Why Vote | Fact Sheets | Other Resources
Election day is October 26, 2026
This is your guide on how to vote in the municipal election — what topics to consider voting for, how to vote if you don’t have ID or a permanent address, and the questions worth asking every candidate who knocks on your door.
Why vote?
Voting has the power to help create a community where everyone can thrive. Voting in the municipal election gives you a say in who makes important decisions about your community’s services, growth and future.
Decisions made by municipal governments have some of the biggest impacts on our daily lives. Read our municipal election FAQ below to understand how your vote impacts your community.
Municipal Election FAQ
- Clean drinking water
- Public transit
- Roads, sidewalks and bike lanes
- Garbage collection and recycling
- Snow removal
- Economic development
- Emergency services — fire, ambulance and police
- Libraries
- Parks and recreation
- Arts, culture and tourism
- Housing
- Planning new developments and enhancing neighbourhoods
- Social services
- And much more
A school board trustee is a community representative and advocate for public education, elected to a four-year term.
Together, trustees form the Board of Trustees that governs the school board — setting its vision and goals, developing policies, allocating resources, and driving programs and operations.
All residents vote for trustees in one of four board systems (English public, English Catholic, French public, French Catholic), and you do not need to have children.
Our local school boards are:
City councillor — Guelph elects two councillors from each of its six wards.
With the Mayor, they form City Council, serve four-year terms, and each member has one vote — including the Mayor.
The County of Wellington (County) is an “upper tier” municipality. It is a federation of local municipalities within its boundary which are referred to as “lower tier” municipalities.
County council is comprised of 16 members including seven mayors and nine directly elected ward councillors.
County councillor — Specific wards will elect one councillor to the “upper tier” Wellington County wide council.
Ward Councillor — Each ward elects one councillor to the local “lower tier” municipal council.
They are elected indirectly every four years through the local municipal elections — meaning you vote in your own township or town, and that determines County Council’s makeup.
To learn where you what ward you are in visit the webpage for you municipality:
Visit Register to Vote to ensure your information is all up to date for the upcoming municipal election.
To vote in the municipal election you must be:
- A Canadian citizen, and
- At least 18 years of age or older on voting day, and
- A resident in the City of Guelph, or you or your spouse own or rent property in the city, and
- Not prohibited from voting under any law
Municipal Election Fact Sheets
Municipal politics can be confusing! Our Municipal Election 2026 Fact Sheets are created to help you understand the issues impacting our community. Click on the images below to access the PDF document.
