[0:14] Okay.
[0:17] Right? Uh we'll get started. So, good
evening and thank you for coming
[0:21] tonight. Um so, this is a joint
information session and it's a
[0:25] partnership between the County of
Middlesex and all the lower tiers within
[0:29] the County of Middlesex. And happy to
see everyone here to learn more about um
[0:34] being a candidate running for election.
So, um we'll pass this over to Paul.
[0:43] Yeah, thank you very much. Um my name's
Paul Shipway and I'm the County CAO for
[0:47] Middlesex County and uh you want to
introduce yourself as well?
[0:50] Hi, I'm Tiffany Farrell. I'm the CAO for
the Municipality of Middlesex Centre.
[0:55] And we're very appreciative uh for
Middlesex Centre hosting us all here
[0:59] tonight and thank you for everyone
joining us in person and all those for
[1:02] joining us online. Uh and this will be
posted later and it just is another
[1:06] example of how in Middlesex County we
all work together to try to deliver
[1:10] shared outcomes. So, we'll do a brief
overview uh of the game plan tonight and
[1:15] is that your slide or mine? Um yours.
Okay.
[1:18] Uh
so, we'll go through county and local
[1:21] staff presentations uh speaking a little
bit about what's done locally and what's
[1:25] done at the county and then we're going
to turn it over to the Ministry of
[1:28] Municipal Affairs and Housing for uh a
larger in-depth uh presentation about
[1:33] the election process and then we'll also
also have county and local clerk booths
[1:39] uh over in the uh in the community
center. Community center, thank you very
[1:43] much uh where you can ask individualized
questions from your specific
[1:47] municipality or the county.
[1:52] Thanks. So, starting off Middlesex
County. So, uh we currently operate out
[1:56] of 399 Rideout in the city of London,
also known as the old courthouse. Uh,
[2:01] and some of the things that county
council and county government oversees
[2:06] is, uh, regional economic development
and tourism. So, uh, on the regional
[2:11] scale, emergency management
coordination. So, again, we support
[2:14] local municipalities with that. Uh,
probably actually our largest service
[2:19] area, Middlesex-London Paramedic
Services, so land ambulance services.
[2:23] Uh, county planning and development, uh,
county roads, bridges, traffic signals,
[2:28] and and controls. So, that would be your
arterial roads within the county. Uh,
[2:32] human services, which covers, uh, child
care and early on, uh, Ontario Works and
[2:38] housing in partnership with the city of
London. Uh, long-term care services, so
[2:42] we have Strathmere Lodge, uh, out in
Strathroy. Forestry and natural
[2:46] heritage, this one's near and dear to my
heart, but the county has, uh, over
[2:50] 1,000 hectares of county forest, uh,
that contribute to to the overall
[2:55] well-being within the county. And then,
county libraries, which we operate in
[2:58] conjunction with the local
municipalities, embedding those basic
[3:02] and, uh, comprehensive branches out in
the community where our residents get
[3:06] services from.
[3:10] So, when I talk about the
responsibilities of our local
[3:13] municipalities, I'm referring to the
services and operations that impact your
[3:18] daily lives. We look after local roads,
water, and wastewater services, and
[3:23] recreational facilities. We also handle
waste collection and disposal, enforce
[3:27] property standards and bylaws, and
provide fire protection, maintain parks,
[3:31] and run a wide range of community
programs.
[3:34] On top of that, we guide community
growth and development through land use
[3:38] planning and zoning, issue building
permits, and support local
[3:42] economic development. We keep our public
spaces clean and safe, operate community
[3:48] centers, and deliver cultural and
recreational programming to help build
[3:51] vibrant, engaged communities. A key part
of all of this is our commitment to
[3:55] customer service as we are the closest
level of government to the residents and
[4:00] we are responsive to the community needs
as much as we can. We strive to be
[4:04] approachable and responsive making sure
that when residents need information,
[4:09] support, or access to services, they're
met with professionalism and care.
[4:14] Our goal is to ensure that essential
services are not only accessible and
[4:17] reliable, but also delivered with a
focus on meeting the unique needs of
[4:22] every individual in our community.
Now, building off of what Paul had just
[4:26] mentioned with what the county does,
there are several areas where county and
[4:30] local municipalities responsibilities
intersect or require close coordination.
[4:36] For example, issues like transportation
and emergency emergency management often
[4:41] involve both levels working together to
ensure effective service delivery and
[4:45] resource management. This collaboration
is essential for addressing complex
[4:49] challenges and providing seamless
services to the community. So, it is
[4:53] important that the municipality at the
local level and the county work together
[4:57] hand-in-hand.
[5:02] Next up, a bit of an overview of the
provincial government. So, we are
[5:05] creatures of the province and operate
under their legislative regimes, but
[5:09] also to provide an example of the things
the province does that we do not do. And
[5:14] that's generally hospitals, health care,
and health cards, natural resources, so
[5:18] Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry
of Education, so oversight of both the
[5:23] public and separate school systems,
liquor sale and regulations, although
[5:27] there's some bleed with local
municipalities there as well. Provincial
[5:30] highways like the 401 and the 402,
driver's licenses, community and social
[5:35] services, so Middlesex County or the
City of London deliver some services on
[5:40] behalf of the province, but the province
set sets the rules and funding envelopes
[5:44] for those programs, uh property and
civil rights, uh administration of
[5:49] justice, so the courts. Those are some
high-level things that are coordinated
[5:53] at the provincial level.
[5:57] So, it is important to clarify common
misconceptions about the roles of each
[6:01] level of government. Sometimes residents
may be unsure about whether a service or
[6:05] responsibility falls under the county or
their local municipality or the
[6:09] provincial or federal level. By
understanding the division of duties,
[6:13] residents can better navigate their
local government and access the
[6:16] appropriate services. So, when we're
talking about the federal government,
[6:20] they manage things like national
defense, immigration, citizenship,
[6:24] Indigenous Affairs, international trade,
criminal law, postal services, and the
[6:29] regulation of interprovincial and
international transportation and
[6:33] communications. It also provides
equalization payments and other
[6:37] transfers to provinces and territories,
which can in turn affect the funding
[6:41] available for our local services here at
the municipality.
[6:45] The level of government, um and all
these levels of government often
[6:49] intersect with municipalities. And for
example, provincial policies shape
[6:53] municipal land use planning and
environmental regulations, while federal
[6:56] infrastructure grants support local
infrastructure, such as our roads and
[7:00] water.
Emergency response, public health
[7:03] initiatives, and economic development
programs frequently require all three
[7:08] levels of government to cooperate,
ensuring that services reach residents
[7:11] efficiently and effectively. And by
working together, the federal,
[7:15] provincial, and municipal governments
help build strong communities across
[7:19] Canada.
[7:23] So, now when we're looking at our local
council.
[7:27] So, the local council is the elected
governing body of a municipality.
[7:31] Councils are responsible for making
decisions on local policies, bylaws,
[7:36] budgets, and services that directly
impact residents. This includes areas
[7:41] such as land use planning, waste
management, recreational facilities, and
[7:45] local roads. Councilors, led by a mayor,
represent the interests of their
[7:50] citizens and work to ensure that
municipal operations align with the
[7:54] community priorities.
Local councils also act as a bridge
[7:59] between residents and higher levels of
government. They implement provincial
[8:03] directives and at times collaborate with
federal programs while advocating for
[8:07] the needs of their communities. Through
public meetings and consultations,
[8:11] councils encourage citizen
participation, helping to shape
[8:15] decisions that foster vibrant and
sustainable communities across Canada.
[8:23] When looking at our local committees and
boards,
[8:26] a local board or committee is a group
established by a municipality to oversee
[8:31] specific areas of community interest.
Here at Middlesex Centre, some of these
[8:35] include the Community Services Advisory
Committee, Economic Development Advisory
[8:40] Committee, and there's uh committees and
boards with respect to planning matters.
[8:45] Members of these groups are typically
appointed by council, often through a
[8:49] formal application and selection
process, to ensure diverse
[8:52] representation and expertise.
Their work helps to ensure that
[8:56] municipal decisions reflect the
perspectives and needs of the community.
[9:01] Through their work, committees and
boards assist in the development and
[9:04] review of municipal policies, oversee
specific community projects, and help to
[9:08] engage residents in local governance.
Their recommendations are brought
[9:12] forward to council for approval,
contributing to transparent and informed
[9:16] municipal operations. By involving
citizens directly, these groups foster
[9:21] greater community participation and help
ensure that local services and
[9:25] initiatives reflect the needs and
priorities of its residents.
[9:32] Now looking at local councilors and the
time commitment, local councilors
[9:36] typically devote considerable time to
their roles, often attending two council
[9:41] meetings each month. For example, here
at Middlesex Centre, we normally have
[9:45] two meetings a month. One meeting is
held in the evening and one during the
[9:49] day, though this schedule can differ
across municipalities within the county.
[9:55] Councilors are required to also
participate in committee and board
[9:58] meetings with sessions scheduled both
during daytime and evening hours.
