FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2026

OVER HALF OF CANDIDATES IN NIAGARA’S FARM WORKER COMMUNITIES SIGN SEVEN-POINT ROAD SAFETY PLEDGE

33 candidates – and counting – in Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and St. Catharines pledge to advance migrant farm workers’ demands

NIAGARA REGION — Migrant farm workers have put safety and dignity on the municipal election agenda in Niagara, and more than half of all candidates in Niagara’s largest farm communities have answered their call. Thirty-three of 63 candidates across Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and St. Catharines have signed a seven-point pledge to work with migrant farm workers, community members, and government partners to advance worker priorities if elected.

The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change has launched a new website at MigrantWorkersAlliance.org/MigrantWorkerSafety, where Niagara residents can read the pledge, check which candidates have made a public commitment, and ask candidates who have not yet signed to reconsider.

The pledge is the latest step in the response to the death of Sinhue Garcia, a 39-year-old migrant farm worker who was killed while cycling home in rural Niagara-on-the-Lake in June. After his death, migrant workers called on governments and candidates across Niagara to act so that no other worker would be killed simply trying to get home.

“After Sinhue was killed, migrant workers asked every level of government a simple question: what are you going to do so that no one else dies?” said Kit Andres, organizer with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. “Now 33 candidates have answered by making concrete commitments to work with migrant farm workers to advance their priorities. That shows something is changing in Niagara. Candidates in every ward have now signed, and we’re calling on the rest to step up, too.”

Migrant farm workers are excluded from having a vote in the municipal elections that shape the communities where they live and work. The pledge is a way for migrant workers to put their priorities directly before candidates – and for Niagara voters to see who is prepared to advance them.

“Migrant workers may be denied a vote in this election, but they have a voice,” said Andres. “Workers are organizing, people across Niagara are listening, and candidates are responding.”

Migrant workers have been coming to Niagara for 60 years. They grow the fruit, vegetables, and flowers the region is known for and are central to Niagara’s farms, wineries, and local economy. But many workers have no access to a car and little or no public transit. Their housing is controlled by employers, where they have little privacy. Walking or cycling is one of the few ways to buy groceries, send money to their families, get health care, go to church, see friends, access cooling centres, or simply spend time away from their workplace.

That means travelling on rural roads without safe shoulders, bike lanes, crossings or adequate lighting.

Since 2019, at least seven migrant farm workers have been killed or seriously injured on Niagara roads.

• In June 2026, Sinhue Garcia, 39, was killed while cycling home on Concession 6 near Line 4 Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He left behind a wife and two daughters in Mexico.
• In 2019, Zenaida, a Mexican farm worker and mother, was killed in a hit-and-run in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
• In 2022, Fermin Soto Sanchez was killed and his co-workers Alfonzo and Francisco were seriously injured when they were struck near St. Catharines.
• Later that year, Ceto Reid, a Jamaican farm worker, was seriously injured while cycling home from a laundromat.
• In 2023, Omar, a migrant farm worker, was injured in a hit-and-run on Lakeshore Road.

“The deaths and injuries are not isolated,” said Andres. “Workers have been coming here for generations, and yet roads, transit, services and housing have not been built around their lives. Migrant worker safety is about the freedom to live a full life – to see friends, buy groceries, get health care, worship, rest, and be part of the community without risking your life just to get there.”

Candidates who sign the pledge commit to working with migrant farm workers, community members, municipal staff and regional partners to advance the following actions:

• Create and fund a migrant farm worker road safety plan, including safer shoulders and bike lanes, better lighting, safer crossings, traffic calming and lower speeds on routes used by workers.
• Complete a worker-led road safety audit and map so migrant farm workers can identify dangerous roads, routes and destinations and determine priorities for change.
• Put worker-identified routes into municipal and regional transportation plans.
• Assign responsibility and publicly report on progress, including clear accountability for implementation.
• Ensure migrant worker housing is safe and dignified, with adequate space, privacy and basic facilities, and stronger inspections.
• Support a coroner’s inquest into migrant farm worker road deaths and serious injuries in Niagara.
• Meet directly with migrant farm workers and release a public implementation plan during the first year of the new council.

These commitments cross levels of government because the problems do, too. Municipal councils can act on local roads, planning, traffic safety, and infrastructure. Niagara Region has responsibility for regional roads, transportation planning, and important aspects of migrant worker housing oversight. Ontario has responsibility for the coroner system and other provincial measures such as infrastructure funding.

The pledge asks candidates to use the authority and influence of their office to advance these priorities, work with other levels of government where responsibility is shared, and publicly advocate for action where decisions sit with another jurisdiction.

With more than half of candidates already signed on, a shift is taking place in Niagara: more candidates are recognizing that the people who grow the food and sustain the region must also be able to live and move through our communities safely and with dignity.

Safer roads for migrant workers mean safer roads for everyone – workers, families, seniors, tourists, and everyone who moves through Niagara’s communities. When the needs of people most left out are addressed, the whole community benefits.

The public candidate tracker will continue to be updated throughout the campaign. Interviews will be available on September 20, 2026, 11:15am at St Catharines City Hall, as part of the cross-country Migrant Rights Network mobilization for immigration justice. Migrant farm workers and supporters will be traveling to join the march and rally in Toronto.