2026 Municipal Election

If you voted in a Provincial or Federal Election, it does not guarantee that you are on the Voters' List for a Municipal Election. Elections Ontario manages a single register of electors for both provincial and municipal elections in Ontario. You can check to see if your name is on the voters' list or manage your information through the voter registration service.

Are you 16 or 17 years old and interested in voting? If you are 16 or 17 years old, a Canadian citizen, and a resident of Ontario, you can add your name to the Register of Future Voters.

Ensure your School Support Designation is up-to-date before the next election 

To ensure your correct school support designation is provided to Elections Ontario in time for the next municipal and school board elections on October 26, 2026, it should be reviewed and, if needed, updated by June 1, 2026. 

While Elections Ontario maintains the Permanent Register of Electors in Ontario for provincial, municipal, and school board elections, MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) is legislatively responsible for collecting school support designation information.  

What is school support? 

Whether you own or rent your home, your property is linked to a school board – even if you don’t have children or your children aren’t currently attending school. While you’re not required to make a designation, you do have the option to choose which school board you support. If you don’t make a choice, your support will default to the English-Public school board.  
 

How to update school support designations

Property owners can change their school support designation online using MPAC AboutMyProperty™ or our online portal for tenants. To get started, choose the option that applies to you:  

• I am a property owner 
• I am a tenant 

A step-by-step guide is available in English or French. 

Please note: Registration may take up to 24 hours to activate. 

You can submit a paper Application for Direction of School Support form in English or French and mail or email it to MPAC. 

To learn more or update a school support designation, visit mpac.ca/schoolsupport. 

To run for Mayor or City Councillor, on the day the nomination paper is filed, a person must be:

• a Canadian citizen
• at least 18 years old
• a resident of the City of Thunder Bay, or an owner or tenant of land in the City of Thunder Bay, or the spouse of such person
• not legally prohibited from voting
• not disqualified by any legislation from holding municipal office 

To run for School Board Trustee, on the day the nomination paper is filed, a person must be:

• a Canadian citizen
• at least 18 years of age
• a resident in the area of jurisdiction of the board
• not legally prohibited from voting
• not disqualified by any legislation from holding municipal office

If you wish to run for School Board Trustee for one of the following boards, you must live within the jurisdiction of that board. 

• Lakehead District School Board
• Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board
• Conseil scolaire public du Grand Nord de l’Ontario
• Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boréales
  
  

Who is disqualified from running?

The following people are disqualified from being elected or holding office as Mayor or City Councillor: 

• a judge of any court;
• a Senator, Member of Parliament or Member of Provincial Parliament who has not resigned from their office by the close of nominations; 
• a candidate who failed to file the necessary financial statement or exceeded the prescribed spending limit in the 2022 municipal election; or
• City of Thunder Bay employees, unless the candidate takes an unpaid leave of absence before filing a nomination paper.
  
  

The following people are disqualified from being elected or holding office as a School Board Trustee:

• a clerk, treasurer, deputy-clerk or deputy-treasurer of any municipality within the area of jurisdiction of the school board except those on an unpaid leave of absence;
• a Senator, Member of Parliament or Member of Provincial Parliament who has not resigned from their office by the close of nominations;
• a candidate who failed to file the necessary financial statement or exceeded the prescribed spending limit in 2022 municipal election; or
• employees of any school board, unless the candidate takes a leave of absence before filing a nomination paper.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario produces Lead Where You Live 2026: A Guide to running for municipal council. 
 

The Province of Ontario publishes a Municipal Councillor's Guide that provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of an elected member of council.  

The Province of Ontario releases a candidates' guide for every municipal election.  It is anticipated that the Province of Ontario will release a 2026 Guide in April 2026 and we will update this link at that time. In advance of that time, please see the 2022 Candidates' Guide - Ontario municipal council and school board elections for information on how to run as a candidate in Ontario municipal council and school board elections. Please note that information and forms in the 2022 guide may be updated for 2026.  

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is offering a series of workshops for people thinking about running for municipal office in the October 2026 elections:

Running for Municipal Office - Everything You Need to Know as an Underrepresented Candidate

After the end of the campaign period, candidates must file a financial statement and auditor’s report (if required) disclosing all contributions and expenses for their campaigns. The deadline to file financial statements was March 31, 2023 at 2 p.m.

As per the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 s.88.23(2), any candidate who does not file a financial statement by the March 31, 2023 deadline is in default and subject to the following penalties: 
(a) the candidate forfeits any office to which he or she was elected and the office is deemed to be vacant; and
(b) until the next regular election has taken place, the candidate is ineligible to be elected or appointed to any office to which this Act applies. 

The following financial statements were prepared by candidates, themselves. Municipal staff have not verified or amended the information contained in the statements.

All nominated candidates are listed. Only those who have submitted financial statements will appear linked.