2026 Municipal and School Board Election

2026 Voter List

Elections Ontario maintains the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario, also known as the “voters' list” or “register”.

The voters' list, contains information for individuals eligible to vote in provincial and local municipal elections in Ontario.

Learn more about the voter's list on Election Ontario's Register to Vote page, including how to:

• Register voters 
• Register absentee voters 
• Register future voters

Use the Elections Ontario Register to Vote application to:

• Confirm, update or add your name and home address 
• Search, add or remove a property other than your home address 
• Remove yourself from the register 
• Remove a deceased person from the register 
• Check the status of a request

If you or your spouse own or rent property other than your home address in Ontario, you might be eligible to vote in more than one municipal election.

School Support

As of January 1, 2024, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is no longer responsible for collecting voter information for local elections. However, MPAC is legislatively required to collect school support designations.

Update your school support through MPAC’s Online School Support page.

As a property owner in Ontario, you are required to support a school system, even if you do not have children or your children are not currently attending school. 

This information can be found on your Property Assessment Notice.

For more information about school support designations, visit the MPAC website.

Voter Eligibility

You can vote in the 2026 Municipal and School Board Election in West Lincoln if you are a Canadian citizen and: 

Voting Options

Voting will be conducted online and in-person. Online voting and in-person advance polling dates will be posted soon.

If you are eligible to vote in the 2026 Municipal and School Board Election but are unable to attend a poll, yourself, you may appoint another qualified elector as proxy to vote on your behalf. 

Proxy Voting

If you are eligible to vote in the 2026 Municipal and School Board Election but are unable to attend a poll, yourself, you may appoint another qualified elector as proxy to vote on your behalf.

You cannot appoint more than one voting proxy or act as a voting proxy for more than one other person. This restriction does not apply if the proxy and the other person are spouses or siblings of each other, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild.

Proxy applications may be filed by appointment only, Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. (holidays excluded). Please call 905-957-3346 or email  after August 24 to make an appointment.

On in-person advanced voting days the Township Administrative Office and other designated locations will be open between noon and 5 p.m. for the purpose of considering and certifying proxy applications.

The Appointment of Voting Proxy form is available for pick-up, or you can download the form to print and complete at home, and have your voting proxy bring it to the poll with them.

By-laws and Policies

Most commonly requested by-laws:

Eligibility

To run as a candidate you must:

• reside in the municipality or, the owner or tenant of land in the municipality or the spouse of such person;
• be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old;
• not legally prohibited from voting; and
• not disqualified by any legislation from holding municipal office. 

Employees of the Township of West Lincoln who wish to run for Council must take an unpaid leave of absence before filing a nomination paper. Documentation proving the leave of absence is required.

In municipal elections in Ontario, candidates are not elected as members of a political party.

In West Lincoln, Councilors are elected to represent a Ward. For details on Township of West Lincoln wards, visit our ward map.

Filing a nomination 

Candidates can register for nominations in-person by visiting the Office of the Clerk between May 1, 2026, and Aug. 20, 2026, during regular office hours (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.). On Aug. 21, 2026, nominations will be accepted until 2 p.m.

To file a nomination, you must provide:

• nomination paper (Form 1);
• declaration of qualifications;
• at least 25 declarations of endorsement (Form 2); 
• current acceptable identification showing name, qualifying address and signature; and
• the nomination filing fee paid by cash, credit or debit card, certified cheque or money order, payable to Township of West Lincoln. The filing fee is $100 for candidates running for Ward Councillor, Regional Councillor or School Board Trustee and $200 for candidates running for Mayor. Nomination fees are refunded to candidates once they file their required financial statement.

Form links will be available closer to the opening of the nomination period.

A person cannot raise or spend money on an election campaign until they have filed the nomination paper.

A nomination paper must be filed in person by either the candidate or an agent of the candidate. Candidates are strongly encouraged to schedule an appointment to file their nomination by contacting clerk@westlincoln.ca or 905-957-3346.

