Trouble wiring a light switch in my dining room.?

Your switch does NOT provide the neutral. Even though you have a black and white wire at the switch, The white is only a return for the hot.

You need a three wire cable from the fixture to the switch.

To control the fixture with the switch, you have to interrupt one of the wires to the fixture. If there are only two wires total, that leaves only one available wire to carry electricity round trip to the kitchen. It's not going to work.

It's a little odd because the power is routed to the switch by way of the fixture, rather to the fixture by way of the switch.

Canadfa and the U S A

Number of conductors in a cable are the insulated current carrying conductors (The ground/earth is not counted as a conductor as it does not normally carry any currect.) The neutral/identified is counted as a conductor

You require a 3 conductor cable or 2 2 conductor cables from the Light Outlet to the Switchbox.

Do not run a cable from a different circuit to supply power to the switchbox.

3 conductor cable:

Turn the power off at the fuse/brteaker panel for that circuit.

The black and white wires supply power to the switch box. The red wire is your switch wire.

Twist the groud/earth wires to-gether in the Light Outlet and connect to the ground screw.

Connect the black wires in the Light Outlet to-gether and cap.

Connect the white wires plus a white pigtail in the Light Outlet to-gether and cap.

Connect the white pigtail in the Light Outlet to the white wire on the light fixture and cap.

Connect the red wire in the Light Outlet to the black wire on the light fixture and cap.

Twist the groud/earth wires in the Switchbox to-gether and connect to the ground screw.

Connect the white wires to-gether - no pigtail and cap; tuck in

Connect the black wires and a pigtail in the Switchbox to-gether and cap.

Connect the black wire pigtail to one screw on the switch.

Connect the red wire to the other screw on the switch.

Turn the power on at the fuse/breaker panel for that circuit.

Your light should work properly now.

2 2conductor cables:

Turn the power off at the fuse/brteaker panel for that circuit.

The black and white wires of one cable supply power to the switch box. Just use the black wire of the other cable for your switch wire.

Identify each cable so you use correct wires and cable for your connections.

Twist the groud/earth wires to-gether in the Light Outlet and connect to the ground screw.

Connect the black wires, of the cable that will supply the power to the Switchbox, in the Light Outlet to-gether and cap.

Connect the white wires of the cable that will supply the power to the Switchbox and the cable that supplies the power to the Light Outlet, plus a white pigtail in the Light Outlet to-gether and cap.

Cap the white wire in the other cable.

Connect the white pigtail in the Light Outlet to the white wire on the light fixture and cap.

Connect the black wire, of the other cable, in the Light Outlet to the black wire on the light fixture and cap.

Twist the groud/earth wires in the Switchbox to-gether and connect to the ground screw.

Connect the white wires of the cable that will supply the power to the Switchbox, to-gether - no pigtail and cap; tuck in

Connect the black wires of the cable that will supply the power to the Switchbox, and a pigtail in the Switchbox to-gether and cap.

Connect the black wire pigtail to one screw on the switch.

Cap the white wire in the other cable

Connect the black wire, of the other cable, to the other screw on the switch.

Turn the power on at the fuse/breaker panel for that circuit.

Your light should work properly now.