Municipal Elections

The next regular election will be held on Monday, October 24, 2022. 

Important Dates: 

May 2, 2022

• First day for candidates to file nomination papers for the office of Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillor of School Board Trustee
  
  • Nominations may be filed at the Township Administration office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
• First day for an individual, corporation or trade union to file a notice of registration as a third party advertiser
• Campaign period begins once a nomination paper or notice of registration is filed
• Preliminary expense limit and other legislative documentation provided to candidates and third party advertisers on the day they file

August 19, 2022

• Nomination Day - last day to file nomination papers
• 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. - nominations or withdrawals cannot be accepted beyond 2:00 p.m.

August 22, 2022

• Certification of nomination papers to be completed by 4:00 p.m.
• Declaration of acclamation (if applicable) provided after 4:00 p.m.

September 1, 2022

• Voters' List available to certified candidates

September 26, 2022

• Final expense limits provided to candidates and third party advertisers

October 14, 2022

• Internet and Telephone voting opens at 10:00 a.m. 

October 21, 2022

• Last day for an individual, corporation or trade union to file a notice of registration as a third party advertiser

October 24, 2022

• SouthgateVotes2022 - Voting Day, voting ends at 8:00 p.m.

November 15, 2022

• New term of office commences.

 January 3, 2023

• Campaign period ends for candidates and registered third parties 

During the voting period, which begins October 14, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. and ends on Voting Day, October 24, 2022 at 8:00 p,m., voters in the Township of Southgate will elect candidates to the following municipal offices and school boards:

Mayor - 1 to be elected
Deputy Mayor - 1 to be elected
Councillors - 5 to be elected

English-language Separate School Board Trustee - 1 to be elected (Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board)
English-language Public School Board Trustee - 1 to be elected (Bluewater District School Board)
French-language Public School Board Trustee - 1 to be elected (Conseil Scolaire Viamonde) 
French-language Separate School Board Trustee - 1 to be elected (Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence)

All offices within the Township are elected at large, therefore no specific member of Council represents a defined ward area. All offices represent the Township as a whole.

The role of Council and the role of the Head of Council can be found and defined in Sections 224 to 226 of the Municipal Act, 2001.

Additional Resources 

AMO - Ontario Municipal Elections 

Municipal Elections Act, 1996 

Municipal Act, 2001

Am I eligible to vote?

You are eligible to vote if you live in Southgate (either as a tenant or property owner) or y​our spouse lives in Southgate.  You also must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old and not prohibited from voting under subsection 17 (3) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Visit www.voterlookup.ca to verify you are on the voter's list and your information is accurate.

Who is not allowed to vote?

1. A person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution cannot vote.

2. A corporation is not entitled to a vote.

3. A person acting as executor or trustee in any other representative capacity cannot vote, except as a voting proxy in accordance with section 44 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

4. A person who was convicted of a corrupt practice described in subsection 90 (3), of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, cannot vote if voting day in the current election is less than five years after voting day in the election in respect of which he or she was convicted.

If I own more than one property in Southgate can I vote more than once?

No, each person is entitled to only one vote, no matter how many properties they own in Southgate. If you don't live in Southgate but own property here, you are entitled to vote. 

The Township of Southgate will be hosting Internet and Telephone voting for the 2022 election. 

Internet and telephone voting will commence on October 14th and will run continuously through to October 24, 2022. 

Voters can vote from any location with access to a telephone or the internet, 24/7 throughout the Voting Period, commencing October 14th at 10:00 a.m. through to October 24th at 8:00 p.m. More information regarding Help Centres and Polling Stations will be published in the fall.

Prior to Thanksgiving weekend, you will receive a Voter Information Letter in the mail, including your Voter Identification Number and PIN. Both of these numbers, along with your year of birth will be required to cast your ballot either by telephone or online. This letter will include the website URL for internet voting, the 1-800 number to call for telephone voting and help centre schedules to help voters cast their vote. Should you not receive your letter, please contact the Township for assistance.

• MPAC created voterlookup.ca to provide electors with an easy way to confirm and update their information for municipal and school board elections.
• VoterLookup.ca is available year-round and allows eligible electors to confirm or update their information, add a name to an address, or change their school support for the purpose of elections.
• Through voterlookup.ca, Ontario electors can take an active role in maintaining accurate and up-to-date electoral information to be reflected on MPAC’s Preliminary List of Electors for the 2022 Municipal and School Board Elections. Eligible electors can update their information, add a name to an address, or change their school support.
• Voterlookup.ca will facilitate the collection of accurate and up-to-date information for municipalities as they prepare the final Voters List used on election day, making it easier and more efficient for voters heading to the polls.
• Voterlookup.ca features a declaration component which requires the user to verify that the information is ‘true and accurate’. In addition, specific information entered by each user on voterlookup.ca has to match-up to existing data maintained by MPAC before users are permitted to add their name or apply changes to their information.
• We encourage tenants to visit voterlookup.ca to confirm or update their information, add a name to an address, or change their school support for electoral purposes.

Form SEL2 - "Consent to Release Personal Information"

Form SEL3 - "Declaration of Qualifications - Council"

Form SEL13 - "Declaration of Proper Use of the Voter's List"

Be Informed! Consult the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and the Municipal Act, 2001 prior to submitting your nomination papers.

Thinking of Running for Council? Review the Candidate Information Package for more information. 

A Candidate and Third Party Advertiser Information Session was held virtually on April 20, 2022. Below is all the information that was shared during the session as well as the Question and Answer document that may be reviewed. You may also watch the entire session on YouTube at the link below:  

• Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Presentation
• Municipal Property Assessment Corporation Presentation
• County of Grey Information Presentation
• Session's Question and Answer Document

Watch the Information Session on YouTube here! 

To run for office as a School Board Trustee, a candidate must be: 

1. qualified to vote for members of that district school board and is resident in its area of jurisdiction;
2. and if qualified under 1. above, may be elected as a member of a district school board or school authority for any geographic area in the district school board's area of jurisdiction, regardless of which positions on that district school board or school authority the person may be qualified to vote for. 

Ineligibility 

A person is ineligible to be elected or to act as a member of a district school board or school authority if the person is: 

1. an employee of a district school board or school authority;
2. the Clerk or Treasurer or Deputy Clerk or Deputy Treasurer of a municipality or an upper-tier municipality, all or part of which is included in the area of jurisdiction of the district school board or the school authority;
3. a member of the Assembly or of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada; or  
4. otherwise ineligible or disqualified under the Education Act, 1990 or any other Act. 

Nominations for School Board Trustee's must be submitted on the following form: 

Form 1 - Nomination Paper

Nominations for the 2022 School Board Elections are being received by the following Municipalities: 

Note: Ontario Regulation 412/00, Section 11(4), states as follows:

If the distance between the residence of a person seeking nomination and the office of the school board election clerk with whom nominations must be filed is greater than 100 kilometers, the clerk shall, for the purpose of making it easier for the person or person’s agent to file the nomination, delegate such of his or her powers as may be necessary to, (a) the school board election clerk of the municipality in which the person seeking nomination resides, if the person resides in a municipality.