[10:03] Here at Middlesex Centre, by offering
meetings at varied times throughout the
[10:06] day, munici- like our municipality does
aim to engage all community members,
[10:11] incl- including those who may not work
the traditional 9-5, ensuring that local
[10:16] governance remains accessible and
representative of the entire population.
[10:21] Additionally, there's other time
commitments for our councilors. While
[10:25] not always required, councilors can
anticipate calls on their time to attend
[10:29] community events, participate at
conferences such as AMO and ROMA, and
[10:34] respond to residents when they have
concerns.
[10:38] Pass back over to Paul.
[10:41] Yeah, wonderful job on the local and
county council then is composed of 10 10
[10:46] members, including the mayor from each
municipality and sometimes the deputy
[10:50] mayor. So, if you're in Strathroy
Caradoc, Middlesex Centre, or Thames
[10:54] Centre, the deputy mayor also sits on
county council.
[10:58] Each year right now, the warden amongst
those 10 members is elected and serves
[11:03] for a year and really leads the county
council. And county council generally
[11:07] meets twice a month on the second and
fourth Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.
[11:15] Then when we look at county committees
and boards, much like local
[11:19] municipalities, the county council also
has a number of advisory boards and
[11:23] committees and then also has Middlesex
London Paramedic Services, which
[11:26] oversees the operations of MLPS,
Middlesex County Library Board,
[11:31] Middlesex-London Health Unit, and a
number of external agencies. Generally,
[11:36] a member of Middlesex County Council
will sit on two additional committees or
[11:41] boards. There's approximately 18
meetings each year on top of special
[11:47] ones and events.
And being a county councilor is a
[11:50] significant commitment on top of your
local commitments. So for those mayors
[11:55] and deputy mayors that sit on County
Council, it's it's a an additional time
[12:00] commitment there.
[12:06] So roles and responsibility of
counselors. So this is guided by section
[12:11] 224 of the Municipal Act. It is a very
lengthy
[12:15] section that you would pay a lot of
attention to as a municipal councilor,
[12:20] but I'm only going to highlight a few
things that
[12:22] are included there. So one is the
councilors act as the voice of the
[12:27] community advocating for the needs and
interests of residents within their
[12:31] municipality. They work to ensure that
local policies and decisions reflect
[12:35] those community priorities.
They also develop and evaluate the
[12:39] programs, policies, and services the
municipality provides. They're
[12:43] responsible for shaping, reviewing, and
assessing municipal programs, policies,
[12:47] and services to ensure that they meet
the needs of the community. And this
[12:51] includes participating in
decision-making processes and evaluating
[12:53] the effectiveness of municipal
initiatives.
[12:56] They maintain the financial integrity of
the municipality. Councilors oversee the
[13:01] municipality's finance finances by
approving budgets, monitoring
[13:05] expenditures, and ensuring that public
resources are used responsibly.
[13:10] Their stewardship helps maintain fiscal
accountability and sustainability within
[13:14] your communities.
Now councilors are responsible for
[13:17] addressing inquiries, concerns, and
feedback from residents in a timely and
[13:21] respectful manner. They listen actively
to community members, work
[13:25] collaboratively to resolve issues, and
strive to foster positive relationships
[13:29] between the municipality and its
citizens.
[13:34] And I think the legislative services
teams from across the county have done a
[13:37] wonderful job putting together this
presentation and specifically citing the
[13:41] sections of the Municipal Act. And it
drives home that both as counselors, as
[13:45] heads of council, and as staff, uh we're
under the the direction and function of
[13:51] provincial legislation. So, much like
the role of a counselor is defined
[13:55] within the Municipal Act, uh so is the
role and responsibility of the head of
[13:59] council. So, section 225 speaks to
council, uh the head of council that
[14:03] provides leadership to the council and
presides over meetings. So, there's a a
[14:07] lot of fun stuff in procedural bylaws
and parliamentary procedures for all our
[14:11] clerks in the group. Uh and then
generally works to enhance the economic,
[14:14] social, and environmental uh well-being
uh of the municipality and its
[14:19] residents. And then on top of that,
represents uh the municipality at
[14:23] official functions, and generally speaks
as a spokesperson uh for the
[14:27] municipality or the county.
[14:32] Now, something that's new, um relatively
new for many of us, is the strong
[14:37] mayors. So, in certain municipalities,
heads of council is granted strong mayor
[14:42] powers. Now, effective May 1st, 2025,
Ontario extended the strong mayor powers
[14:48] to heads of council of single and
lower-tier municipalities with councils
[14:52] of six members or more, which for the
for the County of Middlesex includes the
[14:57] Municipality of Middlesex Centre,
Strathroy-Caradoc, Southwest Middlesex,
[15:02] and North Middlesex. Now, these strong
mayor powers are intended to be used to
[15:06] accelerate housing, infrastructure, and
transit projects. The powers allow the
[15:12] mayor to propose budgets, hire and fire
department heads, veto bylaws not
[15:17] aligned with provincial priorities, and
create committees of council.
[15:26] And then us standing in the room, county
and local municipal staff. So, staff's
[15:30] role is generally to implement the
decisions of council and administer
[15:35] municipal programs and services. So,
generally we would work to provide
[15:39] advice and recommendations to county to
council, county council or local
[15:43] council, and then execute on those
decisions of council
[15:47] locally or and at the county level the
CAO ensures the efficient and effective
[15:52] operations of the municipality and
generally has oversight of all the
[15:56] staff. The The element that the CAO is
generally the one employee of the
[16:01] council. And then within that there are
certain positions such as the clerk,
[16:07] treasurer, chief building official that
has statutory responsibilities under
[16:11] various pieces of legislation that they
are beholden to and they and they cannot
[16:16] deviate from those.
[16:20] Still me? Wonderful. Council and staff
work closely to ensure the success of
[16:26] the municipality and that's really where
we can deliver the best outcomes for
[16:31] everyone is when we do work well
together. And council provides that
[16:35] democratic representation, policy
direction, political leadership, and
[16:40] makes decisions. The role of staff is
really to be that professional
[16:43] administration that can bring forward
objective recommendations and then allow
[16:48] council to apply the various lens they
would like and provide to carry things
[16:52] out. Staff then manage those municipal
programs and resources and provide
[16:57] advice to council to further refine and
implement those decisions on a go
[17:01] forward.
[17:05] So, finally school board trustees. So,
the role of the school board trustee,
[17:11] they're locally elected representatives
who serve on school boards. In Middlesex
[17:16] County there are four school boards,
public and separate in both English and
[17:20] French. School board trust School board
trustees for our region will be run
[17:26] for the election will be run by the
municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc, the
[17:29] city of Woodstock, and the city of
London. Check your local municipality's
[17:33] website for where to submit these forms.
Trustees are responsible for helping to
[17:38] establish policy direction for the
school board, ensuring that decisions
[17:41] reflect the needs and interests of
students, families, and the broader
[17:45] community.
They actively participate in
[17:47] decision-making, working collaboratively
with other trustees to benefit the
[17:51] entire school board. Through their
involvement, trustees contribute to by
[17:55] to shaping the educational experience
and outcomes for students within their
[18:00] jurisdictions.
So, at this point, we will open it up
[18:04] for any questions.
[18:10] Don't everyone jump at once.
[18:15] Back up for a visual instead of going to
school board. So, is it something to be
[18:19] on every ballot like East Williams have
separate voting? Have a school board?
[18:24] You said it's
through Strathroy.
[18:27] Yep. Uh so, I might ask our municipal
clerk to answer that one. Um so, I
[18:32] haven't been through the election
process myself.
[18:35] The school boards?
[18:55] It's called that.
[19:01] So, the reference to who is going to
conduct the election means who's
[19:06] responsible for that, and it's based on
a calculation that the is um
[19:11] undertaken around this time of year
and whichever municipality within that
[19:19] broader region of the school board has
the greatest population of students
[19:23] within that
boards
[19:27] schools
they're the ones that are responsible
[19:30] for the election but that means that
they're the ones that tell every local
[19:35] clerk what are the names of the nominees
for each of the elections so
[19:40] if you happen to live in
town center for instance and you're
[19:45] interested in running for the French
Catholic school board it's not town
[19:50] center where you would supply your
nomination papers to it's the
[19:54] municipality it's the city of London I
believe in that case but so that is just
[19:59] who's running the election and then all
of that information is gathered and
[20:04] announced by them.
[20:25] Any other questions?
[20:29] I think seeing none we just like to say
thank you it's always exciting to see
[20:33] civically engaged folks coming out and
we appreciate all the opportunity to
[20:37] provide this information we're going to
turn it over to the Ministry of
[20:40] Municipal Affairs and Housing right now
Jordy Morrison and Spencer Fitzpatrick
[20:44] are here to speak about
elections from the ministry perspective.
[21:17] » All right, so good evening everyone. As
mentioned, I'm Jodi Morrison and this is
[21:21] Spencer Fitzpatrick. We would like to
thank the County of Middlesex and all
[21:25] the lower tier municipalities for
inviting us and for hosting this
[21:28] candidate and third-party advertiser
information session.
