Nominations Process

This page is intended to help people who want to run for the office of Regional Chair or Regional Councillor. Below is a list of guidelines which may not include all information 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. 

Before you begin:

  • The candidate's election period begins the day the candidate files a Nomination Paper accompanied by the Endorsement of Nomination. (if you are having issues with the fillable form try printable form page 1, page 2)
  • Nominations open Monday, May 2, 2022 and close on Friday, August 19, 2022 at 2 p.m. 
  • 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.
  • Proof of Canadian Citizenship (e.g. birth certificate, Canadian passport, Canadian citizenship papers) will be required when filing nomination papers. 
  • Proof of residency or non-residency elector status (e.g. Ontario driver's licence, Ontario photo health card, property tax bill) will be required when filing nomination papers. 
  • All candidates are legally required to submit their financial statements by the required date.

Qualifications for Regional Council

Every person is qualified to hold office as a member of the Regional Council 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 for the position of Regional Councillor in the Cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo. 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 for the City of Waterloo Regional Councillor 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 Regional Council or to hold office as a member of the Regional Council:

  • An employee of a municipality who has not taken an unpaid leave of absence and resigned
  • A judge of any court
  • An MP, MPP or a Senator
  • An inmate serving a sentence in a penal or correctional institution
  • If an employee is elected, he or she shall resign his or her position
  • A volunteer firefighter is not ineligible

Nomination procedure

Nominations can be filed:

  • In person or through an agent, (faxed nominations are not acceptable), at the Regional Clerk's office weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from May 2, 2022 up to and including Thursday, August 18, and on Friday, August 19, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Proof of qualifying address (i.e. driver's licence, Ontario photo Health Card etc.) and Canadian Citizenship (Canadian passport, birth certificate etc.) is required. 
  • The nomination must be in the prescribed form, be accompanied by an endorsement of nomination in the prescribed form, signed by the person being nominated and be accompanied by the prescribed filing fee, along with the required 25 supporting signatures from eligible electors. 
  • If you have problems downloading any of the forms please contact the Regional Clerk's office.
  • The fee to run for Regional Councillor is $100; Regional Chair is $200. All fees are to be paid by cash, debit, 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, August 19, 2022 shall be examined by the Regional Clerk before 4 p.m. on Monday, August 22, 2022.  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 signing 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.

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 or the prescribed filing fee has not been paid or include required supporting signatures
  • 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. 

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