Candidate Information - 2022 Municipal Election
Do you want to make a difference in your community? Are you interested in getting involved in the day-to-day business of your local government and are you thinking about running for a seat on Collingwood Council?
If you have questions, please contact us at election@collingwood.ca or 705-445-1030 and ask to speak to someone in Clerk Services. Nominations must be filed in person at the Town Hall located at 97 Hurontario Street, Collingwood. Those wishing to submit a nomination are encouraged to set up a nomination appointment ahead of time to ensure staff availability.
Important Dates
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| May 2, 2022 | Nominations open |
| June 9, 2022 | Candidate Information Session |
| July 12, 2022 | Candidate & Third Party Advertiser Information Session |
| August 19, 2022 | Nomination Day: Nominations accepted until 2:00 p.m. Deadline to withdraw a nomination is 2:00 p.m. |
| August 22, 2022 | Nominations to be certified or rejected by the Clerk List of Candidates to be posted by 4:00 p.m. |
| September 1, 2022 | Voters' list available to certified candidates. Revision period begins – Electors may update or add their name to the voters' list. |
| October 2022 | Advanced Voting: Internet Voting: Electors will be able to cast a ballot anytime, anywhere between October 8 at 10:00 a.m. and October 24, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. Advanced Poll Dates (Paper Ballot): October 8, 12, 15, 19 and 22, 2022 (times of advanced polls to be determined) |
| October 24, 2022 | Final Voting day, 10am to 8pm (paper and internet) |
To be elected or to hold office in the positions of Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillor or School Board Trustee, the following qualifications are required to be met:
- at least 18 years of age
- a Canadian citizen
- a resident of Collingwood, or an owner or tenant of land in Collingwood, or the spouse of an owner or tenant
- not legally prohibited from voting
- not disqualified by any legislation from holding municipal office
- entitled to be an elector within the Town of Collingwood
Municipal employees
You cannot work for a municipality and be on its council at the same time. If you are an employee of a municipality and you want to run for office on that municipality’s council, you must take a leave of absence that begins the day you are nominated. If you are elected, you must resign from your job.
If you are an employee of a municipality and you want to run for office in a different municipality, you do not have to take a leave of absence or resign. However, you should check with your employer to see if there are any policies in place that could affect you.
If you are an employee of an upper-tier municipality, you can run for office in a lower-tier municipality without taking a leave of absence or resigning unless being elected to the lower tier council means that you would also be a member of the upper-tier council.
This does not apply to volunteer firefighters.
The nomination period begins May 2, 2022 with the last day to file a nomination being Friday, August 19, 2022 by 2 p.m.
A nomination form must be accompanied by the endorsement of 25 eligible voters supporting the nomination on the required forms. It is recommended that candidates obtain more than the required 25 endorsements to ensure that the candidate has the amount required upon review by the Clerk at close of nominations. This endorsement becomes a public record.
Each candidate must provide proof of Canadian citizenship in a form acceptable to the Clerk. It is the responsibility of the candidate to file a bona fide nomination paper. Two pieces of identification are required to be shown with the required nomination fee and completed forms provided below. See the list of acceptable documents for voter identification.
The fee for the office for the Mayor is $200, and Deputy Mayor or Councillor is $100. Payment must be made by cash, cheque, debit, or money order payable to the Town of Collingwood.
Form 1 - Nomination Paper (also available online at https://forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en/dataset/017-9499p)
Form 2 - Endorsement of Nomination (also available online at https://forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en/dataset/017-2233)
If you decide to withdraw your nomination, you must notify the clerk in writing by the close of nominations (2 p.m. August 19, 2022).
If you withdraw your nomination, you are still required to file a campaign financial statement covering all the financial transactions you made in your campaign. If your campaign did not have any financial transactions, you must file a financial statement reporting this. Your nomination fee will be refunded by the clerk if you file your financial statement by the deadline. This is due March 31, 2023 but can be filed at any time after receipt of the written notifiaction of withdraw.
If interested in running for office, candidates should review the following information package:
General Information
- 2022 Candidates’ Guide - Ontario municipal council and school board elections
- Being on Council - Understanding the committment
- County Council Responsibilities
- Municipal Councillors Guide - MMAH
- Candidate Information Sessions
Nomination Papers
- Form 1 - Nomination Paper (also available online at https://forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en/dataset/017-9499p)
- Form 2 - Endorsement of Nomination (also available online at https://forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en/dataset/017-2233)
- Declaration of Qualifications - Council
- Candidate Freedom of Information Release
Policy, Procedures and Legislation
- Council Code of Conduct
- Council Staff Relations Policy
- Use of Municipal Resources Municipal Elections Policy
- Strategic Plans
- Municipal Conflict of Interest Act
Campaign Limits and Financial Statements
- Candidate Financial Institution Number letter
- Preliminary Campaign Expense Limits
- Form 4 - Financial Statement Auditors Report Candidate
- Form 5 - Financial Statement - Subsequent Expenses Form
Additional information will be published on our website when available.
You may accept contributions or incur campaign expenses during your campaign period only. Your campaign period begins on the day the clerk receives your nomination.
In most cases, your campaign will end on January 3, 2023. Exceptions are if you:
- withdrew your nomination, your campaign ends on the date you informed the clerk in writing that you wanted to withdraw
- were not certified as a candidate and your name did not appear on the ballot, your campaign ends on nomination day (August 19, 2022)
- know you will not have any more financial activity, you can end your campaign at any time after voting day and before January 3, 2023
If you have extended your campaign to pay down a deficit, the end date for the extended campaign period will be the earliest of:
- the day you notify the clerk in writing that you will be ending your campaign and not accepting any more contributions
- June 30, 2023
Bank account
You must open a bank account exclusively for your campaign if you accept any contributions of money (including contributions from yourself or your spouse) or incur any expenses. You cannot use your personal bank account for campaign finances, even if you are planning a very small campaign. All contributions – including contributions you make to yourself – must be deposited into the campaign bank account. All expenses must be paid for from the campaign account.
The nomination fee is considered to be a personal expense, not a campaign expense. You do not need to have a campaign bank account in order to pay the nomination fee.
Campaign financial statement
It is your responsibility as a candidate to file a complete and accurate financial statement on time. The filing deadline is 2 p.m. on the last Friday in March following the election (March 31, 2023).
For more details on campaign limits, contributions and financial filing reqwuirements please review the 2022 Candidates’ Guide - Ontario municipal council and school board elections provided by the Ministry of Municpal Affaris and Housing.
Rules about when you can put up campaign signs and how signs may be displayed on public and private property are provided in the links below. All of your campaign signs and other advertising must identify that you are responsible for the sign. This is so that people seeing the sign or advertisement can tell that it is from your campaign, rather than from a third party advertiser.
You are responsible for ensuring that your campaign signs are removed after voting day. A sign deposit of $100 is required to be paid to the Town of Collingwood before election signs can be posted. This depsoit is used to recover costs for signs posted in violation of the by-law required to be removed by the municipality. Any remaining deposit will be refunded to the candidate following the election.
This guide is intended to draw your attention to the measures candidates should be considering to ensure equal opportunity for all electors to access your candidate information and to interact with you. These measures should include aspects of your campaign including: literature through print media, audio and video messages, and access to your campaign office (if you are intending to campaign from an office that is separate from your home).
Be sure that all of your campaign activities are accessible to everyone!
AMCTO Candidates Guide to Accessible Elections
Questions can be directed to:
Town of Collingwood by contacting Clerk Services at election@collingwood.ca or by phone at 705-445-1030
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing at Municipal Services Office at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing or mea.info@ontario.ca.
Candidate Question and Answer Board