[21:33] So just a disclaimer.
These slides are meant to be a summary
[21:36] of some of the sections and should not
be relied on for legal or official
[21:40] purposes. I do want to stress that we
are not lawyers and that you should
[21:44] always consult the legislation and seek
legal advice when necessary.
[21:48] We will not be able to cover every
aspect of the municipal election, but
[21:51] hope that this provides you with a
better understanding of the process and
[21:55] legislation and improves your comfort
level.
[21:58] Congratulations for taking an interest
in your community and local government.
[22:01] Whether you're interested in serving on
a municipal council or on a school board
[22:05] or registering as a third-party
advertiser.
[22:10] Okay, so just an overview of what we're
going to go through.
[22:12] We're going to do the eligibility rules,
nomination process, campaign finances,
[22:18] compliance audit, voters list,
scrutineers, recounts, and resources.
[22:26] So eligibility.
Okay, so to be an eligible elector,
[22:31] which means that you must be able to
vote so that the list above
[22:36] sorry, so the list above is the list
that shows
[22:41] Yeah, so
are we looking at the wrong
[22:44] presentation? We
[22:53] There we go. So we're going through all
the
[22:55] I think we have the wrong one up.
Either way responsibilities. No, we were
[22:59] told to take it out.
[23:03] Sorry.
[23:06] Mhm.
[23:15] Fair enough.
[23:52] There we are.
Perfect. Thank you. All right. We'll try
[23:55] that again. Okay. Uh so, eligibility and
ineligibility. So, you must be an
[24:01] eligible elector, which means you must
be able to vote. So, the list above is a
[24:05] list that shows voter eligibility as
well as eligibility to run and hold
[24:09] office.
You can only be nominated if, as of the
[24:13] day you are nominated, uh you are
qualified to hold that office under the
[24:18] act and are not ineligible under the
Municipal Elections Act or any other act
[24:22] or otherwise prohibited by law to be
nominated or to hold office.
[24:27] Section 30 of the Municipal Elections
Act states that a person shall not be
[24:31] considered an employee for this section
by reason only of being a volunteer
[24:35] firefighter as defined in the Fire
Protection and Prevention Act.
[24:39] If a municipal employee wishes to run
for office on the minute on that
[24:43] municipality's council, they must take a
leave of absence before filing their
[24:47] nomination form.
Section 30 sub four of the Municipal
[24:51] Elections Act. If elected, he or she
shall be deemed to who resigned from the
[24:56] employment immediately before making the
declaration of office.
[25:00] An employee of a municipality who wants
to run for an office in a different
[25:04] municipality does not have to take a
leave of absence or resign, but they
[25:08] should check with their employer to see
if there are any policies that could
[25:11] affect them.
School board trustee eligibility and
[25:16] ineligibility.
This slide shows the eligibility
[25:19] requirements for a school board trustee
as well as ineligibility. Questions
[25:23] about school board uh eligibility should
be directed to the school board
[25:26] secretary.
Just some things to note, if you are an
[25:30] employee of any school board and you
wish to run for a trustee position on
[25:34] any board in the province, you must take
an unpaid leave of absence before you
[25:39] file your nomination form. If elected,
you must resign from your job. You
[25:43] cannot work for a school board and be a
trustee in Ontario at the same time. The
[25:48] following people are disqualified from
being elected as a school board trustee.
[25:52] A clerk, deputy clerk, treasurer, or
deputy treasurer of a municipality
[25:57] within the jurisdiction of the board.
[26:01] Nomination process. So, the first day to
file nominations is this Friday, May
[26:04] 1st, 2026. Nomination day, the last day
and time for filing nominations for the
[26:09] 2026 election, is on Friday, August
21st, 2026 by 2:00 p.m.
[26:15] Withdrawal of a nomination must be filed
with the clerk's office in writing
[26:19] before 2:00 p.m. on nomination day.
If a candidate withdraws a nomination,
[26:23] they're still required to file a
campaign financial statement covering
[26:27] all of the financial transactions made
in the campaign. If you have not spent
[26:32] any money, nor raised any funds, they
can click on the box indicating so, sign
[26:36] the form, and it is complete.
If a nomination is withdrawn, the
[26:40] candidate is entitled to a refund of
their nomination filing fee only after
[26:45] they file their financial statement by
the required deadline.
[26:48] The clerk must certify nominations by
4:00 p.m. on the Monday following
[26:52] nomination day, which is August 24th,
2026.
[26:58] Continuing with nomination process. So,
candidates must complete form one,
[27:01] nomination paper, and submit it to the
clerk along with the applicable
[27:05] nomination filing fee. The filing fee is
$200 for anyone running for the head of
[27:10] head of council and $100 for all other
other offices.
[27:14] The clerk must be satisfied that you
were eligible to run in order to certify
[27:18] your nomination.
The clerk can ask you to show
[27:21] identification or fill out an additional
form to prove that you are eligible to
[27:25] run for that particular office.
The nomination form must have an
[27:29] original signature.
If your nomination is not certified by
[27:33] the clerk, your name will not appear on
the ballot.
[27:35] If you're in a ward system, as long as
you are eligible to vote in the
[27:39] municipality, you may run in any ward.
If you do run in a ward where you do not
[27:44] live, you will not be able to vote for
yourself as you must vote in the ward in
[27:47] which you reside.
In addition to the legislative
[27:50] requirements, each municipal clerk may
establish their own local processes and
[27:55] procedures related to submitting a
nomination. So, it is important to
[27:59] contact the clerk so you understand the
process in that municipality.
[28:03] Use of electronic filing for candidates
and or third-party advertisers is in the
[28:07] clerk's discretion.
The clerk also has authority to
[28:10] determine what methods could be used to
file electronically.
[28:14] Even if a clerk permits electronic
filing, all campaign documents require
[28:18] original signatures, including the
signatures endorsing a candidate's
[28:21] nominations, where applicable.
If electronic filing is permitted, it is
[28:26] the responsibility of the candidate or
third-party advertiser to to maintain
[28:30] these original records until after the
next regular election.
[28:36] Running for different office.
Occasionally, a candidate changes their
[28:39] mind and decides to run for a different
office. You can only run for one office
[28:42] at a time.
If a candidate files a second
[28:45] nomination, the first nomination is
deemed to be withdrawn.
[28:48] If a candidate decides to run for
another office and they have already
[28:51] collected the 25 endorsement signatures,
they can use these endorsements for the
[28:55] other office.
If a candidate decides to run for an
[28:59] different office on the same council or
school board and both positions are
[29:03] elected at large, everything from the
first campaign is transferred to the
[29:07] second campaign and only one financial
statement needs to be filed.
[29:11] Unless the candidate decides to run for
a different office on the same council
[29:15] or school board and one or both offices
are elected by ward, the two campaigns
[29:21] must be kept separate and two financial
statements must be filed.
[29:26] Third-party advertiser.
A third-party advertiser is an
[29:29] individual, corporation, or trade union
that is a register that is registered in
[29:34] the municipality to promote, support, or
oppose a candidate or a yes or no answer
[29:39] to a question on the ballot. A
third-party advertisement means an
[29:43] advertisement in any broadcast, print,
electronic, or other medium that has a
[29:47] purpose of promoting, supporting, or
opposing a candidate or a yes or no
[29:52] answer to a question on the ballot.
[29:56] So, the 25 signatures. Municipal council
candidates are required to obtain 25
[30:01] nomination signatures on form two.
Ontario Regulation 101/97 provides an
[30:07] exemption to this requirement for
candidates in municipalities with less
[30:10] than 4,000 electors.
Nominators can nominate more than one
[30:14] candidate and are not required to vote
for that candidate. Nominators must meet
[30:18] the eligibility requirements of a
municipal elector at the time they sign
[30:22] the nomination form.
In a ward system, the nominator can be
[30:26] anyone who is eligible to vote in the
municipality, not just the ward.
[30:30] Both the clerk and the candidate are
entitled to rely upon the information
[30:33] provided by the nominator.
If the nominator did not meet the
[30:36] eligibility requirements when they sign
the document, then they could be held
[30:39] accountable under the penalty section of
the Municipal Elections Act.
[30:44] And with that, I will turn it over to
Spencer for campaign finances. Okay,
[30:48] thank you, Jody. So, campaign finances,
everybody's favorite part about running
[30:52] a campaign.
This is going to be, I think, probably
[30:55] the densest part of the presentation.
There are quite a few rules you want to
[30:58] be aware of. We hope this section is
going to give you a nice overview of
[31:01] those rules.
Now, that isn't to discourage anybody
[31:04] from running. I would say I don't think
the rules are too onerous, but you are
[31:07] going to notice a common theme kind of
throughout this section of the
[31:09] presentation. It's around record
keeping. Keeping good, accurate records
[31:13] is really going to help you
comply with these finance rules. And
[31:17] especially when it comes to filing your
financial statement, which again we'll
[31:20] talk about throughout the sections, just
going to make it a lot easier.
