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.

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

The nomination period for 2026 opens on Friday, May 1, 2026 and ends Friday, August 21, 2026 at 2 p.m. Feel free to book an appointment by emailing regionalclerk@regionofwaterloo.ca or drop-in. 

All individuals wishing to register as a candidate for the 2026 election must file their nomination papers within this timeframe. 

The prescribed nomination forms which includes the requirement for 25 supporting signatures will be available on the Ministry of Municipal Affairs website. 

Registered third parties are a requirement in the 2026 municipal election.  Third parties are required to register with the  clerk of the local municipality in which the campaign will run. Third party campaigns related to the office of the Regional Chair must be registered in each of the local municipalities. For further information please consult the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. 

If an eligible elector believes, on reasonable grounds, a candidate has contravened the rules of the Municipal Elections Act relating to election campaign finances, he or she can request a compliance audit of the candidate's finances. Additional information and/or requests for a compliance audit will be made available in Fall 2026.

The Sign by-law was amended in 2021 to prohibit the placing of election signs on Regional Roads. 

For more information, please contact the clerk's office.

Form 1

Form 2

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.