Who is eligible to vote in a municipal elections?
Anyone can vote in a municipal election who, on the day of the election, is:
- 18 years of age or older;
- a Canadian citizen; and
- You qualify to vote in the Township of Rideau Lakes
There are 3 ways that you can qualify to vote in a municipality:
- As a resident elector if you live in the municipality. You may own,
rent, live in shared accommodation where you do not pay rent or live
in the municipality but do not have a fixed address. Being a resident
elector is the most common type of eligibility. - As a non-resident elector if you own or rent property in a
municipality, but it’s not the one where you live. You can only be a
resident elector in 1 municipality. However, you can be a non-resident
elector in any other municipality (or municipalities) where you own or
rent property. - As the spouse of a non-resident elector if your spouse owns or
rents property in the municipality or municipalities other than the one
where you live. If your spouse qualifies as a non-resident elector in a municipality,
then you can also vote in that municipality’s election.
Neither you nor your spouse qualify as a non-resident elector if you do not personally own or rent the property in the municipality. For example, if the property is owned by your business or your cottage is owned by a trust, you would not qualify as a non-resident elector.
Students
There is a special rule for students who may be living away from home while they attend school. If you are a student and consider your "home" to be the place where you live when you are not attending school (i.e. you plan on returning there), then you are eligible to vote in both your “home” municipality and in the municipality where you currently live while attending school.
Voting in more than 1 Municipality
If you qualify to vote in more than one municipality, you can vote in all of those municipal elections. For example, if you qualify as a resident elector in 1 municipality, and a non-resident elector in 3 other municipalities, you can vote in all 4 of those municipal elections.
Wards
Rideau Lakes is comprised of 4 Wards. You must vote in the Ward where you live.
If you are also the owner or tenant of a property in another ward, you are not permitted to vote in that Ward instead.
Make sure that you are on the voters’ list for that qualifying address.
Your name must be on the voters’ list in order for you to cast a ballot.
Who is not eligible to vote in a municipal elections?
- A person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution.
- A corporation.
- A person acting as executor or trustee or in any other representative capacity, except as a voting proxy in accordance with section 44 of the Municipal Elections Act.
- A person who was convicted of the corrupt practice described in subsection 90(3) of the Municipal Elections Act(External link), if voting day in the current election is less than five years after voting day in the election in respect of which he or she was convicted.
Who is eligible to vote in a school board election?
An individual is elgible to vote in a school board election if they are:
- a Canadian citizen;
- at least 18 years old on Voting Day;
- a resident of the Township of Rideau Lakes or the owner or tenant of residential land in the Township of Rideau Lakes or are the spouse of such owner or tenant
If you are eligible to vote in a municipality because you are the owner or tenant (or spouse of an owner or tenant) of commercial property, you are not eligible to vote for a school trustee.
To determine which school board an individual is eligible to vote for, the following criteria is used:
- English language public school board - This is the default - unless you are qualified to vote for a separate or French board, you will vote for the English public school board in your area.
- English language separate school board - You must be Roman Catholic and you must be a separate school board supporter or the spouse of a separate school board supporter. If your spouse is a Roman Catholic and you are not, you are not eligible.
- French language public school board - You must be a French language rights holder and you must be a supporter (or the spouse of a supporter) of the French language public school board.
- French language separate school board - You must be a Roman Catholic and a French language rights holder and you must be a supporter (or the spouse of a supporter) of the French separate school board. If your spouse is a Roman Catholic and you are not, you are not eligible.
"Supporter" refers to which school board the school portion of your property taxes goes to. The default is the public school system. In order to be a separate school supporter you must direct your taxes to the separate school system. Contact the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (External link) (1-866-296-6722) for more information.
As a Canadian citizen, voting is your right and responsibility. Your community is shaped by the outcome of an election.
The individuals who are elected will make many important decisions including how tax dollars are spent in your community.