[31:25] And then just so you do know,
a copy of this presentation is going to
[31:28] be available for everybody's
information. If you want to refer to it
[31:32] later. And then as well, I'll do a quick
plug now and you'll hear me reference it
[31:36] throughout this section of the
presentation.
[31:39] There is the candidate's guide as well,
which is available on our website. The
[31:42] candidate's guide is a super helpful,
valuable resource if you're going to be
[31:47] running. I would highly recommend that
you do take a look at it. Go through it,
[31:51] you know, front to back. It's not that
long, but ton of great information. Lots
[31:56] of examples, too, for some specific
situations you might run into. And then
[32:00] as well, the bonus at the end is all
these forms that we're referring to
[32:03] throughout the presentation are linked
at the end of that guide. So, you can
[32:07] take a look at them, get familiar with
them as well.
[32:10] But without further ado, campaign
finances.
[32:14] So, the first thing we'll talk about is
contributions. Now, just a first thing
[32:18] to know is that if you are going to
raise or spend any money during the
[32:21] campaign, you do have to open up a
campaign bank account. But that campaign
[32:25] bank account is only required if you do
spend or raise money.
[32:30] So, if you do run a campaign where you
don't spend or raise any money, you
[32:34] don't need to get a campaign bank
account. However, you still do need to
[32:37] file a financial statement.
Now, just generally, you're going to
[32:42] hear references to third-party
advertisers both in the earlier part of
[32:45] the presentation and in this section of
the presentation. Generally, the rules
[32:49] are going to be the same for third-party
advertisers as they are for candidates.
[32:54] There's a few differences mostly around
spending limits, which we can touch on
[32:59] in the presentation.
Now, another thing you want to be aware
[33:02] of is that municipalities must establish
rules and procedures regarding the use
[33:07] of municipal or local board resources
during the campaign period. Now, this
[33:12] does have to be passed by May 1st in the
year of the election. So, of course,
[33:15] that also is coming up if it hasn't
already been passed. And this does
[33:18] encourage accountability and
transparency and it could be different
[33:23] in each municipality. So, you really
want to be aware of your municipality's
[33:27] policy in this regard.
Now, just a quick note as well,
[33:31] generally or you will see municipalities
providing candidate contact information
[33:36] on their websites. This is not
considered a contribution. So, you don't
[33:40] have to worry about recording that on
your campaign finance statement.
[33:45] So, continuing on with contributions.
You see here on this slide, this talks
[33:48] about who you can accept contributions
from both as a candidate and as a
[33:53] third-party advertiser. Just really
quick, is there anybody here interested
[33:56] in registering as a third-party
advertiser?
[33:59] All candidates? Okay. So,
for candidates, the thing you really
[34:03] want to be aware of is that you really
can only accept contributions from
[34:07] either yourself, you know, you can
self-donate to your campaign or your
[34:10] spouse
or individuals. You can't receive
[34:13] contributions from, you know,
corporations or trade unions. They can
[34:17] participate as third-party advertisers
or donate to those third-party
[34:20] advertiser campaigns. But when it comes
to candidates, you're just going to be
[34:24] accepting contributions from
individuals.
[34:28] Now, if you are a third-party advertiser
and you were accepting contributions
[34:31] from a corporation. Uh some rules
clarifying
[34:35] uh you know what would be deemed to be a
single corporation. Clarified on that
[34:38] slide, do take a look if you are
interested in that. Uh however, since we
[34:41] don't seem to have any third-party
advertisers in the room, uh we'll just
[34:44] go right on to the next slide, uh which
again is going to keep talking about
[34:48] contributions.
Uh so generally, you might have
[34:51] volunteers uh helping you with your
campaign. Uh those services provided by
[34:55] volunteers aren't considered uh
contributions.
[34:58] But, uh if for professionals, so you
know your accountants, lawyers,
[35:03] uh if they do volunteer to provide
services for which they would normally
[35:06] be paid, the market value of those
services must be recorded as a
[35:10] contribution uh by the volunteer and
then then considered a campaign expense.
[35:16] Uh as we noted on the previous slide, uh
trade unions and corporations not
[35:21] eligible to contribute to, you know, an
individual candidate's campaign. Uh
[35:25] although they can participate in the
election as either a third-party
[35:28] advertiser uh or make contribution to
those third-party campaigns.
[35:34] So, contributions though, you know,
we've had a few slides now talking about
[35:37] them, but you know, really what are
they? So, campaign contributions are
[35:40] going to be any monies, goods, or
services uh given to you as a candidate
[35:44] or to your election campaign uh or given
and accepted by another person who is
[35:49] acting under your direction.
Now, when it comes to cash
[35:53] contributions, cash contributions can
only be accepted up to $25.
[35:58] Uh so again, cash contributions only up
to $25. Anything more than $25 must be
[36:04] made by check, money order, uh or by any
other method that's going to clearly
[36:09] show where those funds came from.
Now, when it comes to fundraising
[36:14] functions, those are going to be events
uh or activities, you know, held by you
[36:19] as the candidate or on your behalf uh
for the primary purpose of raising money
[36:23] uh for your campaign. Now, the price of
admission to a fundraising function is a
[36:28] campaign contribution and a receipt must
be issued for the full amount. Now,
[36:34] that's the first reference to receipts
in this part of the presentation. Again,
[36:38] I was talking about record keeping.
Going to be really key. You're got to
[36:41] issue receipts for all your
contributions and we'll talk about it a
[36:44] bit more, but they're going to be
valuable documents. You really want to
[36:47] make sure you keep track of them.
Now, with the receipts, they do have to
[36:50] be issued for every contribution and
they should contain both the name of the
[36:54] contributor, their address, the amount
they've contributed as well as the date
[36:59] they've made that contribution.
[37:02] So, how much can somebody contribute to
your campaign though?
[37:05] So, the limit on contributions to any
one candidate or a third party
[37:09] advertiser because again, the rules are
generally the same is $1,200. So, that's
[37:14] $1,200.
There's a different limit in Toronto.
[37:19] Toronto's got special rules all the
time, but for everywhere else, it's
[37:23] $1,200.
Now, there is an aggregate limit total
[37:26] that any person can donate to any number
of candidates
[37:29] for office on the same council and
that's $5,000.
[37:34] So, you are going to want to be aware of
those limits because you do have to let
[37:37] all your contributors know what those
limits are and that is a requirement
[37:41] under the Municipal Election Act.
So, it might be a good idea to provide
[37:46] that information on your receipts.
Just a thought. However, you can do it
[37:50] as you wish, but you do have to inform
them.
[37:55] Now, self-funding limits. So, of course,
as we mentioned on an earlier slide, you
[37:58] can contribute to your own campaign.
Either you or your spouse and it's
[38:03] considered to have come from the same
person.
[38:06] Now, the self-funding limit for council
candidates is based on the number of
[38:11] electors voting for the office up to a
maximum of $25,000.
[38:17] This amount doesn't include any
contributions of goods and could include
[38:21] inventory from a leftover or that you
have leftover from a previous campaign.
[38:25] So, for example, if you did run in 2022,
maybe you still have some signs left
[38:29] over that you want to use again.
You certainly can. We'll talk about it
[38:32] in a future slide, but if you do have
that and you are going to use them, it
[38:36] is going to count as a contribution to
your campaign
[38:38] and would count towards your
self-contribution or self-funding limit.
[38:43] Now, the formula for calculating the
limit is $7,500 plus $0.20
[38:49] for the head of council and then $5,000
plus $0.20 per elector for all other
[38:55] council offices. Now, here's an
important note. The maximum amount you
[38:59] could possibly have is $25,000.
So, if that formula, whether you're
[39:03] running for head of council or any other
of the council offices, if that formula
[39:07] works out to an amount that is higher
than $25,000,
[39:11] doesn't matter. You're capped at that
$25,000 limit. However, if the formula
[39:16] does work out to an amount that is less
than $25,000
[39:21] or, you know, any amount lower than
that, you get whatever that formula
[39:24] works out to.
[39:28] So, borrowing.
So, while you do open your campaign bank
[39:32] account, you can, of course, use your
own funds to do that, but you can't loan
[39:38] funds to your campaign to, like, you
know, kickstart it with the intention of
[39:42] getting it all back.
The only way that you can reclaim this,
[39:46] you know, startup amount is if after the
election campaign and prior to filing
[39:51] your financial statement, you see that
your campaign has a surplus, you are
[39:55] entitled to be refunded contributions
that you or your spouse have made to the
[39:59] campaign from that campaign surplus. You
can't receive a loan from any family
[40:04] members
or from any corporate accounts that you
[40:06] may have access to. Now, if you do get a
loan,
[40:10] it isn't considered to be campaign
income and paying it back is not
[40:13] considered to be a campaign expense.
But, if you or your spouse guarantee the
[40:18] loan and your campaign then doesn't
repay all of it, the remaining balance
[40:22] is considered to be a contribution uh
since as a guarantor you're basically
[40:27] providing that the campaign has the
means to repay it. Uh keep in mind if
[40:31] this does happen to you that
self-contribution limit uh that uh we
[40:36] talked on the earlier slide if you do
end up borrowing. And then just a final
[40:40] note on borrowing and loans is any
interest that your campaign pays on the
[40:44] loan uh is considered a campaign
expense.
