In total, 32 of Ontario's 444 municipalities will not hold elections, as their entire councils were elected by acclamation. In total, 139 municipalities had their mayors or reeves acclaimed. Elections were not held in Armour, Armstrong, Brethour, Chamberlain, Chapleau, Charlton and Dack, Dawn-Euphemia, Dorion, Drummond/North Elmsley, East Garafraxa, Enniskillen, Evanturel, Front of Yonge, Gordon/Barrie Island, Hilton, Hilton Beach, Hornepayne, Howick, Kerns, Lake of the Woods, Laurentian Hills, Minto, Oil Springs, Perry, Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, South River, Tay, The Archipelago, Thessalon and Thornloe.[2]
Electoral System
In 2016, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed Bill 181, the Municipal Elections Modernization Act,[3] which permitted municipalities to adopt ranked ballots for municipal elections.[4]
London was the only municipality to use ranked ballots in the 2018 election itself, with the decision in that city being made by London City Council in 2017,[5] while Cambridge and Kingston held referendums concurrently with their 2018 elections on whether to adopt ranked ballots for the next municipal elections in 2022, with both referendums passing.[6][7][8]
However, in 2020 the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed the Supporting Ontario's Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020,[9] which removed the option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections. Therefore, London will switch back to First-past-the-post voting for the 2022 election, the cities of Cambridge and Kingston will not be able to switch to ranked ballots.[10]
A by-election was held in Ward 4 on June 19, 2023. The seat was vacated after Natalie Stam resigned for health reasons.[23] The results were as follows:[24]
Council Candidate
Vote
%
Marie Trainer
675
37.05
Tony Dalimonte
641
35.18
Albert Marshall
356
19.54
Jesse Little
101
5.54
James Kaspersetz
49
2.69
Kawartha Lakes
The results for mayor of Kawartha Lakes and Kawartha Lakes City Council were as follows:[25]
Map of Kawartha Lakes' eight wards
Mayor
Incumbent mayor Andy Letham did not run for re-election.[26] Running to replace him includes city councillors Pat Dunn, Doug Elmslie and Kathleen Seymour-Fagan.[27]
Mayoral Candidate
Vote
%
Doug Elmslie
7,982
35.72
Pat Dunn
5,295
23.40
Kathleen Seymour-Fagan
3,949
17.45
Faye McGee
2,800
12.37
Jim Riches
1,371
6.06
William Denby
1,232
5.44
Kawartha Lakes City Council
Ward 1
Candidate
Vote
%
Emmett Yeo (X)
1,004
44.23
Don Logan
597
26.30
Jim Harris
453
19.96
Raymonde Blais Couture
216
9.52
Ward 2
Candidate
Vote
%
Pat Warren
1,823
64.51
Jamie Brown
579
20.49
John Snider
424
15.00
Ward 3
Candidate
Vote
%
Mike Perry
2,207
61.80
Doug Dickerson
1,364
38.20
Ward 4
Candidate
Vote
%
Dan Joyce
548
24.17
David Skrabek
538
23.73
Ian Nicolson
466
20.56
Jamie Campbell
297
13.10
Trevor Johnston
187
8.25
Tyler Richards
182
8.03
Angel Godsoe
49
2.16
Ward 5
Candidate
Vote
%
Eric Smeaton
2,182
57.95
Duncan Gallacher
699
18.57
Janet Di Bello
569
15.11
Wesley Letsholo
190
5.05
Gloria Graham-Weir
125
3.32
Ward 6
Candidate
Vote
%
Ron Ashmore (X)
1,632
59.00
Gerard Jilesen
1,134
41.00
Ward 7
Candidate
Vote
%
Charles McDonald
2,035
64.03
Danielle Willette
696
21.90
Diane Holder
447
14.07
Ward 8
Candidate
Vote
%
Tracy Richardson (X)
1,700
83.33
Greg Ward
340
16.67
Norfolk County
The candidates for mayor of Norfolk County and for Norfolk County Council were as follows:[28]
Map of Norfolk County's wards
Mayor
Incumbent mayor Kristal Chopp ran for re-election. Running against her were county councillors Amy Martin and Ian Rabbitts, former Simcoe town councillor Bill Culver and businessman David Bate.[29]
Mayoral Candidate
Vote
%
Amy Martin
8,199
42.27
Kristal Chopp (X)
5,127
26.43
Bill Culver
3,926
20.24
Ian Rabbitts
1,638
8.44
David Bate
508
2.62
[30]
Norfolk County Council
Ward 1
Candidate
Vote
%
Tom Masschaele (X)
1,310
64.50
Randy Mawhiney
721
35.50
Ward 2
Candidate
Vote
%
Linda Vandendriessche (X)
1,346
80.89
Lucas Tulpin
318
19.11
Ward 3
Candidate
Vote
%
Michael Columbus (X)
1,616
82.24
Jeanette Gomori-Cole
349
17.76
Ward 4
Candidate
Vote
%
Chris Van Paassen (X)
1,108
54.10
William Murray
504
24.61
Jeff Smrcka
300
14.65
Tony Lasanowski
136
6.64
Ward 5 2 to be elected
Candidate
Vote
%
Alan Duthie
2,375
28.48
Doug Brunton
1,906
22.85
Peter Black
1,427
17.11
Kristine Mitchell
1,402
16.81
Brian Jones
703
8.43
Ryan J. Taylor (X)
527
6.32
Ward 6
Candidate
Vote
%
Adam Veri
2,654
64.00
Peter Butler
1,015
24.48
Pamela Taylor
216
5.21
Holly Ann Smith
141
3.40
Adam Wilson
121
2.92
Ward 7
Candidate
Vote
%
Kim Huffman (X)
1,073
45.33
Lorraine Skarratt
742
31.35
Grant MacDonald
447
18.88
Lana Plank
105
4.44
Orillia
Mayor
Incumbent mayor Steve Clarke did not run for re-election of Orillia.[31] The candidates for mayor of Orillia are as follows:[32]
Incumbent mayor Diane Therrien did not for re-election.[35] Candidates running to replace her include former Liberal MPP Jeff Leal and city councillors Henry Clarke and Stephen Wright.[36]