Next Election Day
2026 Municipal Election
Monday, October 26, 2026
VOTE using the INTERNET or TELEPHONE
Eligibe electors will receive a Voter Information Letter by Mail (Mailing Date is To be Determined)
The Voter Information Letter is only intended for the person it is addressed to. If you are not an eligible elector and receive a letter, please contact the election help line at 1-800-928-2250 and speak to an election official OR Return the letter, unopened, to the Municipal Office at 1539 County Road 8, Delta ON, K0E 1G0
The Voter Information Letter will contain all of the information required for you to either use the internet for voting or to use your telephone. It will also include a specific PIN - Personal Identification Number, that is specific to the elector. Do not share your PIN.
Using your PIN (found on the Voter Information Letter mailed to your home) and Date of Birth, vote by INTERNET or TELEPHONE anytime from Monday, October 19, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. through to Monday, October 26, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. (You can vote at anytime 24/7)
Please follow the instructions on your Voter Information Letter carefully.
If using Telephone Voting, please listen carefully to the instructions.
A unique website address and a unique phone number will be provided within the Voter Information Letter.
If you are voting by internet, type the website address at the top of your browser, not in the search bar.
Please type the web address as it is shown in your letter.
VOTER HELPLINE
For assistance, CALL 1-800-928-2250 or EMAIL
The VOTER HELPLINE is available during the following times:
Monday, October 19th, 2026: 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 20th, 2026 through Friday, October 23rd, 2026: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Monday, October 26th, 2026: 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
IN-PERSON VOTING ASSISTANCE AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY
There are NO paper ballots.
If you require access to a computer or touchtone phone or need assistance which cannot be resolved via the HelpLine, please visit one of the following locations during the hours listed.
Remember to bring your Voter Information Letter.
Library Staff are appointed as Election Helpers for the purposes of assisting with help voting.
For those needing help with getting added to the Voters' List or making changes to their information, please contact the Voter Helpline noted above.
Visit any of the Rideau Lakes Public Library locations during their open hours:
What Ward are you in?
Check your tax bill. The following are the Wards associated to the roll #
Ward 1 (Bastard and South Burgess): Roll Number begins with 0831-831
Ward 2 (South Elmsley): Roll Number begins with 0831-828
Ward 3 (South Crosby): Roll Number begins with 0831-836
Ward 4 (North Crosby-Newboro): Roll Number begins with 0831-839
Click on the map to enlarge
Information on how to register to vote in provincial, municipal and school board elections in Ontario.
Register for local and provincial elections, all in one place
Elections Ontario maintains the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario, also known as the “voters' list” or “register”.The voters' list, contains information for individuals eligible to vote in provincial and local municipal elections in Ontario. Learn more about the voter's list on Election Ontario's Register To Vote page, including how to:
- Register voters
- Register absentee voters
- Register future voters
Use the Elections Ontario Register To Vote application to:
- Confirm, update or add your name and home address
- Search, add or remove a property other than your home address
- Remove yourself from the register
- Remove a deceased person from the register
- Check the status of a request
If you or your spouse own or rent property other than your home address in Ontario, you might be eligible to vote in more than one municipal election.
Watch on YouTube: Register to vote
School support
As of January 1, 2024, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is no longer responsible for collecting voter information for local elections. However, MPAC is legislatively required to collect school support designations. Update your school support through MPAC’s Online School Support page.
As a property owner in Ontario, you are required to support a school system, even if you do not have children or your children are not currently attending school. This information can be found on your Property Assessment Notice.For more information about school support designations, visit the MPAC website.
Student voters
For local municipal elections, students are entitled to vote in multiple municipalities if their permanent home and temporary student home are in different municipalities or Territory Without Municipal Organization areas. Students can update or add their “home address” to the Voter’s List as their permanent family home and list their temporary student home as an additional property they, or their spouse, own or rent.
The following resources are available for Voters to review which will provide further information on the 2026 Municipal Election:
