Nominations Process

The 2010 Municipal Elections was held Monday, Oct. 25, 2010.

This page was prepared to help individuals wishing to run for the office of Regional Chair or Councillor. Please note these are just guidelines, and are not inclusive of all information that is relevant to the candidates.

Please visit the Municipal Elections Act website for a more comprehensive guide or to download a copy of the provincially prepared Candidates Guide.

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996, as amended, state that a candidate's election period begins on the date the candidate files a Nomination Paper.

Contributions are considered to be any money, goods or services given to and accepted by, or on behalf of the candidate for his/her campaign.

It is the responsibility of each candidate to ensure they are qualified to run in the office to which they seek nomination.

Nomination Procedure

Nominations are to be filed in the following way:

• In person or through an agent, (faxed nominations are NOT acceptable), at the Regional Clerk's office weekdays from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. from Jan. 4, 2010, up to and including Sept. 9, 2010, and on Sept. 10, 2010 (Nomination Day) from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• The nomination must be in the prescribed form, be accompanied by a declaration of qualification in the prescribed form, signed by the person being nominated and be accompanied by the prescribed filing fee.
• The fee for Regional Councillor is $100 and Regional Chair is $200. All fees are to be payable in cash, certified cheque or money order (certified cheques and money orders should be made payable to "Regional Municipality of Waterloo").
• If after filing a Nomination Form, a candidate wishes to file a nomination for a different office in the same election, the first nomination shall be deemed to have been withdrawn at the time the second nomination is filed. The filing fee paid for the first nomination is then deemed to have been paid for the latest filing, if the two nominations are for the same jurisdiction.

All nominations filed on or before 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 10, 2010, shall be examined by the Regional Clerk before 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13, 2010. If satisfied that a person is qualified to be nominated and that the nomination complies with the Municipal Elections Act, the Clerk shall certify the nomination by singing the nomination paper.

If not satisfied that a person is qualified to be nominated or that the nomination complies with this Act, the Clerk shall reject the nomination and shall, as soon as possible, give notice of the fact to the person who sought to be nominated and to all candidates for the office. The Regional Clerk's decision to certify or reject a nomination is final.

Qualifications for Regional Council

Every person is qualified to hold office as a member of the Regional if he/she is not disqualified under any provincial statute or otherwise prohibited by law from voting in the election. A person is entitled to be an elector at an election held in a local municipality if, on voting day, he or she:

• Resides in the local municipality or is the owner or tenant of the land there, or the spouse or same-sex partner of such owner or tenant
• Is a Canadian citizen
• Is at least 18 years old.

The qualifications would allow an individual who lives anywhere in the Region to run a campaign in the Cities (regional wards) for the position of Regional Councillor. Candidates for the position of Regional Councillor do not have to reside in the local municipality where they are seeking election. For example, someone seeking election under the City of Waterloo Regional Council position could reside in the City of Kitchener, Cambridge or the Townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot or Woolwich.

Disqualifications for Regional Council

The following are not eligible to be elected to the Regional Council or to hold office as a member of the Regional Council:

• An employee of a municipality or of a local board as defined by the Municipal Affairs Act except during a leave or absence (for clarifications on employees please see the section below entitled Municipal Employees)
• A judge of any court
• A member of the Legislative Assembly or the Senate or the House of Commons of Canada
• A Crown employee who is a deputy minister or who is in a position designated in the regulations made under the Public Services Act, for the purposes of section 11 thereof
• 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
• A person who was convicted of the corrupt practice described in the Municipal Elections Act if voting in the current election is less than four (4) years after voting day in the election in respect of which he or she was convicted;

Municipal Employees

Any municipal employee of a local board is eligible to be a candidate for and to be elected as a member of Regional Council if he or she takes an unpaid leave of absence beginning no later than nomination day and ending on voting day, in accordance with the Municipal Act.

If an employee is elected, he or she shall forthwith resign his or her position as such employee.

A volunteer firefighter is not ineligible just because of this involvement.

Reasons for the Regional Clerk to Reject a Nomination

Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, the Regional Clerk is required to reject or certify nominations of candidates. The Regional Clerk may consider the following criteria in the decision to reject or certify individual nominations:

• The candidate has refused or declined to provide proof of qualification or identification suitable to the Regional Clerk.
• The candidate does not satisfy subsection 29(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (the candidate is qualified to hold office and is eligible or prohibited from being nominated).
• The nomination form is not complete in its entirety or the prescribed filing fee has not been paid.
• The necessary financial statement was not filed for the previous regular election or any new election in which the individual may have been a candidate.

There may be other circumstances in which a candidate is disqualified from being nominated or elected other than those identified above. It is the responsibility of each candidate to ensure that they are not disqualified from being nominated for the office. Every candidate is required to complete a Declaration of Qualification on the nomination form.

Free Seminars for Area Candidates

A list of free seminars were conducted by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for candidates in Waterloo Region wishing to run in the 2010 Municipal Elections.