[40:49] So, campaign expenses.
Mentioned those a few times. Uh you can
[40:54] see here just a general definition for
what is considered to be a campaign
[40:58] expense under the municipal municipal
elections act.
[41:02] Now, the Municipal Elections Act section
88.19 subsection 3 uh does list out 10
[41:08] different uh items that would be
considered a campaign expense or, you
[41:13] know, specifically under the act it says
what constitutes campaign expense. I'll
[41:17] just quickly go through those items.
We'll talk about them a bit more on the
[41:20] next slide. Uh it's legislation.
Legislation by its very nature is very
[41:24] dry. Uh but uh with that, those are one,
the replacement value of goods retained
[41:29] by the person, individual, corporation,
or trade union from any previous
[41:33] election in the municipality and used in
the current election. Two, the value of
[41:37] contributions of goods and services.
Three, audit and accounting fees. Four,
[41:43] any interest on loans under section
88.17.
[41:47] Uh five, the cost of holding fundraising
functions. Six, the cost of holding
[41:52] parties and other and making other
expressions
[41:55] uh of appreciation after the close of
voting.
[41:59] Uh
seven, for a candidate expenses related
[42:02] to a recount or a proceeding under
section 83. Section 83 is the
[42:06] controverted election section. Uh number
eight, expenses related to a to a audit.
[42:11] Number nine, expenses that are incurred
by a candidate with a disability or a
[42:15] registered third party who is an
individual with a disability disability
[42:18] are directly related to the disability
and would not have been incurred but for
[42:22] the election to which the expenses
relate. And then finally, item number
[42:26] 10, the cost of campaign
election advertisements. Now, for
[42:32] candidates, election advertisements are
covered in section 88.3. We'll talk
[42:37] about those as well on a future slide,
but you may want to make note of that
[42:41] section as well. Third party
advertisers, just for reference, they do
[42:44] have a different section where their
campaign advertisements
[42:47] or explain are explained.
[42:51] So, continuing on with those campaign
expenses, you really do want to become
[42:56] familiar with those campaign expense
provisions. Very critical. And again,
[43:01] that's going to be laid out in section
88.19 of the Municipal Elections Act.
[43:06] Now, generally, campaign expenses are
going to be those costs that are
[43:09] incurred by you or on your behalf during
your campaign. Uh
[43:14] And you know, yeah, are incurred by you.
Pardon me. The nomination filing fee is
[43:19] no longer considered an expense and does
not have to be included on your
[43:23] financial disclosure form. So again,
there's another reference right to that
[43:26] record keeping requirement. Now, goods
and services donated to the campaign are
[43:30] also expenses and they do have to be
reported.
[43:33] A receipt, so again, receipt does need
to be provided for those goods and
[43:38] services for their fair market value.
Now, payment of any campaign expenses
[43:43] does have to be drawn from your campaign
account and a receipt, again, a receipt
[43:48] providing the details and proof of
payment must be obtained.
[43:52] A question we do get is, "Hey, can I
just pay a campaign expense from my
[43:55] personal credit card and reimburse
myself?" Definitely don't do that. That
[43:59] would be against the campaign finance
rules. You need to be making these
[44:02] payments from your campaign bank
account.
[44:05] Now, all expenses must be reported in
the relevant financial disclosure form.
[44:08] That's going to be called form four, and
again, linked at the end of the
[44:11] candidate's guide. So, another reason
you're going to want to take a look at
[44:14] the candidate's guide.
And it does need to be filed by the
[44:17] clerk. However, we'll get into those
filing uh deadlines in a next future
[44:22] slide. Now, with respect to campaign
inventory, we kind of briefly touched on
[44:26] this earlier in the presentation. If you
did run in the last election, you have
[44:30] some leftover goods, so that could be,
you know, maybe signs, maybe some office
[44:33] supplies, uh and you want to use those
again, you first have to determine what
[44:38] the current market value for those goods
is, and what it was what it would cost
[44:42] if you were to purchase them today.
Those are then recorded as a
[44:46] contribution and then a campaign
expense.
[44:49] Conversely, if you end up with leftover
inventory
[44:53] uh at the end of this campaign, it then
does become your personal property, uh
[44:57] and if you do want to use them maybe in
a future election, of course, you're
[45:00] welcome to do that. Uh however, any cost
for storage are not considered campaign
[45:05] expenses.
So, spending limits. Now, this is a
[45:09] separate calculation from your
self-funding or self-contribution limit.
[45:14] These are also laid out in Ontario
Regulation 101/97.
[45:18] So, that's a busy regulation. There's a
lot of stuff in there.
[45:20] Uh and it is set out for a general
spending limit. There's two. A general
[45:25] spending limit calculation there is on
the slide. For heads of council, it's
[45:28] $7,500 plus 85 cents per elector.
Uh and for all other offices, it's
[45:33] $5,000 plus 85 cents per elector. That
separate spending limit is a spending
[45:39] limit after voting day for parties,
expressions of appreciation, gifts, uh
[45:43] that sort of thing, and that's going to
be 10% of the general spending limit.
[45:49] But, where do you get these spending
limits? How are you going to find them
[45:51] out? So, when you file your nomination,
the clerk is going to provide you two or
[45:55] throughout the campaign, there'll be two
uh calculations of your spending limits
[46:00] that'll be provided to you. The first
one, you're going to get at the time of
[46:03] nomination and it's a preliminary
estimate
[46:06] which is based on the number of electors
on the voters list as it existed in
[46:10] September 2022.
Now, the final spending limit, that's
[46:15] going to be based on the voters list as
it exists in September on September
[46:18] 20th, 2026 and it will be provided to
you
[46:23] on or about September 30th, 2026.
Now, whichever number is higher is the
[46:29] spending limit and whatever that number
is, the clerk's calculation is final.
[46:35] Now, as I mentioned on an earlier slide,
you are required to inform contributors
[46:39] of their contribution limits. So, that's
both how much they can contribute to
[46:43] your individual campaign
and that aggregate total limit that they
[46:47] can donate to, you know, other
candidates in that same election.
[46:52] Similarly, if a third party advertiser
has registered in one more than one
[46:56] municipality, pardon me,
each registration is a separate campaign
[47:00] and does require them to file a separate
financial statement in each of those
[47:03] municipalities.
The
[47:06] rules are going to be the same for
candidates and third party advertisers.
[47:10] Also includes, as I mentioned, those
filing limits,
[47:13] filing deadlines, and any requests for
extensions and record keeping
[47:17] requirements.
[47:20] So, there are some expenses that are not
going to be subject to the spending
[47:23] limits. Most are going to be subject to
your spending limit, but the ones on the
[47:27] slide there won't.
Now,
[47:31] quick note for expenses related to
fundraising functions.
[47:35] Expenses related to fundraising
functions are exempt from the campaign
[47:39] spending limit, but in order to qualify
as a fundraising function, an event must
[47:43] have the raising of money as its primary
purpose.
[47:47] Campaign events that were, you know,
just some incidental fundraising is
[47:51] taking place, that does not qualify as a
fundraising function. And then
[47:55] similarly, if you have maybe a brochure
that you're distributing to promote
[47:59] awareness of your campaign, and it
contains, you know, contact information
[48:04] where people can make those campaign
contributions, that also does not
[48:07] qualify as a fundraising function.
[48:13] So, all of this stuff is kind of laid
out generally in the campaign finance
[48:17] rules. Uh campaign finance rules can be
found in the sections noted there on the
[48:21] slides. And again, you'll have these
slides to review uh later if you want to
[48:24] refer to them. But, for candidates,
that's going to be sections 88.8 to
[48:28] 88.11, and then again 88.15 to 88.20.
Uh over the next several slides, we're
[48:35] going to walk you through some of these
campaign finance rules.
[48:39] As I mentioned, as a candidate, it's
going to be really critical, very
[48:42] important for you to be fully aware of
your responsibilities regarding election
[48:46] spending and accepting those campaign
contributions. Uh now, a question we do
[48:51] get every single election is whether
there is a requirement for you to have,
[48:55] you know, a chief financial officer uh
to help you manage your campaign
[48:59] finances. The answer is no. You can
certainly do this uh on your own. Uh
[49:04] however, like I said, it's just
important to be familiar with the rules,
[49:07] be aware of what your requirements are.
This is again another plug for the
[49:10] candidates' guide. This is where that
comes in handy because it does give you
[49:13] a nice overview of those rules, give you
access to the forms, and also includes
[49:17] some common examples that you might run
into to help you work through these
[49:20] rules.
So, again, become familiar with these
[49:24] sections on the slide, going to be very
important. Uh and as well, take a look
[49:28] at that financial statement that's
linked at the end of the candidates'
[49:31] guide. Again, that's going to be form
four uh for candidates.
[49:34] If third-party advertisers, just for
your information, it's form eight, also
[49:38] linked at the end of the guide there. If
you take a look at that form now, it's
[49:41] going to help keep you organized uh and
then get you familiar with what kind of
[49:45] records you're going to be uh keeping
and how they're going to be reported on
[49:49] that form.
You are required under the Municipal
[49:53] Elections Act to keep accurate records
and then of course also open a campaign
[49:57] bank accounts. That's going to be
something else I want to start thinking
[49:59] about now.
But again, the campaign bank accounts
[50:02] only required if you're spending or
raising money. If you don't spend any
[50:05] money, you don't raise any money, you
don't have to open up a campaign bank
[50:09] account, but you do have to file that
financial form. So keep that in mind.
[50:15] So record keeping, of course we've kind
of been referencing record keeping
[50:18] throughout this part of the
presentation. These next few slides
[50:22] going to talk about it a bit more. You
are required to keep accurate, complete
[50:26] financial statements during the course
of your campaign.
[50:30] All contributions and all expenses do
need to be accounted for and they do
[50:34] need to be disclosed and reported by you
on that relevant financial form. So
[50:39] again, that is form four.
Uh
[50:43] all candidates and third-party
advertisers
[50:46] are required to keep your campaign
financial records until after the
[50:49] council in the 2030 election it has been
sworn in and takes office. So that's
[50:55] going to be around November 15th, 2030,
give or take.
[51:00] These rules apply around record keeping,
financial statements, all that kind of
[51:03] good stuff do apply whether you're
elected or not.
[51:07] Just like you have to keep your campaign
finance records until 2030, the clerk
[51:12] also must keep all their campaign
finance records until after the 2030
[51:16] council has been sworn in.
[51:20] So record keeping, maybe just some best
practices that you might want to keep
[51:24] aware of as you go through your
campaign. As I've kind of mentioned a
[51:27] few times, receipts
they're valuable. Keep them safe, keep
[51:32] them secure. You're going to need them.
It may be a good practice to have a
[51:36] receipt that is, you know, a multi-part
form, one that you can easily give to
[51:40] your contributor and one or maybe more
for you to keep for your records. Might
[51:45] also help if those receipts are
sequentially numbered. Again, it's maybe
[51:48] just going to help you stay organized.
Uh again, you're going to want to or if
[51:52] you are going to be opening up a bank
account, may want to look at one that
[51:55] provides monthly statements and provides
for canceled checks.
[51:59] Uh it may also be a good idea to produce
duplicate deposit slips for every
[52:03] deposit that'll list the names of the
contributors uh and the amounts you've
[52:07] received from each of them.
You may also want to uh maintain a petty
[52:12] cash fund to handle those minor expenses
you run into throughout the course of
[52:15] the campaign and then also obtain
invoices uh for any payments you're
[52:19] making from that petty cash fund. At any
time, the cash that you have on hand in
[52:24] that petty cash fund plus the total
amount of invoices should equal the
[52:29] original amount you started with.
Uh the the fund can be replenished
[52:34] periodically, uh but it has to be done
by, you know, a check drawn from your
[52:39] campaign bank account and it should be
in an amount equal to the total amount
[52:43] of invoices that you've issued for your
petty cash fund.
[52:47] Now, as I mentioned, you might find it
useful to look over that form 4 now uh
[52:51] so you become, you know, familiar with
what information's going to be needed to
[52:54] report on at the end of your campaign in
October.
[52:58] Uh
and again, just to really make it clear,
[53:01] you are required to maintain uh certain
campaign records both as it relates to
[53:06] your finances and your advertisements.
Uh specifically for the advertisement,
[53:11] that's again laid out in section 88.3
uh of the Municipal Elections Act. We'll
[53:17] talk about it a bit more in the next uh
future slide. Uh however, you do need to
[53:20] keep them for a period of 4 years.
And that slide is now as it comes to
[53:26] campaign advertisements.
Uh now, just so you're aware, the period
[53:29] for third-party advertisers
uh to run advertisements is from May
[53:34] 1st, 2026, so the first day of
nominations if they do register, uh
[53:39] until the close of voting on October
26th, 2026.
[53:42] Uh now, when it comes to advertisements
and this applies to both third-party
[53:46] advertisers and candidates, you are
required to identify yourselves on signs
[53:51] and campaign advertisements. And then
again, that is in section 88.3 for
[53:57] candidates.
Third-party advertisers, just so you
[53:59] know, it's section 88.4.
[54:03] Now this slide talks about the record
keeping requirements for campaign
[54:07] advertisements. So the broadcaster or
publisher of a third-party or candidate
[54:12] advertisement shall, so shall is a
really key word there. Shall means must.
[54:17] So shall maintain records containing the
following information for a period of 4
[54:22] years after the date the advertisement
appears
[54:26] and shall, so again, another shall, must
permit the public to inspect the records
[54:31] during normal business hours.
So that information's going to be the
[54:35] name of the candidate or the third-party
advertiser, the name, business address
[54:40] and telephone number of the individual
who deals with the broadcaster or the
[54:44] publisher under the direction of either
the candidate or the third-party
[54:47] advertiser. Also need to maintain a copy
of that advertisement
[54:52] or the means of reproducing it for
inspection and then finally a statement
[54:56] of the charge that was made for its
appearance.
[55:00] And now the best part, everybody loves
this part of the presentation, the
[55:03] financial statement. Talked about it up
quite a lot already through the
[55:07] presentation. The requirement to file a
financial statement, this is a really
[55:10] key piece. Not doing this could result
in some penalties that we'll talk about
[55:14] in a future slide.
However, this is laid out in section
[55:17] 88.25 of the Municipal Elections Act,
which does state that all candidates are
[55:22] required to file a form four financial
statement with the clerk regardless of
[55:27] how much or how little you spent or
fundraised.
[55:31] The deadline to file your financial
statement, so this is a key date you're
[55:34] going to want to remember, is March
30th, 2027 by 2:00 p.m.
[55:39] Not close of business, not, you know,
the next business day. It's March 30th,
[55:45] 2027 before 2:00 p.m.
If you do feel you can't meet that
[55:50] deadline, you do have to apply to the
courts for an extension and you're going
[55:53] to need to do that prior to the March
30th deadline.
[55:57] Now, as I've kind of mentioned a few
times, just want to stress it, if you
[56:01] file a nomination, you must file a Form
4. Even if you withdraw your nomination
[56:06] or you're acclaimed into your office,
doesn't matter, you still need to file a
[56:10] Form 4. You don't raise, don't spend any
money, that's fine. You still need to
[56:14] file a Form 4.
Uh you can now or can however though
[56:19] resubmit a financial statement. If you
do notice you made some errors, you can
[56:23] always resubmit a financial statement up
to that filing deadline.
[56:27] And then the clerk is required to make
public a report of which candidates did
[56:31] file and which candidates didn't file.
Uh so people will be aware if you didn't
[56:36] meet those obligations.
[56:41] Now, with the financial statement, just
some more information there. You can
[56:44] file your financial statement at any
time after the close of voting or at any
[56:49] time during the campaign period,
although it would close your campaign.
[56:52] Just so you know that date there on the
slide, December 31st, 2026, that's the
[56:57] official end of the campaign period. Uh
so you can't campaign any time past
[57:01] that. However, you do have up until
March 30th, 2027 to file
[57:07] your financial statement. So it's maybe,
you know, it's a good practice though if
[57:11] you didn't
you know, have very many expenses,
[57:14] didn't raise very much money,
uh or, you know, you were acclaimed into
[57:17] your office, maybe good idea to get it
in as soon as you can. Just helps,
[57:22] uh you know, move things along when you
have those types of campaigns where it's
[57:25] just little or no expenses have been
incurred.
[57:28] Now, clerks are required to report
whether candidates have met their
[57:31] financial filing obligations
and they will publish that report either
[57:35] on the municipal website
or in another electronic form that the
[57:39] public can access.
This will be done by April 30th 2027
[57:44] in the case of a regular election.
There is a similar requirement for
[57:49] third-party advertisers. The clerk will
also make public a report as soon as
[57:53] possible after April 30th 2027
providing a list of all third-party
[57:58] advertisers that
have or haven't filed their required
[58:02] financial statements and in the case of
third-party advertisers also an
[58:05] auditor's report. Now similar to the
nomination forms, clerks can determine
[58:10] the conditions for electronic filing of
financial statements. So you will want
[58:15] to check with your local municipal clerk
to see if that is an option for you.
[58:18] Otherwise, you'll have to attend the
office
[58:20] to file that form.
[58:25] Another
slide about financial statements cuz
[58:27] that's how critical they are.
Now if you do have expenses or
[58:31] contributions that exceed $10,000,
you do need to appoint an auditor to
[58:36] fill out an auditor's report as well
that you'll submit with your financial
[58:39] statement. Now that auditor does have to
be licensed under the public accounting
[58:43] act. So just cuz you have maybe a friend
or a family member that's you know like
[58:47] really good with numbers. It's great but
they can't do your auditor's report if
[58:51] you find yourself in this situation. It
does have to be a licensed professional
[58:55] under that public accounting act. And
you also want to be aware those public
[59:00] pardon me those campaign financial
statements are public documents. So they
[59:04] are subject to public inspection if
somebody did request them.