^"Legislation passes allowing Ontario municipalities to use ranked ballots". The Globe and Mail, June 7, 2016.
^"London, Ont., votes to become 1st Canadian city to use ranked ballots". CBC News Windsor, May 2, 2017.
^Andrew Coyne, "Election reform is coming to Canada — somewhere, somehow, and soon". National Post, October 6, 2017.
^"Cambridge voters approve ranked balloting measure but low turnout could spike it". Global News, October 23, 2018.
^"Kingston says “Yes” to electoral reform". Kingstonist, October 23, 2018.
^"Bill 218, Supporting Ontario's Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
^"Method of voting | City of London". london.ca. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
^"Municipal Election". City of Belleville. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Candidates". County of Brant. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^"Slate of election hopefuls includes lots of new blood". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
^"Candidates". City of Brantford. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Municipal election". City of Brockville. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"At least three new councillors for Chatham-Kent confirmed as nominations close". Chatham-Kent This Week. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
^"Official 2022 Candidate Nominations". Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"List of candidates". City of Cornwall. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"2022 Municipal Election". Town of Gananoque. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
^"Three candidates vying for mayor in Gananoque, Ont". Global News. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
^"Election". Haldimand County. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Hewitt reflects on election loss". Simcoe Reformer. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
^"Haldimand councillor Natalie Stam resigns due to health issues". Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
^"Unofficial voting results for 2023 Ward 4 By-Election". Haldimand County. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
^"Certified List of Candidates and Third Party Advertisers". City of Kawartha Lakes. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Letham will not stand for a third term as mayor". Lindsay Advocate. April 21, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
^"Kawartha Lakes council deemed 'Lame Duck' with so many new faces on the horizon". Toronto Star. August 24, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
^"2022 Municipal Election". Norfolk County. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Police chief steps down from mayoral race". Simcoe Reformer. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
^Election results. Norfolk County
^"BREAKING NEWS: Orillia Mayor Steve Clarke not running again". Orillia Matters. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
^"City of Orillia 2022 Municipal Election Candidates Unofficial List of Candidates" (PDF). City of Orillia. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^"List of Certified Candidates" (PDF). City of Pembroke. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Candidates for the 2022 Municipal Election". City of Peterborough. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"EXCLUSIVE: Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien won't seek a second term in 2022". Kawartha Now. November 12, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
^"Mayoral candidates have high hopes for Peterborough Airport". Toronto Star. September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
^"It's unofficial: Matt Wren to be acclaimed as Brockville mayor". The Recorder & Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
^"Municipal Elections". Town of Prescott. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
^"Unofficial List of Candidates and Third Party Advertisers". Prince Edward County. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^"Candidates for the 2022 Municipal Election". City of Quinte West. January 26, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Here is the municipal election candidate list for Lanark, Leeds and Grenville areas". The Hamilton Spectator. August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
^"Al Strathdee acclaimed for a third term as Mayor of St.Marys". My Stratford Now. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
^"Candidates". Town of St. Marys. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
^"Dan Mathieson won't seek re-election as Stratford's mayor". CTV News Kitchener. December 30, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
^"Municipal Elections". City of Stratford. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
^"CITY OF ST. THOMAS - 2022 MUNICIPAL ELECTION CERTIFIED LIST OF CANDIDATES" (PDF). City of St. Thomas. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
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