Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Election - Haldimand County

Election

Election Results

Results for the 2022 Municipal Election have been certified by the Municipal Clerk.

Looking for information on the Ward 4 By-Election? Visit the Ward 4 By-Election webpage.

Haldimand County and staff from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing hosted a virtual Candidate and Third Party Advertiser Information Session on April 13, 2022 for anyone interested in running as a candidate in the 2022 municipal or school board election.

The presentations from the session are included below:

Election Sign Guide

Please review the Election Signage Guide and the County’s Sign By-law 1064/10 for information related to election sign requirements.

Spending and Campaign Limits

This information can be found below under Forms.

Forms (some forms may require Adobe Reader to view)

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Procedures for the Use of Optical Scan Vote Tabulators

Procedures for the Use of Optical Scan Vote Tabulators will be updated when information becomes available.

Interested in Learning More?

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) has an online course Lead Where You Live: A guide on running for municipal council to help individuals better understand what being a member of Council brings, specifically the responsibilities, limits, and dynamics of governing.

The following resources may also be helpful:

What is Third Party Advertising?

Third party advertising refers to advertisements or other materials that support, promote or oppose a candidate, or support, promote or oppose a “yes” or “no” answer to a question on the ballot. Third party in this context is a person or entity who is not a candidate.

Third party advertising is separate from any candidate’s campaign, and must be done independently from a candidate. Any advertisements or materials that are made and distributed by a candidate, or under a candidate’s direction, are part of the candidate’s campaign.

Third party advertising is a way for those outside of the candidate’s campaign to express support of or opposition to candidates (or a “yes” or “no” answer to a question on the ballot) and to try to persuade voters to vote a certain way.

A third party advertisement is an advertisement in any broadcast, print, electronic or other medium that promotes, supports or opposes a candidate, or a “yes” or “no” answer to a question on the ballot. Advertisement includes traditional ads as well as materials such as brochures or signs.

Who can be a Third Party Advertiser?

Only those who have registered can spend money on third party advertising. The following are eligible to register as a third party advertiser:

  • any person who is a resident in Ontario
  • a corporation carrying on business in Ontario
  • a trade union that holds bargaining rights for employees in Ontario

If 2 or more corporations are owned or controlled by the same person or people, or if 1 corporation controls another, they are considered to be a single corporation. If the same person or people own or control multiple corporations, only 1 of those corporations may register to be a third party in a municipality.

There is no restriction against family members or campaign staff of candidates registering to be third party advertisers. However, third party advertising must be done independently of the candidate. If a person with close ties to a candidate wishes to register they should consider how these activities may look to the public and how they would be able to demonstrate that they were not working in co-ordination with the candidate.

How to register to be a Third Party Advertiser?

The prescribed nomination form (below) may also be obtained at the Clerk’s Office, Haldimand County Administration Building, 53 Thorburn Street South, and filed during the following times:

  • During normal working hours of the Clerk’s Office, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from May 2, 2022 to October 21, 2022.

Please refer to the 2022 Third Party Advertisers’ Guide for more information.

Forms (some forms may require Adobe Reader to view)

If you are a resident, owner or tenant of property in Haldimand County, a Canadian citizen, and 18 years of age, you can vote. Students living in another municipality while attending school can vote in both their school and ‘home’ municipality.

Haldimand County will be offering internet voting for the first time during the Advance Voting period only. Stay tuned for more information on this.

For both the Advance and Election Day voting period, eligible Haldimand County residents will have the ability to Vote Anywhere, regardless of their ward.

Please refer to the 2022 Voters’ Guide for more information.

Appointing a Proxy

If voting in person or online is not feasible, a voter may appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf. Both the voter and the person appointed as proxy must be on the Voters’ List and the attached form must be filled out and certified at the Haldimand County Administration Building during office hours. On October 12, 13 and 14, the office will be open until 5 p.m. and on October 15, the office will be open from noon until 5 p.m. for certification of proxies. The instructions for filling out the form are also included here.

Please do not leave your ID at home! Voters must present identification showing their name and qualifying address in order to vote.

Review the link below to ensure you bring the proper identification with you to your voting location.

The goal of Haldimand County’s Election Team is to ensure that every elector is provided with the opportunity to vote independently in the 2022 Municipal Election. Voting locations are inspected before Election Day to ensure they are accessible for people who use mobility devices/wheelchairs.

You can bring a family member with you to the voting location to help you vote, or you can ask for help from an Election Official.

Please refer to our 2022 Municipal Election Accessibility Plan and 2022 Municipal Election Accessibility Report for more information.

General Information

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996, requires that every municipality appoint a compliance audit committee prior to October 1 of an election year.

The City of Brantford, County of Brant, Haldimand County and Norfolk County have appointed a joint Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC) for the 2022 Municipal Election. The term of office for this committee is four years beginning on November 15, 2022.

The powers and functions of MECAC are set out in subsections 88.33 through 88.36 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, as amended (Act). MECAC is a quasi-judicial body and does not report to Council. MECAC will be required to:

  • review and consider a compliance audit application submitted by an elector and decide whether it should be granted or rejected;
  • if the application is granted, appoint an auditor to conduct a compliance audit;
  • receive the auditor’s report;
  • consider the auditor’s report and if the report concludes that the candidate appears to have contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, as amended, relating to election campaign finances, the committee may commence legal proceedings against the candidate for the apparent contravention;
  • review and consider any reports prepared by the Clerk pursuant to subsection 88.34 or 88.36 of the Act;
  • in the case where the Clerk’s report identifies that a contributor has contravened the Act as described in subsection 88.34 or 88.36, the committee may commence legal proceedings against the contributor for the apparent contravention.

For more information, please refer to the MECAC Terms of Reference and the MECAC Procedures.

For information on the current MECAC membership, please refer to Report CLE-06-2022.

Decisions

Here you will find all decisions made by the Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee.

Apply for a Compliance Audit

An eligible elector who believes that a candidate or registered third party advertiser has contravened the election campaign finance rules the under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996  may apply for a compliance audit of their campaign finances.

To apply for a compliance audit of a mayoral candidate, councillor candidate, or registered third party advertiser:

  1. Submit an application in writing to the clerk of the municipality, setting out the reasons of their belief that a candidate or registered third party advertiser has contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 relating to election campaign finances.

The submission should include:

  • Applicant’s name and contact information (address, phone number and email)
  • Candidate Details:
    • Candidate’s first and last name
    • Electoral position: Mayor or Councillor (indicate Ward)
  • Registered Third Party Advertiser Details:
    • Name of third party advertiser

The Clerk must receive the compliance audit application by the following date:

  • For the initial financial filing deadline of March 31, 2023, the Clerk must receive the compliance audit application form by June 29, 2023.

The Compliance Audit Committee will consider the application and, if granted, will appoint an auditor to audit the campaign finances. The Committee will consider the audit results and decide whether to commence legal action.

Compliance audit applications can be submitted to the Clerk at clerk@haldimandcounty.on.ca or delivered to 53 Thorburn St. S., Cayuga, ON N0A 1E0.

It’s important to be informed when you’re heading to the polls, and that’s why we curate resources on this page related to municipal elections. You’ll find links to information from both the municipal and provincial levels of government.