[59:14] Now when it comes to your financial
statements, the nomination filing fee
[59:18] it's refundable but only if you file
your financial statement on time.
[59:24] If you do miss that filing deadline,
which again March 30th, 2027, you do
[59:30] have a 30-day grace period. However, you
have to pay a $500 late filing fee,
[59:35] which is going to go to the
municipality,
[59:37] and you wouldn't be
you know, you wouldn't be getting your
[59:40] nomination fee back.
Now, just a quick note for everybody cuz
[59:44] I know you're all going to look at the
Municipal Elections Act after this.
[59:47] You're going to be going through there
and you're going to notice the Municipal
[59:49] Elections Act says that you need to file
your financial statement in the last
[59:53] Friday on the last Friday in March
following the regular election. And you
[59:57] say, "Well, it's you said Tuesday, March
30th." So, the last Friday in March in
[1:00:01] 2027 is actually going to be Good
Friday, so that's a holiday. And of
[1:00:04] course, Monday, that's Easter Monday, so
also offices are closed, which is why it
[1:00:09] goes to Tuesday, March 30th, 2027 before
2:00 p.m.
[1:00:14] Now, as I mentioned, if you do choose to
file within that 30-day grace period,
[1:00:18] you're going to pay $500 as a late
filing fee, which is going to go to the
[1:00:21] municipality, and you're not going to
get your nomination fee back. However,
[1:00:24] if you did apply to the courts for an
extension and were granted an extension,
[1:00:28] as long as you meet
the conditions of that extension, you
[1:00:32] file your financial statement, you could
get your your nomination fee back.
[1:00:37] And then again, I know I mentioned on an
earlier slide, but just remember, you
[1:00:40] can correct an error on your financial
statement if you do notice one. You have
[1:00:43] up until the filing deadline, March
30th, 2027 to do that.
[1:00:50] So, campaign surplus, which we kind of
referenced earlier when it comes to the
[1:00:54] self-contribution limit, and you know,
if you find yourself in a surplus
[1:00:58] situation.
So, when you're filing that financial
[1:01:00] statement, you add up all your totals,
you notice you have a surplus. You must
[1:01:04] pay that entire amount to the clerk.
With one caveat.
[1:01:09] Prior to paying over that amount, those
surplus funds to the clerk, you are
[1:01:13] entitled to a refund of any
contributions that you yourself or your
[1:01:17] spouse made to the campaign, not anybody
else's contributions, just those
[1:01:22] self-contributions.
The amount that may be refunded is the
[1:01:25] lesser of the amount of the relevant
contribution or the amount of the
[1:01:29] surplus.
Now, the clerk is required then, if you
[1:01:32] do have surplus monies, they will place
those monies in trust
[1:01:35] for you to use if you do need them for a
compliance audit. And the same is true
[1:01:39] for third-party advertisers.
If neither you
[1:01:44] or you know, a third-party advertiser
do need those surplus funds for a
[1:01:49] compliance audit, the municipality is
going to keep them
[1:01:52] or the school board if you did run for a
trustee.
[1:02:00] So, next section we go into compliance
and enforcement. However, this is really
[1:02:05] kind of just an extension of the
campaign finance section cuz what we're
[1:02:09] going to talk about are compliance
audits.
[1:02:12] So, each municipality is going to
establish a compliance audit committee.
[1:02:17] If an eligible elector does believe on
reasonable grounds that, you know, you
[1:02:22] as a candidate have
contravened the election finance rules,
[1:02:26] they may apply for a compliance audit of
your campaign finances.
[1:02:31] The application must be in writing
and must set out the reasons why they
[1:02:34] believe you contravened the rules.
An application for a compliance audit
[1:02:40] must be submitted to the municipal clerk
who conducted the election and it does
[1:02:43] have to happen within 90 days
after the later of the deadline to file
[1:02:47] the campaign financial statement which
could include any applicable extension
[1:02:52] which will be covered in just a note.
And in this situation, that's section
[1:02:57] 88.23
subsection 3 of the Municipal Elections
[1:03:01] Act.
Now, if the compliance audit committee
[1:03:04] does get an application, they will
consider that application and decide
[1:03:08] whether to grant or reject the
application and you may appeal that
[1:03:12] decision to the Superior Court of
Justice. You have to do that within 15
[1:03:16] days after the decision is made.
Now a person who does not want to or is
[1:03:22] not able to apply to to the compliance
audit committee may decide to commence
[1:03:27] legal action just on their own
and they would be able to do that up to
[1:03:31] November 15th, 2030. That's again when
the next
[1:03:35] election takes place when the next
council will be sworn in.
[1:03:40] What happens if a compliance audit is
granted?
[1:03:43] So if the committee does grant the
application, it will appoint an auditor
[1:03:47] to to conduct a compliance audit of your
campaign finances. The auditor is
[1:03:52] entitled to have access to all of your
financial records related to the
[1:03:55] campaign.
The auditor will then produce a report
[1:03:58] which you are going to be entitled to
receive.
[1:04:01] The compliance audit committee committee
will meet to discuss this auditor's
[1:04:05] report. If the report concludes that
there is an apparent convention of the
[1:04:09] municipal elections act, the committee
will decide whether to commence legal
[1:04:13] action.
Now you know important note here is that
[1:04:17] the compliance audit committee doesn't
have any authority to set penalties.
[1:04:21] Only the court can decide if you
contravene the act and if so which
[1:04:25] penalties are going to apply.
There are however some automatic
[1:04:30] penalties you may want to be aware of.
There are three of them in the municipal
[1:04:35] elections act where penalties apply
automatically.
[1:04:39] So if you do fail to file that financial
statement
[1:04:42] before or pardon me by the end of that
30-day grace period or fail to apply to
[1:04:47] the courts for an extension before March
30th, 2027,
[1:04:51] you could be subject to an automatic
penalty. If your financial statement
[1:04:55] shows that you exceeded your spending
limit, you could be subject to an
[1:04:59] automatic penalty. And finally, if you
do fail to turn over your surplus to the
[1:05:03] clerk when you file that financial
statement, you could be subject to an
[1:05:07] automatic penalty.
The penalty could be that you forfeit
[1:05:10] your office if you did win the election
and then you would become ineligible to
[1:05:14] be to run or be appointed to fill a
vacancy until after the 2030 election.
[1:05:23] There are some other penalties other
penalties you may want to be aware of.
[1:05:27] If you are convicted under of an offense
under the Municipal Elections Act, you
[1:05:31] could be subject to a fine of up to
$25,000,
[1:05:34] ineligibility to vote or run in the next
general election,
[1:05:38] up to 6 months in prison and forfeiture
of your elected office if the judge
[1:05:42] finds that you committed the offense
knowingly.
[1:05:45] I did previously indicate that if you
are convicted of exceeding the spending
[1:05:49] limit you will automatically lose your
seat if you did win
[1:05:53] that election.
In addition,
[1:05:56] you may also be fined by the amount by
which you exceeded that spending limit.
[1:06:04] So, into the voters list which I think
I'm going to hand back to Jody here
[1:06:08] to take us through this section.
[1:06:12] All right. So, Elections Ontario is a
non-partisan office of the Legislative
[1:06:17] Assembly of Ontario responsible for
ministering provincial elections led by
[1:06:22] the Chief Electoral Officer. Elections
Ontario is governed by the Election Act
[1:06:26] and the Election Finances Act.
Elections Ontario does not administer
[1:06:31] local elections, but they do have a role
to play in providing up-to-date voter
[1:06:35] list information to local partners.
Since January 1st of 2024, the Chief
[1:06:40] Electoral Officer, Elections Ontario,
has taken over the responsibility of
[1:06:45] preparing voters list from MPAC and will
manage a permanent register of electors
[1:06:49] for both provincial and
municipal elections.
[1:06:53] The voters list for each municipal
election will be prepared using data
[1:06:57] from the permanent register of electors,
the register
[1:07:01] maintained by Elections Ontario.
Elections Ontario works with local
[1:07:04] partners to provide them with the most
up-to-date voters list to support their
[1:07:08] elections.
Voters across the province can update
[1:07:11] their information in the register for
local and provincial elections.
[1:07:17] So, the voters list. The voters list
becomes a public document on September
[1:07:20] the 1st, 2026. As a candidate, you can
request that the municipal clerk give
[1:07:25] you uh the part of the voters list that
relates to the office that you are
[1:07:29] running for. This request must be in
writing. In order to receive the voters
[1:07:33] list from the municipal clerk, you must
give a written acknowledgement of the
[1:07:37] following.
You will only use the list for electoral
[1:07:40] purposes and not for commercial
purposes. You are bound by the
[1:07:44] restrictions set out in the Municipal
Elections Act relating to handling of
[1:07:48] the voters list.
You will only share the list with
[1:07:51] others, such as campaign workers, after
obtaining a similar written
[1:07:54] acknowledgement from them.
