2026 Ontario Municipal Election: Dates, Deadlines & a Candidate's Guide

Ontario's 2026 municipal election is Monday, October 26, 2026. Every city, town, township, and school board across the province votes the same day for mayors (heads of council), councillors, and school board trustees. If you're running, your whole campaign hangs off a few fixed dates — when nominations open, the deadline to file, and election day — and the earlier you build around them, the better your ground game will be.

Here's the Ontario candidate's calendar, drawn from the province's official 2026 Candidates' Guide, plus how to plan your canvassing around it.

Ontario 2026 key dates at a glance

Election day: Monday, October 26, 2026

Ontario runs its municipal elections on a fixed four-year cycle, on the fourth Monday of October. In 2026 that's October 26. The term you're elected to runs four years, to the next election in 2030.

Who can run

To be a candidate in an Ontario municipal election you must, on the day you file, be:

• a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old;
• a resident of the municipality, or an owner or tenant of land there (or the spouse of an owner or tenant); and
• not otherwise prohibited from voting or legally disqualified from holding office.

Certain people — some municipal employees, judges, and others — must resign or take a leave before running. The official eligibility rules spell out the exceptions.

Nominations: May 1 to August 21, 2026

Nominations open May 1, 2026 and close on Nomination Day, Friday, August 21, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. — a hard deadline, filed in person or by an agent with your municipal clerk. The same 2:00 p.m. deadline applies if you want to withdraw. The clerk then has until 4:00 p.m. on Monday, August 24, 2026 to certify or reject each nomination.

• Filing fee: $200 for head of council (mayor); $100 for councillor or school board trustee. Bring the fee and proof of identity when you file. The fee is refunded if you file your campaign financial statement on time.
• Endorsement signatures: in municipalities with 4,000 or more electors, you must submit 25 endorsement signatures on Form 2 with your nomination. Keep the original signed forms as part of your campaign records.
• Register early to raise money: you can't legally raise or spend campaign money until you've filed your nomination and opened a campaign bank account, so filing in the spring rather than August frees you to fundraise all summer.

Full details are in the province's official 2026 Candidates' Guide — Nominations, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) keeps a good plain-language overview.

Your 2026 Ontario campaign timeline

Ontario gives you the longest runway of any province we cover — nominations open in May, almost six months before the vote. Use it. Mapping backward from October 26, a campaign falls into four phases:

• Now → May: build the foundation. Line up your team, sharpen your message, and get to know your ward. With Just Canvass, every household in your ward is pre-loaded, so you can plan turf before you file.
• May → June: file early and start fundraising. Submit your nomination as soon as nominations open, collect your 25 endorsement signatures where required, open your campaign account, and begin light door-knocking to build name recognition.
• Summer → early fall: peak canvassing. This is the ground game — door-to-door, lawn signs, and phone, text, and email follow-up to the residents you've met.
• Final two weeks: get out the vote. Everything you've learned about who supports you turns into turnout. Just Canvass ties door-knocking and phone banking together so a voter reached one way is automatically crossed off for the other — no duplicate contacts on the days that matter most.

Running elsewhere in Canada? See the combined 2026 Canadian municipal election dates, or the province guides for British Columbia and Manitoba. Not sure which tool fits a Canadian municipal race? Compare the best canvassing apps for Canadian campaigns.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 municipal election in Ontario?

Ontario's 2026 municipal election is on Monday, October 26, 2026. Nominations open May 1, 2026 and close on Nomination Day, Friday, August 21, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.

How much does it cost to file nomination papers in Ontario?

The nomination filing fee is $200 for head of council (mayor) and $100 for councillor or school board trustee. The fee is refunded if you file your campaign financial statement by the deadline.

Do I need endorsement signatures to run in Ontario?

In municipalities with 4,000 or more electors, candidates must submit 25 endorsement signatures (using Form 2) with their nomination. Keep the original signed forms as part of your campaign records.

Who can run for council in Ontario in 2026?

You must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, a resident of the municipality (or an owner or tenant of land there, or the spouse of such a person), and not legally prohibited from voting or holding office. You confirm eligibility when you file your nomination.

When should I start canvassing for a 2026 Ontario campaign?

Start early. Many candidates file soon after nominations open in the spring, then build name recognition with summer door-knocking before intensifying canvassing, phone, text and get-out-the-vote outreach through the fall to election day.