Elections

The Municipal Clerk conducts elections for the following offices:

• Mayor
• Regional Chair
• Regional Councillors
• Local Councillors

• School Trustees

  • Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
  • Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board
  • Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir
  • Conseil Scolaire Viamonde

The office of the Municipal Clerk runs Municipal and School Board elections every four years and any by-elections as required, under the Authority of the Municipal Elections Act, 2006, as amended. We are dedicated to ensuring that the election process is consistent with the principles of Municipal Elections Act.

The following seven principles guide the Municipal Elections:

• The secrecy and confidentiality of the individual votes is paramount
• The election is to be fair and non-biased
• Accessible to the voters
• Integrity of the process to be maintained throughout the election
• Certainty that the results of the election reflect the votes cast
• Voters and candidates to be treated fairly and consistently within the Municipality of Clarington.
• The proper majority vote governs by ensuring that valid votes be counted and invalid votes be rejected so far as reasonably possible.

The Municipal Clerk is responsible for the Municipal and School Board elections every four years, and any by-elections as required, under the authority of the Municipal Elections Act, 2006, as amended (MEA). We are dedicated to ensuring that the election process is consistent with the principles of the MEA.

The following seven principles guide the Municipal Elections:

• The secrecy and confidentiality of the voting process is paramount;
• The election shall be fair and non-biased;
• The election shall be accessible to the electors;
• The integrity of the voting process shall be maintained throughout the election;
• There is to be certainty that the results of the election reflect the votes cast;
• Electors and candidates shall be treated fairly and consistently within a municipality; and
• The proper majority vote governs by ensuring that valid votes be counted, and that invalid votes be rejected so far as is reasonably possible.

Clarington Municipal Elections will be provided in the same method as the 2022 Municipal Elections, via internet/telephone voting. During the voting period, electors will be able to vote remotely using their own devices in the comfort of their homes or at one of several municipally run Election Assistance Centres (EACs), where laptops will be available for voting.

Internet and telephone voting is safe, easy, and convenient, removing time and travel barriers and improving access for everyone, including people with disabilities, people who are ill or people who are away from home, allowing more people to participate in municipal elections.

• Ongoing: Check that you are on the voters’ list for municipal elections
• May 1: Nomination period begins for Candidates, and Third Party Advertisers can begin to register.
• August 21 at 2 p.m.: Nomination Day (i.e. nomination period ends)
• October 20 to 26: Voting Period
• October 23: Last day for Third Party Advertisers to register.
• October 26: Voting Day
• November 15: Next term of office begins
• November 23: Inaugural meeting of Council
• December 31: End of Campaign financial reporting period
• March 30, 2027, by 2 p.m.: Deadline for Candidates to file financial statements.

The Election Sign By-law governs election signs for all levels of government. 

Method of Election: In January 2019, arising out of consideration of Report CLD-005-19, Council passed By-law 2019-003 which authorized the use of internet and telephone voting for Clarington Municipal Elections.

Election Sign By-law: As part of a regular review of the Election Sign By-law, Council passed a by-law to implement changes outlined in Report LGS-031-25. The Election Sign By-law review included administrative enhancements to provide clarity and protection for residents. The core rules and regulations remain unchanged, and the by-law has been reorganized to enhance clarity and flow. Improvements to the layout and wording will help candidates, their agents, and citizens better understand election sign regulations in Clarington.

• Compliance Audit Committee information
• Clarington’s Election Sign By-law
• Region of Durham’s Temporary Sign By-law
• Ontario Municipal & School Board Elections Website
• School board trustee elections

Coming soon

• The Clerk’s Procedures establish the procedures and forms for voting and vote-counting equipment for the Clarington Municipal Elections. 
• 2026 Voters’ Guide for Ontario Municipal and School Board Elections

Candidates for municipal council and school board trustee positions are bound by specific election campaign finance rules and must file provincially prescribed financial statements with the Municipal Clerk outlining their campaign finance activities.

Any voter who is entitled to vote in an election and believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate has contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA) relating to election campaign finances, may apply for a compliance audit of the candidate’s campaign finances.

A compliance audit is an audit of a candidate's election campaign finances and their compliance with the provisions of the MEA related to election campaign finances.

An application for a compliance audit must be addressed to the Municipal Clerk. This application must be in writing and set out the reasons for the elector’s belief within 90 days after the candidate’s financial filing date. Note: the 90-day period does not start earlier than March 31, 2023.

The Municipality of Clarington's 2022-26 Election Compliance Audit Committee is an independent, statutory body that receives and makes decisions on applications for compliance audits of candidates' municipal election campaign finances.

The powers and functions of the Committee are set out in the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. The Clarington Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee consists of three members with an alternate. It does not include employees or officers of the municipality, members of the council, or any persons who were candidates in the election for which the committee is established. The Committee holds the same term of office as council.

The Committee will:

• Within 30 days of receiving the compliance audit written letter of application, consider whether an application should be granted or rejected.
• If the application is granted, appoint an auditor to conduct a compliance audit of the candidate's election campaign finances.
• Receive the auditor's report.
• Within 30 days of receiving the auditor's report, consider the report and decide whether legal proceedings should begin or make a finding whether there were reasonable grounds for the application.
• Recommend to Clarington Council whether or not to pursue the recovery of the costs of conducting the compliance audit from the applicant if the auditor's report indicates there were no apparent contraventions and if it appears there were no reasonable grounds for the application.

Read more about the Clarington Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee.

The Application must be made within ninety days after the latest of:

1. The filing date under Section 88.30 of the Act;
2. The Candidate or Third Party Advertiser’s supplementary filing date, if any, under Section 88.30 of the Act;
3. The date the Candidate or Third Party Advertiser filed a financial statement, if the statement was filed within 30 days after the applicable filing date under Section 88.30;
4. or The date on which the Candidate or Third Party Advertiser’s extension, if any, under s. 88.23(6) and s. 88.27(3) of the Act expires.

In accordance with the Administrative Practices and Procedures, within 10 days after receiving the application, the Clerk will forward the application to the compliance audit committee.

Within 30 days after the committee has received the application, the committee will consider the application and decide if it should be granted or rejected.

The committee's decision may be appealed to the Superior Court of Justice within 15 days after the decision is made, and the court may make any decision the committee could have made.

If the committee decides to grant the application, it will appoint an auditor to conduct a compliance audit of the candidate’s election campaign finances.

The auditor will promptly conduct an audit of the candidate’s election campaign finances and prepare a report outlining any apparent contravention by the candidate.

The auditor will submit the report to the candidate, the Municipal Clerk, and the applicant. Within 10 days after receiving the report, the Clerk will forward the report to the compliance audit committee.

The committee will consider the report within 30 days after receiving it. If the report concludes that the candidate appears to have contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances, the committee will decide whether to initiate a legal proceeding against the candidate for the apparent contravention.