[1:07:59] So, candidate restrictions. You are the
only person who may share the voters
[1:08:02] list. If you have given someone a copy,
they are not allowed to share it
[1:08:06] further. You must keep track of who you
have shared the voters list with. If you
[1:08:10] give someone a physical copy of the
list, they must return uh the copy to
[1:08:14] you. If you share an electronic copy,
they must destroy the copy and provide
[1:08:18] you with written acknowledgement that
the copy has been destroyed.
[1:08:22] You cannot keep copies of the voters
list after your campaign has ended. On
[1:08:27] or before the day your campaign ends,
you must destroy the copy of the voters
[1:08:30] list that you received from the clerk.
Have any printed copies that you shared
[1:08:34] with other people return to you and
destroy them.
[1:08:37] Ensure you have received a written
acknowledgement from anyone who received
[1:08:41] an electronic copy of the list that the
electronic copy has been destroyed.
[1:08:47] So, a written acknowledgement. Before
you share the voters list with someone,
[1:08:51] you must obtain a written
acknowledgement from that person. That
[1:08:54] written acknowledgement must confirm the
following. They will only use the list
[1:08:58] for electoral purposes and not for for
purposes. They will not share or give
[1:09:02] copies of the list to anyone else.
If they receive a physical copy of the
[1:09:06] list, they will return it to you.
If they received an electronic copy of
[1:09:09] the list, they will destroy that copy
and give you a written acknowledgement
[1:09:12] that the electronic copy has been
destroyed.
[1:09:15] The written acknowledgement should set
out the dates by which people must
[1:09:19] return physical copies or give you
written confirmation that the electronic
[1:09:22] copies have been destroyed.
You must keep the records of the written
[1:09:26] acknowledgements that you have received
until November 15th of 2030 when the
[1:09:30] next council or school board uh takes
office. You must also keep any written
[1:09:35] confirmations that electronic copies of
the list have been destroyed.
[1:09:41] Okay, so uh scrutineers, recounts, key
dates, and resources.
[1:09:45] So, scrutineers, only a candidate may
appoint scrutineers to represent them
[1:09:50] during the voting and the vote uh the
counting of votes, including during a
[1:09:54] recount.
Third-party advertisers cannot appoint
[1:09:58] scrutineers.
In the traditional election where voting
[1:10:01] takes place at a poll, the DRO is in
charge of the activity in the voting
[1:10:05] place, and the DRO may ask the
scrutineer to leave if the DRO believes
[1:10:10] the scrutineer is not complying with the
legislation.
[1:10:13] Under section 48 of the Municipal
Elections Act, in a voting place, no
[1:10:17] person shall attempt directly or
indirectly um sorry, no person shall
[1:10:22] attempt to directly or indirectly to
influence how the vote the elector is
[1:10:26] voting.
Candidates and scrutineers should
[1:10:29] respect that the DRO must ensure
fairness, access, privacy, and security
[1:10:34] of the vote.
Uh so, just a tip, check with the clerk
[1:10:37] to see if a list of scrutineers' rights
is being given to election staff at the
[1:10:41] poll. If so, use the list or prepare
your own to give to each of your
[1:10:45] scrutineers so they can learn their
rights. These rights are spelled out in
[1:10:49] section 47 sub five of the Municipal
Elections Act.
[1:10:54] Recounts.
A recount is automatic if the vote is
[1:10:58] tied.
Councils have the option of establishing
[1:11:01] policies prior to the election that also
allow for an automatic recount.
[1:11:06] Council still retains the option to pass
a resolution for a recount within 30
[1:11:10] days after the clerk has declared the
results of the election.
[1:11:14] An eligible elector can apply to the
courts for a recount within 30 days of
[1:11:19] the clerk's declaration of the results.
[1:11:24] So, some key dates. Voting day is
Monday, October 26th, 2026 between 10:00
[1:11:29] a.m. and 8:00 p.m. unless reduced hours
are set by the clerk for retirement
[1:11:33] homes and certain institutions or the
clerks decide uh decides to open voting
[1:11:37] places earlier than 10:00 a.m.
The campaign period, so the time when a
[1:11:41] candidate can accept contributions and
incur election expenses, runs from the
[1:11:46] date the nomination is submitted up
until December 31st, 2026.
[1:11:51] The campaign period, so the time the
third-party advertiser can
[1:11:55] uh incur expenses, begins on the date
their registration is certified.
[1:11:59] Earliest is May 1st, so this Friday,
until December 31st, 2026.
[1:12:04] The deadline for filing of the campaign
financial statement in the clerk's
[1:12:07] office is Tuesday, March 30th of 2027,
no later than 2:00 p.m.
[1:12:13] All candidates and third-party
advertisers must file the statement
[1:12:16] regardless of how much they spent or
received in contributions.
[1:12:22] So, resources. So, the first few links
uh will take you to the E-Laws website
[1:12:26] where all provincial legis- legislation
is available, including the associated
[1:12:30] regulations.
Uh you will want to be familiar with the
[1:12:33] Municipal Elections Act, the Municipal
Act, Municipal Conflict of Interest Act,
[1:12:38] and if you're running for a school
board, the Education Act.
[1:12:41] The second link is to the Ministry of
Municipal Affairs and Housing website.
[1:12:45] From this site, you will be able to
access the 2026 Voters' Guide, the 2026
[1:12:50] Candidates' Guide, and the 2026
third-party advertisers' guide.
[1:12:54] And then the final link there is for the
Municipal World website. If you click on
[1:12:59] the icon bookshop, it illustrates a list
of books that are related to running for
[1:13:04] municipal office and they're available
for purchase online.
[1:13:09] And that brings us to the end of our
presentation. So we'll take any
[1:13:13] questions if you have any and up there
on the screen is actually our contact
[1:13:17] information. So I am the municipal
advisor for the County of Middlesex, so
[1:13:21] feel free to reach out to me if you have
any questions like after the session.
[1:13:25] You can also reach out to Spencer. He's
a senior municipal advisor, so
[1:13:28] feel free to contact either one of us.
But with that, we'll turn it over if
[1:13:31] anybody has any questions.
[1:13:35] Yes.
Yes, my question is around the
[1:13:40] requirements.
I noticed last week through the
[1:13:44] it was at home but I thought
the association of the municipality of
[1:13:48] Ontario
for
[1:13:50] nominations for the board.
I also know that in the Corporations Act
[1:13:54] of Ontario, you cannot
serve as a board and the director on the
[1:13:59] board if you've been bankrupt.
So I'm not sure if you can speak to
[1:14:02] this, but
that's not a criteria here and I just
[1:14:05] wondered like one of our
responsibilities of the council is a
[1:14:09] fiduciary responsibility. So I wondered
if you could speak to that.
[1:14:14] So that like
the eligibility requirements don't
[1:14:16] include those, you know, any
bankruptcies or even having been
[1:14:22] convicted of an offense, criminal
offense. Of course, if you're serving
[1:14:25] time in an institution, you know, so a
provincial or maybe a federal
[1:14:29] correctional institution, you obviously
wouldn't be eligible
[1:14:33] to run or serve on council.
However, declaring bankruptcy by itself
[1:14:37] is not,
you know, would make you ineligible to
[1:14:42] run for council.
Yes, question.
[1:14:49] Yes.
>> Yeah.
[1:14:53] Definitely. It's an interesting thing
AMO that by itself that like it's a
[1:14:56] separate organization, right? So, it has
no, you know,
[1:14:59] uh
connection to the province in that
[1:15:01] sense.
Uh so, yeah, they can certainly make
[1:15:04] their own rules as to would serve on
board. Oh, yeah. No, it's it's an
[1:15:09] interesting observation.
Any other questions?
[1:15:17] Okay. Well, I know if you're anything
like me, you're going to be driving home
[1:15:19] tonight and you're thinking, "Oh, I
really want to ask this." So, again,
[1:15:22] don't hesitate. Reach out to us anytime.
It's fine. Uh as I always like to say,
[1:15:26] it's free to contact us. I'm not going
to charge you anything. Uh and the very
[1:15:29] worst thing you're ever going to hear me
say is no.
[1:15:32] Uh so, yeah, don't hesitate. That's what
we're here for.
[1:15:36] Oh.
Thank you.
[1:15:42] Yeah.
Thank you.
[1:15:44] Sorry.
Thank you.
[1:15:47] Uh
for everyone I haven't met yet, my name
[1:15:48] is Marcy Vinich and I'm the director of
legislative services and clerk for
[1:15:52] Middlesex County. Uh I just want to
thank uh the ministry staff for being
[1:15:55] here, Spencer and Jody. That was awesome
and very informative.
[1:15:59] Uh as a county clerk, I don't have the
privilege of running an election, so I
[1:16:02] learned a lot tonight. Um
and thank you to Paul Shipway, our CEO,
[1:16:06] and Tiffany Ferrell um for that
introductory presentation. We will move
[1:16:10] on to the next portion of our evening.
Uh we'll have our clerks booths set up,
[1:16:16] so if anyone has additional questions,
we'll be happy to answer those.