Editing Brantford (section)

== Law and government ==
Brantford is located within the County of Brant; however, it is a single-tier municipality, politically separate from the county.<ref name="brant.ca"/><ref name="brantford.ca"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> ''Ontario's Municipal Act, 2001'' defines single-tier municipalities as "a municipality, other than an upper-tier municipality, that does not form part of an upper-tier municipality for municipal purposes."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_01m25_e.htm |title=Law Document English View |date=24 July 2014 |access-date=21 February 2014 |archive-date=30 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330230859/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_01m25_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Single-tier municipalities provide for all local government services.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amo.on.ca/AMO-Content/Municipal-101/Ontario-Municipalities.aspx |title=AMO – Ontario Municipalities |website=Amo.on.ca |access-date=21 October 2017 |archive-date=22 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022032506/http://www.amo.on.ca/AMO-Content/Municipal-101/Ontario-Municipalities.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:400; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"
|+Brantford federal election results<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rep/off/44gedata&document=bypro&lang=e |title=Official Voting Results Raw Data (poll by poll results in Brantford)|date=7 April 2022 |publisher=Elections Canada |access-date=March 15, 2023}}</ref>
! colspan="2" scope="col" | Year
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]]
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[New Democratic Party|New Democratic]]
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[Green Party of Canada|Green]]
|-
| rowspan="2" style="width: 0.25em; background-color: {{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative}}|
! [[2021 Canadian federal election|2021]]
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Liberal|background}} | 29%
| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"| ''13,409''
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative|background}} | 38%
| style="text-align:right; background:#6495ED;"| ''17,655''
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|NDP|background}} | 21%
| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| ''9,956''
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Green|background}} | 3%
| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| ''1,226''
|-
! [[2019 Canadian federal election|2019]]
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Liberal|background}} | 31%
| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"| ''14,977''
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Conservative|background}} | 38%
| style="text-align:right; background:#6495ED;"| ''18,058''
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|NDP|background}} | 22%
| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| ''10,280''
| {{Canadian party colour|CA|Green|background}} | 6%
| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| ''2,747''
|-
|}

{|class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:400; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"
|+Brantford provincial election results<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.elections.on.ca/en/resource-centre/elections-results.html |title=Official Voting Results by polling station (poll by poll results in Brantford)|publisher=Election Ontario |access-date=March 15, 2023}}</ref>
! colspan="2" scope="col" | Year
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|PC]]
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[Ontario New Democratic Party|New Democratic]]
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[Ontario Liberal Party|Liberal]]
! colspan="2" scope="col" | [[Green Party of Ontario|Green]]
|-
| style="width: 0.25em; background-color: {{Canadian party colour|ON|PC}}|
! [[2022 Ontario general election|2022]]
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|PC|background}} | 43%
| style="text-align:right; background:#9999FF;"| ''13,926''
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|NDP|background}} | 30%
| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| ''9,773''
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|Liberal|background}} | 13%
| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"|''4,252''
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|Green|background}} | 7%
| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| ''2,158''
|-
| style="width: 0.25em; background-color: {{Canadian party colour|ON|NDP}}|
! [[2018 Ontario general election|2018]]
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|PC|background}} | 39%
| style="text-align:right; background:#9999FF;"| ''16,473''
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|NDP|background}} | 44%
| style="text-align:right; background:#F4A460;"| ''18,560''
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|Liberal|background}} | 10%
| style="text-align:right; background:#EA6D6A;"|''4,032''
| {{Canadian party colour|ON|Green|background}} | 4%
| style="text-align:right; background:#99C955;"| ''1,860''
|-
|}

At the federal and provincial levels of government, Brantford is part of the [[Brant (electoral district)|Brant riding]].

[[Brantford City Council]] is the municipal governing body. As of October 22, 2018, the mayor is [[Kevin Davis (politician)|Kevin Davis]].

=== Safety ===
Brantford's economy was hit hard in the 1980s when farm equipment manufacturers [[Massey Ferguson]] and [[White Farm Equipment]] closed their local plants.<ref name="BScene">{{cite web |last1=Freeze |first1=Jason |title=Brantford in the 1980s – Part 4 |url=https://www.bscene.ca/brantford-in-the-1980s-part-4/ |website=BScene |access-date=15 July 2021 |language=en-CA |date=25 October 2018 |archive-date=15 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715155309/https://www.bscene.ca/brantford-in-the-1980s-part-4/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By the end of 1981, the city's unemployment rate reached 22%.<ref name="BScene" /> As with other small Ontario cities hit by the decline of manufacturing, the community struggled with an increase in social problems.<ref name="BScene" />

In more recent times, the city was hit hard by the [[opioid crisis]]. In 2018, Brantford had the highest rate of emergency department visits for overdose of any city in Ontario.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gee |first1=Marcus |title=In Brantford's opioid nightmare, a community sees more hopeful days ahead |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-in-brantfords-opioid-nightmare-a-community-sees-more-hopeful-days/ |website=Globe and Mail |date=24 February 2019 |access-date=15 July 2021 |archive-date=15 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715155324/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-in-brantfords-opioid-nightmare-a-community-sees-more-hopeful-days/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Brantford struggles to deal with opioid crisis and homelessness |url=https://www.northbaynipissing.com/news-story/9244316-brantford-struggles-to-deal-with-opioid-crisis-and-homelessness/?li_source=li&li_medium=mobile_ymbii&li_tr=mobile_ymbii |website=NorthbayNipissing.com |access-date=15 July 2021 |language=en-CA |archive-date=15 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715160056/https://www.northbaynipissing.com/news-story/9244316-brantford-struggles-to-deal-with-opioid-crisis-and-homelessness/?li_source=li&li_medium=mobile_ymbii&li_tr=mobile_ymbii |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, Brantford police reported an overall crime rate of 6,533 incidents per 100,000 population, 59% higher than in Ontario (4,113) and 19% higher than in Canada (5,488).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Government of Canada |first1=Statistics Canada |title=Safe Cities profile series: Key indicators by census metropolitan area – Brantford, Ontario |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00001/brantford-eng.htm |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca |access-date=15 July 2021 |archive-date=14 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814062241/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00001/brantford-eng.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, ''[[Maclean's]]'' magazine ranked Brantford as having a higher rate of crime severity than most of the province.<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada's Most Dangerous Places 2018: Explore the data |url=https://www.macleans.ca/canadas-most-dangerous-places/ |website=Macleans.ca |publisher=Maclean's magazine |access-date=15 July 2021 |language=en |archive-date=15 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715155324/https://www.macleans.ca/canadas-most-dangerous-places/ |url-status=live }}</ref>