Candidate Nominations

Before Nomination

Before you file your nomination paper consider the following suggestions:

Read the Town's Election webpages (You're off to a good start!)
Read the Ministry of Municipal Affairs Candidate's Guide
Read the Ontario Education Services Corporation Guide for School Board Trustees - will be added when made available
Talk to former and current members of elected office
Review the Municipal Elections Act
Make yourself aware of the financial responsibilities and reporting requirements, campaign roles, potential penalties, the public nature of all documentation submitted to the Clerk's Office for a campaign
Obtain the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Guide to get a sense of what life is like as an elected member of a Municipal Council. Click here to obtain a copy of Lead Where You Live: A guide on running for municipal council

Nomination Requirements

A person may be nominated for an office by filing a nomination with the Clerk, in person or by an agent.

25 Endorsement Signatures Required: The nomination for an office on Council must be endorsed and signed by at least 25 persons:

Each person who signs the candidate's endorsement may endorse more than one nomination
All persons endorsing a nomination must be eligible to vote in an election for an office within the Town of Caledon, if a regular election was held on that day that the person endorses the nomination
Endorsements must be completed and signed using the Endorsement of Nomination Form 2 (print multiple copies, as Form 2 only allows for 5 endorsements)
Collecting more than 25 endorsements is good practice in case one endorsement is completed incorrectly
School Board Trustee candidates do not require endorsements

Requirements for Nomination: The nomination must be completed in full and filed in person by the candidate or an agent of the candidate and includes:

Identification for proof of identify (eg: Driver's Licence, Passport, Birth Certificate, etc.)
A completed copy of the Nomination Paper Form 1
A declaration of qualification (Form 2) from each of the 25 people endorsing the nomination (for Mayor, Regional Councillor and Councillor candidates only)
The filing fee (see below)

If filing by agent, the agent must present a commissioned Agent Appointment Form.

Documentation Submitted by Candidates

Other documentation and forms that will be submitted by yourself or an agent upon nomination will include:

Notice to Returning Officer as to Candidate's Proper Name
Candidate Information Consent Form (this will be provided to you within the Nomination Package upon filing your information with the Town)
Notice Penalties (this will be provided to you within the Nomination Package upon filing your information with the Town)
Declaration of Qualifications for Council (if applicable)
Declaration of Qualifications for School Board Trustee (if applicable)
Declaration of Proper Use of the Voter's List (this will be provided to you within the Nomination Package upon filing your information with the Town)

The Municipal Elections Act states that all forms and correspondence submitted by the candidate to the Clerk are deemed to be public documents and can be viewed, at Town Hall, during regular business hours.

A nomination package of forms will be available for pick up at Town Hall (6311 Old Church Road in Caledon East) for all prospective candidates. Packages have not been completed yet. Please check back.

Nomination Period

Nominations can only be filed during the nomination period, which is:

Monday, May 2, 2022 to Thursday, August 19, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (excluding weekends and holidays); and
Nomination Day: Friday, August 19, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Filing Fee to Become a Candidate

There is a $200.00 filing fee for Mayoral candidates and a $100.00 filing fee for Regional Councillor, Councillor or School Board Trustee candidates.

The filing fee must be paid when you file your nomination paper and the payment must be:

Cash
Certified cheque or money order payable to "The Corporation of the Town of Caledon"
Debit or Credit Card
No Personal Cheque will be accepted

The filing fee is not considered a campaign expense, but rather, a personal expense, and will be returned to you upon successful filing of your campaign financial statement.

Certification of Nomination Papers

Prior to 4:00 p.m. on the Monday following Nomination Day (August 22, 2022), the Clerk shall examine each nomination filed, and if satisfied the person is qualified to be nominated and that the nomination complies with the Municipal Elections Act, the Clerk shall certify as such on the nomination filed.

If not satisfied, the Clerk shall reject the nomination and give notice to the person who sought to be nominated and all other candidates for that office.