The candidate’s declaration of qualification must be taken before a Commissioner of Oaths. If an agent is filing the nomination paper on behalf of a candidate, the candidate’s declaration of qualification must be commissioned by any commissioner of oaths, prior to the agent filing the paper. Candidates are required to show proof of identity and qualifying address within the Township of West Lincoln at the time of filing.

Under the Municipal Elections Act, the Clerk is required to reject or certify the nominations of candidates on or before 4 p.m. on Aug. 24, 2026. A candidate who wishes to withdraw their nomination, must notify the Clerk in writing by 2 p.m. on Aug. 21, 2026. The withdrawal must be original and may not be emailed, faxed or scanned. The candidate must submit a financial statement including all financial transactions up to the time of the withdrawal.

Nomination endorsements

Anyone running for Council must submit the signatures from 25 voters endorsing the nomination. Each individual providing a signature must sign a declaration stating that they are eligible to vote in the municipality on the day that they signed the endorsement.

Additional information

Learn more about the duties and responsibilities of elected officials and the resources available to them.

Council meeting schedule

Council meetings are held monthly on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, unless otherwise announced.

The Township of West Lincoln has four Standing Committees of Council that find ways to address issues in our community:

1. Corporate Services Committee
2. Community/Protective Services Committee
3. Growth and Sustainability Committee
4. Infrastructure Committee

Two Standing Committee meetings are held each month on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, unless otherwise announced.

Advisory Committees of Council

Council members may be appointed to represent West Lincoln on internal committees (i.e., West Lincoln Age Friendly Advisory Committee, West Lincoln Public Library Board) and external committees (i.e., NPEI Board, Niagara Transit Commission). Committee meetings are held at various times. As part of Council orientation, Council members will meet to decide which members will serve on the committees of their choice.

Salary for Mayor and Councillors 

The salaries for Councillors and Mayor are:

• Mayor (2025): $51,183.77 per annum
• Councillor (2025): $32,670.49 per annum

Rates are subject to change.

Additional stipends may be applicable for appointments to other boards or committees.

Eligibility

You're eligible to register as a third party advertiser if you are: 

Types of third-party advertisers

Corporations

If you’re registering on behalf of a corporation you must provide: 

Registration process

An individual, corporation or trade union must register with the Township Clerk to be a third party advertiser in a municipality. Being registered in a municipality allows the third party to advertise to the voters in that municipality. A third party advertiser can support or oppose any candidate or candidates who will be voted on by the people in that municipality. This includes candidates running for local council, school trustee and candidates running for offices on an upper tier council. 

Third party registrations may be filed in the Township of West Lincoln Clerk Office, 318 Canborough Street, Smithville. A third party must be qualified at the time of filing the registration. 

To advertise in more than one municipality, you must register in each municipality you want to advertise. 

There is no registration fee for third party advertisers.  

What is a third-party advertisement?

A third-party advertisement is a message in any medium (billboard, newspaper, radio, other materials, etc.) paid for by an individual, corporation or trade union that supports, promotes or opposes a candidate or a “yes” or “no” vote on a question on the ballot.

Third party advertising does not include issues-based advertising so groups that do public outreach can continue their issued-based advocacy work throughout a municipal election period. 

These types of ads are paid for by a third party group, not the candidates themselves. 

Any eligible individual, corporation or trade union that intends to spend money on advertising must register as a third party advertiser. 

Third party advertisers must register with the Municipality in order to advertise during the municipal election.

What is the campaign period for third-party advertisers?

The campaign period begins on the day the individual, corporation or trade union registers with the municipality and ends on December 31 in the case of a regular election.

 What information must third-party advertisers include?

Registered third parties must identify themselves and provide mandatory information on all advertising. 

What is a contribution?

A contribution shall not be made to or accepted by an individual, corporation or trade union in relation to third party advertisements that appear during an election in a municipality, or made to or accepted by an individual acting under his, her, their or its direction, unless the individual, corporation or trade union is a registered third party in relation to the election in the municipality. 

No contribution shall be made to or accepted outside the campaign period.