Our friend, Lance.
Lance Dingman was a passionate and courageous advocate and a much loved member of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. Lance’s life was shaped by resilience and a deep belief in dignity for all. A long-time Hamilton resident, Lance turned lived experience, and challenges with disability, poverty, mental health into purpose, becoming a fierce voice for those too often unheard.
Lance’s advocacy was always grounded in contagious hope. He believed change was possible, he worked for it every day and made others believe it was possible too. He was known for his warmth, humour, and his ability to make everyone feel seen. His contributions made Hamilton a more inclusive, compassionate city.
Lance championed tenants living in Hamilton’s Residential Care Facilities. He was a relentless advocate for increasing the Personal Needs Allowance—the small monthly stipend residents received for personal expenses, calling for dignity in how people in care were treated. Through the RCF Tenants Coalition he helped co-found, he brought this message to City Hall, the Provincial Legislature, local coalitions, and countless community meetings.
As a member of the City of Hamilton’s Accessibility Committee for Persons with Disabilities, Lance worked to bridge gaps between system bringing critical insights on accessibility, housing, and climate justice. He also supported others as a mental health peer support worker, and was a mentor, connector, and friend to many across the city through the Mental Health Rights Coalition.
He was one of the first participants in Ontario’s Basic Income Pilot, and quickly emerged as one of its strongest advocates. “Basic income gave me freedom to live with some dignity,” he told the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper. Basic Income allowed him to eat better, buy necessities, and pursue his dreams. When the pilot was cancelled, Lance didn’t give up, he was one of the founding members of Living Proof, a speakers’ bureau of pilot participants who bravely shared their stories and fought for a national basic income. Lance was featured in a chapter of a book called The Case for Basic Income by Jamie Swift and Elaine Power.
That wasn’t his only claim to fame, Lance was featured in Unimaginable, a documentary by filmmaker Terrance Odette, which offers an intimate portrait of Lance Dingman’s life and advocacy. Filmed over several years, the film follows Lance as he navigates poverty, disability, housing insecurity, and his role in the Basic Income movement—capturing both his personal struggles and his unwavering commitment to justice. We were honoured to host a special screening of Unimaginable last National Housing Day (November 2024), where Lance’s story sparked powerful community dialogue on housing, dignity, and systemic change.
Lance passed away unexpectedly on July 7th, 2025. Just a week before, he attended a community meeting on climate justice, still showing up for others, still speaking truth to power.
He will be deeply missed—and always remembered as a tireless champion for justice and dignity. As one friend recently highlighted, “To Hamilton, he was an advocate. To us, he was family.”
