**Dorothy McCabe leads the Waterloo, Ontario mayoral race as the incumbent seeking a second term in the October 26, 2026 municipal election.** Her position reflects a record since 2022 on advancing housing projects, including large-scale affordable developments, securing a new hospital, and supporting local economic and transit initiatives. Recent all-candidates debates have centered on tax increases of about 31% during her term, housing affordability, and city spending, with challengers including Shannon Weber—who narrowly lost to McCabe by 331 votes in 2022—pressing these issues. Other candidates such as Jeyas Balaskanthan, Jamie Hari, and Jerry Jiang remain lower-profile options. Trader pricing shows McCabe as the consensus favorite, consistent with typical municipal incumbent advantages in the absence of major disruptive events.