Become a Candidate

Nominations open on Friday, May 1, 2026 at 8:30 am.

People that are eligible must be:

• Canadian Citizen
• 18 years of age or older
• qualify as a resident or non-resident elector

People that are disqualified from being elected to municipal office:

• any person who is not eligible to vote in the municipality
• an employee of a municipality who has not taken an unpaid leave of absence and resigned
• a judge of any court
• an MP, an MPP or a senator
• an inmate serving a sentence in a penal or correctional institution
• an otherwise disqualified individual

People that are eligible must be:

• Canadian Citizen
• 18 years of age or older
• a resident of the jurisdiction of the board, and
• eligible to vote for the school board for which they are running (ie. Roman Catholic, or holding French-language rights)

People that are disqualified from being elected as a school trustee:

• any person who is not eligible to vote in the school board election
• an employee of a school board or a municipal official who has not taken an unpaid leave of absence and resigned
• a judge of any court
• an MP, an MPP or a senator
• an inmate serving a sentence in a penal or correctional institution
• an otherwise disqualified individual

The suggestion to have more than 25 endorsements when you submit your nomination papers is to ensure that at least 25 are valid. When nomination papers are being accepted, City staff reviews Form 2 to ensure information is complete and to identify obvious errors. Should there be an endorsement where the information is incomplete or where it is obvious that they are not an eligible voter in Hamilton, the endorsement will not be counted.

Practical experience from Clerks in many municipal jurisdictions (previous election) has shown that in the review done by the clerk, some endorsements may be deemed ineligible. Allowing more than 25 endorsements to be submitted, helps to ensure that should an endorsement be deemed ineligible through review, the additional endorsements will help to ensure the required threshold is still met. It is a practical accommodation not the MEA dictating this practice. 

They can reside anywhere in Hamilton but must be an eligible elector.

Candidates may be filmed while filing their nominations, provided that:

• Staff are not included in any recordings or photographs unless they have given their consent. The preferred approach is to ensure staff faces are not visible.
• Any members of the public who appear in a video or photo must provide consent before that media is shared publicly.
• Filming must not interfere with city business or any other services taking place in the same area.

No. All candidates have the option of displaying a phone number, physical address and/or email address on our website only. 

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing provides guidance to candidates, including information on campaigning and finance. 

Should you need more information on campaign accounts and finances, please contact Hamilton’s Municipal Affairs and Housing Representative: Bridget Foster, [email protected]

There is no requirement in the Municipal Elections Act, 2001 that a Chief Financial Officer open your campaign account. A letter is available in the Candidate Portal that you can provide to your financial institution that outlines the difference between Federal/Provincial requirements and those at the Municipal level. 

Should you need more information on campaign accounts and finances, please contact Hamilton’s Municipal Affairs and Housing Representative: Bridget Foster, [email protected]

Municipal candidates must issue contribution receipts (indicating contributor name, date of contribution, and contribution amount) to all campaign contributors.

Contribution receipts, however, are not tax receipts because contributions made to municipal council and school board campaigns cannot be credited against provincial or federal income taxes.

If your campaign ends with a surplus, you can withdraw the value of contributions that you and your spouse made from the surplus. If you still have a surplus once you have withdrawn your contributions, the remaining surplus must be turned over to the clerk. You are not permitted to refund eligible contributions made by anyone other than yourself or your spouse.

No. There is no requirement to have a statement on campaign literature or signs that indicates that the literature was approved by the campaign. All campaign literature must feature the name of the candidate. It is good practice that literature identify the office that the candidate is running for, but this is not required.

No. As per the Municipal Elections Act:

Display of signs at residential premises

• 88.2 (1) No landlord or person acting on a landlord’s behalf may prohibit a tenant from displaying signs in relation to an election on the premises to which the lease relates. 2016, c. 15, s. 46.

Same, condominium corporations

• (2) No condominium corporation or any of its agents may prohibit the owner or tenant of a condominium unit from displaying signs in relation to an election on the premises of his or her unit. 2016, c. 15, s. 46.

Exception

• (3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), a landlord, person, condominium corporation or agent may set reasonable conditions relating to the size or type of signs in relation to an election that may be displayed on the premises and may prohibit the display of signs in relation to an election in common areas of the building in which the premises are found. 2016, c. 15, s. 46.

Same

• (4) Despite subsection (3), no landlord, person, condominium corporation or agent may prohibit the display of signs in relation to an election in common areas of the building if space in the building is being used as a voting place. 2016, c. 15, s. 46.

As per the section 88.1 of the Municipal Elections Act:

• 88.1 No person who is in control of an apartment building, condominium building, non-profit housing cooperative or gated community may prevent a candidate or his or her representative from campaigning between 9 am and 9 pm at the doors to the apartments, units or houses, as the case may be. 2016, c. 15, s. 46.

Unofficial results will be made available as soon as possible after the close of polls on Monday October 26, 2026.

 A recount could occur in the following instances:

• Under section 56(1) of the Municipal Elections Act (MEA), a recount will be held if there is a tied vote between two or more candidates.
• If council passes a resolution requiring a recount of the votes cast for council. 57(1) (a) MEA\
• If a local board passes a resolutaion requiring a recount of votes cast for an office on the location board. 57 (1) b MEA
• Where there is an application for a judicial recount under section 63(1) of the MEA

The council and school board term of office will run from November 15, 2026 to November 14, 2030. The newly elected Council cannot meet until the term has begun.

All candidates must file a financial statement. This includes candidates who withdrew their nomination, candidates who were not certified and did not appear on the ballot, and candidates who were acclaimed.  Candidates must use Form 4.
All candidates must complete Box A: Name of Candidate and Office and Box B: Declaration.

• If you did not receive any contributions (including contributions from yourself) or incur any expenses, check the box indicating this, and complete the Declaration in Box B. No further information is required.
• If you did receive contributions (including contributions from yourself) or incur expenses, you must fill in the information in Box C, Box D, Schedule 1 and Schedule 2, as appropriate. You may find it easier to fill out the form if you start with the more detailed sections such as the tables in Schedule 1 before filling in Box C (Statement of Campaign Income and Expenses).

If you received contributions or incurred expenses in excess of $10,000, you must include an auditor’s report with your financial statement.

Your completed financial statement must be submitted to the clerk by 2 pm on the last Friday in March (March 26, 2027).
Supplementary financial statements must be submitted to the clerk by 2 pm on the last Friday in September (September 24, 2027).

There are three contraventions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 where penalties apply automatically:

• if you fail to file a financial statement by the end of the 30-day grace period or fail to apply to the court before March 26, 2027 for an extension by the filing deadline
• if your financial statement shows that you exceeded your spending limit
• if you fail to turn over your surplus to the clerk when you file your financial statement

The penalty is that you forfeit your office (if you won the election) and you become ineligible to run or be appointed to fill a vacancy until after the 2030 election.