In exactly one week, nominations will open for the 2026 municipal election, and then we’ll start the countdown to what looks like a big change in municipal governance this fall. between the change in Guelph’s mayor, what looks to be several new members of city council, and beisieged school boards, there will be a lot to sort out over the next couple of months, and to begin with, scroll down here see important dates, who can run, how you can vote, what coverage is coming up in Guelph Politico, and MOAR!!!!

Important Dates:

• Friday May 1 – Nominations for mayor, city councillor, and school board trustee open.
• Friday August 21 – Nominations close.
• Saturday October 10 to Thursday October 15 – Advanced voting at city hall.
• Friday October 16 to Sunday October 18 – Advanced voting at multiple locations around the city.
• Monday October 26 – Election Day.

This is the map of the established ward boundaries in the city. Each ward elects two councillors and the mayor is voted by the whole city.

To run for city council, you have to be…

• 18-years of age or older on election day
• A Canadian citizen
• Be an eligible elector in the City of Guelph (resident, property owner/tenant or their spouse)
• Not disqualified from running by the Legislative Assembly Act or any other legislation

And to be a school board trustee, you have to be…

• 18 years of age or older on election day
• A Canadian citizen
• Must meet specific qualifications depending on the school board you are nominated to (for example, being a Roman Catholic, or holding French language rights).

For more information about running for office, consult the FAQ on the City of Guelph’s election page here. The municipal elections are administered by the city clerks office, so if you have any questions of concerns that the FAQ doesn’t answer, call 519-837-5625 or send an email to guelphvotes [at] guelph.ca.

If you only intend to be a voter, be advised that this is the first municipal election that will be run based on the voters’ list from Elections Ontario, so if you need to update your address or other information, click here.

Additionally, if you need to confirm or change your school support, visit the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) website here.

In order to vote in the municipal election, you need to be…

• Be 18 years of age or older
• Be a Canadian citizen
• Reside or own property in Guelph, or be a spouse of a property owner in Guelph
• Not be prohibited from voting under Section 17(3) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996

The current Guelph City Council (A c confirms that their running, an x confirms that they’re out):

• Cam Guthrie (Mayor)❎
• Dan Gibson (Ward 1)
• Erin Caton (Ward 1) ❎
• Rodrigo Goller (Ward 2) ☑️
• Carly Klassen (Ward 2)
• Phil Allt (Ward 3)
• Michele Richardson (Ward 3) ❎
• Christine Billings (Ward 4)
• Linda Busuttil (Ward 4) ☑️
• Cathy Downer (Ward 5)
• Leanne Caron (Ward 5) ❎
• Ken Yee Chew (Ward 6)
• Katherine Hauser (Ward 6) ☑️

Leanne Caron and Dan Gibson have both publicly pondered about the possibility of succeeding Cam Guthrie as the Mayor of Guelph.

Upper Grand District School Board

• Martha MacNeil (Wards 1 and 5)
• Luke Weiler (Wards 1 and 5)
• Ralf Mesenbrink (Wards 2, 3 and 4)
• Laurie Whyte (Wards 2, 3 and 4)
• Kyle Reaburn (Ward 6 and Puslinch)

Wellington Catholic District School Board

• Sebastian Dal Bo
• Vikki Dupuis
• Marino Gazzola
• Joe Tersigni

Note: The WCDSB elects their trustees as a slate with the top four vote earners getting a seat on the board.

Guelph Politico Election Coverage

As usual, Guelph Politico will be submitting candidate questionnaires to all the people running for mayor, city council, the Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic School Boards. Those questionnaires will go out to candidates shortly after nominations open and will posted through out the summer and fall on the Guelph Politico website.

On Open Sources Guelph, the plan is the same as our coverage of the 2022 election. We will be running capsule interviews of the council candidates on OSG once nominations close in August and then running them through September. Then, we will be doing full interviews with the mayoral candidates throughout October until the election.

Also, in the next few months, we’ll be producing laid back discussions with the candidates that will be turned into episodes of the Guelph Politicast and video interviews for YouTube.

As always, there will be regular updates about all the election maneuvers and announcements three times per week in the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, to which you can subscribe here.