The Clerk's decision to certify or reject a nomination is final. The Clerk will consider the following criteria to certify or reject individual nominations:

Candidate has refused or declined to provide proof of identification
Candidate does not satisfy the requirements set out in the Municipal Elections Act in Section 29 (1)
The nomination form is incomplete
The filing fee has not been paid
The necessary financial disclosure was not filed for the previous election in which the individual may have been a candidate

A full list of certified candidates will be available on the Registered Candidates page.

The Campaign Period

Starting Your Candidacy

In order to become a candidate you must file a Nomination Paper with the Clerk. The earliest you can file is Monday, May 2, 2022.

The Clerk requires an appointment be made for filing of nominations. Please email legislative.services@caledon.ca to book an appointment or you can also call us at 905.584.2272 ext. 2366.

Nomination papers will be filed at:

Town of Caledon - Town Hall, 6311 Old Church Road, Caledon, ON L7C 1J6

Next Steps after Nomination Papers have been Submitted

Election Signs

The Town's Sign By-law regulates the use and placement of election signs during a campaign. Each candidate must submit a completed Election Sign Application Form and pay the applicable deposit prior to displaying any election signs. Further, the By-law prohibits the placement of election signs prior to September 19, 2022, being the thirty-fifth (35th) day before voting day in the 2022 Municipal and School Board Election. Learn more about the rules and regulations for election signs.

Fundraising and Spending Start Date

You cannot raise or spend any money on your campaign until you file your nomination paper. The earliest you can file your nomination paper is Monday, May 2, 2022. *Remember to make an appointment before showing up at Town Hall.

Name on Ballot

The ballot lists the candidates running for Mayor, Regional Councillor, Councillor and School Board Trustee. The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 determines how a candidate's name appears on the ballot. The following rules apply:

Only the first and last name will appear on the ballot
Titles, such as Doctor, Reverend, etc., are not permitted on the ballot
Names are arranged in alphabetical order by office

Candidates upon nomination will file a Notice to Returning Officer as to Candidates' Proper Name Form if the nomination paper filing differs from their legal name on their photo identification. Candidates may provide the Clerk with their preferred phonetic pronunciation of their name to assist with the reading out of their names for electors using the accessible voting option.

Changing Office (e.g. from Councillor to Mayor, etc.)

If, after filing a nomination for an office, a candidate decides to run for a different office on Council or School Board, the proper documentation must be filed with the Clerk during the nomination period. To change office a candidate must:

File a Withdrawal of Nomination From the old office
File a Nomination Paper for the new office

If the nomination fee is the same for the new office, no extra payment is required. In regards to the campaign finances:

The two offices (campaigns) are separate and contributions and expenses cannot be transferred from one to the other
There must be a separate bank account for each campaign

A separate financial statement for each office must be filed.

The first filing (for the withdrawn office) must show all financial activity from the day the nomination was filed until the day the withdrawal was filed
The second filing must show all financial activity from the day the new nomination was filed until the end of the campaign period

Withdrawing a Nomination

A withdrawal of a nomination must be done in person with the Clerk. If a candidate decides they no longer wish to run in the municipal election, they must:

Complete the Withdrawal of Nomination Form; and
Bring the form and proper photo identification to the Clerk

The last day for a candidate to withdraw their nomination is 2:00 p.m. on Nomination Day, Friday, August 19, 2022. If a candidate withdraws their nomination, they must submit a Financial Statement (please use Internet Explorer to access this Provincial form) showing all contributions and expenses including the nomination fee from the day the nomination paper was filed until the day of withdrawal from office. This Financial Statement is due by 2:00 p.m., the last Friday in March following the election.

Once the Withdrawal Form has been accepted, the nomination fee will be refunded by the end of November of an election year.

If an agent is bringing in the withdrawal form on the candidate's behalf, the agent must provide the following:

Withdrawal of Nomination Form completed by the candidate; and
Agent Appointment Form (if not already submitted)
Photo identification from both the candidate and agent