Understanding the upcoming October 26 municipal elections

By: Kate Smith

Understanding how municipal elections work is important to allow for better representation of local needs in decision making.

Elections for municipal government are held every four years on the fourth Monday of October. The length of term for all municipal elected officials is four years.

Councillors are elected through the ‘first-past-the-post’ system, meaning voters each choose one candidate for a position, and the candidate with the most votes is elected.

In municipal elections in Ontario, unlike other levels of government, candidates are not elected to represent a political party.

Municipalities are one of three orders of government that represent residents of Ontario. It is a geographic area within a province and governed by a group of elected officials called a council.

Each council must consist of a minimum of five members, including the head of council. Most municipalities have seven.

Eligible voters for municipal elections must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old, and a resident in the area.

Eligible candidates for municipal elections must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old, a resident of the municipality, and not legally prohibited from voting.

Candidates are also required to pay a fee of $100 ($200 for head of council) and those running in municipalities with more than 4,000 electors are also required to obtain 25 endorsement signatures when they submit their nomination.

Municipal governments are crucial to Ontario’s economy, investing revenues of nearly $65 billion in important public services and infrastructure each year.

Ontario’s municipalities own, operate and maintain nearly a trillion dollars of infrastructure that is essential to Ontario’s economic prosperity and quality of life – more than both the provincial and federal governments.

Ontarians interact with municipal government by taking a shower or flushing a toilet (water and wastewater), moving from place to place (roads, sidewalks, and public transit), throwing out garbage and recycling (waste disposal), playing pick-up and organised sports (parks and recreation) and more.

Municipalities are responsible for providing services to their residents and businesses such as culture (community centres, libraries, parks), emergency services (ambulances, fire and police), health and social services (childcare, long-term care, shelters, community housing, immunisation clinics), infrastructure (Internet and electricity, public transit, waste disposal, roads and sidewalks, water and wastewater), and land and resources (environmental conservation, land-use planning, and climate change response).

But how to municipal governments pay for the services they provide?

The largest source of revenue for municipalities is property tax.

This is a stable source of revenue to fund the variety of services. Municipalities collect taxes from each property owner based on the property’s value.

Participating in local elections is important as both a voter and a candidate, and it contributes to strong local democracy.

Councils make decisions on behalf of the municipality by setting the budget, approving strategic plans, setting policies and procedures, and establishing programs and services. It is staff who advise council and implement their decisions by implementing the policies and programs.

The voters’ list was prepared on September 1. If having your name and address available on the voters’ list would endanger your life, health or security, you can request that the Chief Electoral Officer redact your information.

You are required to show identification to vote.

Voting opens on October 13 for telephone and Internet voting.

Election day is October 26. Results will be calculated and released to the public as soon as possible that evening.

The new term of council begins on November 17.

For more information on the municipal election, please visit https://www.amo.on.ca/about-us/municipal-101/municipal-elections

Goderich Council candidate profiles are featured throughout this issue of the Goderich Sun.