at Maple Leaf Foods, Craig has developed a broad range of executive skills, including strong financial acumen, the ability to create strong followership in a wide range of stakeholders, and the capacity to understand and manage competing, complex issues.
His business skills are complimented by a long-time and deep commitment to volunteer work with many community organizations such as the Ancaster Community Food Drive, Save Our Streams Hamilton, DontGetLost Adventure Running, Royal Botanical Gardens, David Suzuki Foundation, and Community Fridges. You may already know Craig from the documentary he published in April 2022 called ‘Follow the Flow of Ancaster Creek’ about the proposed development that would destroy the Garner Marsh.
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Craig and his wife, Anka, are 20-year Ancaster residents where they have raised their 3 children.
Community Involvement
Co-founder. A coalition of concerned citizens advocating for the preservation of waterways, wetlands, streams, habitat, woodlots, natural heritage and biodiversity in Hamilton.
Volunteer. An informal community organization that established and maintains three community fridges in Hamilton. Free food for those that need it. Stocked and used by the community. Available 24/7. I perform fridge checks and help with donation collection and delivery to our fridges.
Volunteer. A grassroots movement that successfully prevented City Hall from expanding the urban boundary and continuing the expensive mistake of suburban sprawl.
Volunteer (Door-to-door food collection). An annual food drive collecting non-perishable items. 12 years of participation by the entire Cassar Family.
Butterflyway Project - Lead ‘Butterflway Ranger’ for Hamilton.
Helping the community start native pollinator gardens to assist in the recovery of pollinating insect populations. In 2021, 1,500 native plants were given away and planted to establish 80 pollinator gardens across the city.
Biodiversity Guardian and Volunteer with the Natural Lands Department.
Thousands of invasive plants, shrubs and trees removed.
Volunteer. Thousands of invasive plants, shrubs and trees removed.
Board Member & Program Volunteer
A Hamilton-based not-for-profit organization that offers orienteering/fitness programs and events for youth and adults throughout the Golden Horseshoe.
Cleaning up the Community
Since 2020, I've spent many early mornings across Ancaster cleaning up garbage, collecting nearly 400 bags to-date
