Candidates Information

Council is the City’s decision-making body. Role of Council (Section 224 of the Municipal Act):

1. To represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality;
2. To develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality;
3. To determine which services the municipality provides;
4. To ensure that administrative policies, practices and procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council;
5. To ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality;
6. To maintain the financial integrity of the municipality; and
7. To carry out the duties of council under this or any other Act.

Role of Mayor (Section 225 & 226.1 of the Municipal Act):

• To act as chief executive officer of the municipality;
• Preside over council meetings so that its business can be carried out efficiently and effectively;
• To provide leadership to the council;
• Without limiting clause, to provide information and recommendations to the council with respect to the role of council described in clauses 224 (d) and (d.1);
• To represent the municipality at official functions; and
• To carry out the duties of the head of council under this or any other Act.

As chief executive officer of a municipality, the head of council shall,

1. uphold and promote the purposes of the municipality;
2. promote public involvement in the municipality’s activities;
3. act as the representative of the municipality both within and outside the municipality, and promote the municipality locally, nationally and internationally; and
4. participate in and foster activities that enhance the economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality and its residents.

The Mayor has a prominent and very public profile. Many citizens within Kawartha Lakes, and elsewhere in Ontario will have high and often varied expectations for the Mayor. The head of council (Mayor) must find a way to balance these expectations and special responsibilities.

Municipal decisions, however, are made by council as a whole. Traditionally, the Mayor does not have any more power than any other member of council to make decisions on behalf of the municipality and each member of council only has one vote. With the introduction of Strong Mayor Powers by the Provincial government in 2023, the Mayor in City of Kawartha Lakes is empowered with specific duties and powers in order to support the provincial priority of increasing the housing supply by 1.5 million homes by 2031. For more information, see the Strong Mayor Powers, Duties, and Decisions page.

• Attendance at City functions and ceremonies, such as Remembrance Day or flag raising events
• Ward or Town-hall style meetings
• Community groups meetings like cottage associations, or charity groups
• Individual constituent meetings
• Committees of council – councillors determine the number of committees they wish to participate in
  • The average is approximately 8 committees per councillor and the time commitment to each varies
• Acting or Deputy Mayor responsibilities with appointments approved by Council

While the role of Mayor is a full-time commitment, the role of City Councillor depends on your lifestyle and the level of availability you intend to provide your constituents. Some past councillors have continued to work in their full and part-time careers, while to others being councillor is their full-time career, or a service to their community in their retirement. Some typical time commitments include:

• Regular Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings - 4-10 hours/month
• Special Council meetings and information sessions – 2-6 hours/month
• Council/Meeting agenda review and reading: 4-6 hours/month (Council Agendas are typically 50-500 pages long)
• Committee meetings – varies 6 hours/month
• Constituent issues – varies 20 hours/month
• Purchasing bid openings – 1 hour/month, if required
• Processing emails, phone calls, research – 10 hours/month
• Attendance at conferences, community events, training opportunities - varies

City Council adopted By-law 2022-052 to establish salaries and benefits for Members of City Council. The table below sets out the current remuneration and plan for future years.

For the position of Mayor or Councillor you must be:

• A Canadian citizen
• At least 18 years of age
• A resident of the City of Kawartha Lakes, or
• Own or lease property in the City of Kawartha Lakes (or be the spouse of the owner or lessee)
• Eligible to vote

You must not be:

• A judge of any court
• A member of the Provincial Legislature, the Federal House of Commons or Senate who has not resigned from their office by the close of nominations. Proof of resignation must be provided by the close of nominations or the Clerk will not certify the nomination
• A candidate who failed to file the necessary financial statement(s) in the last municipal election or by-election in any municipality (Candidates in Default).

City of Kawartha Lakes Employees:

Employees of the City of Kawartha Lakes who wish to run for mayor or councillor must take an unpaid leave of absence before filing a nomination paper. The employee must provide a copy of the documentation from Human Resources showing that they have taken the leave of absence and the effective date. Persons appointed by by-law to certain legislated positions of the City may be required to resign or have the by-law amended before filing a nomination (example: Line Fence Viewers, Livestock Investigators, etc...).

Volunteer Firefighters: According to the Municipal Elections Act, a person shall not be considered an employee of a municipality or local board for the purposes of this section by reason only of being a volunteer firefighter as defined in the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997.

To vote in the municipal election, you must be a qualified elector.

If you are a qualified elector and your name is on the voters list, you are eligible to vote. The voters' list is compiled from information received from Elections Ontario and is made available for review at the City’s Elections Office, and Municipal Service Centres approximately two months prior to voting day.

If in the period between elections a person has reason to re-assess their school board support please refer to the Elections Ontario information in regard to enumeration.

If you meet the qualifications to be a candidate in Kawartha Lakes, you do not have to live in the ward you want to run for office. You must however qualify as an elector somewhere within Kawartha Lakes.

Example: A candidate who resides in Ward 1 may run for the Office of Councillor for Ward 8.

Before you file your nomination paper consider the following suggestions:

• Read this website (You're off to a good start!)
• Review resources from groups like Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO)
• Read the Ministry of Municipal Affairs Candidates' Guide
• Read the Ontario Education Services Corporation Guide for School Board Trustees
• Talk to former and current members of elected office
• Review the Municipal Elections Act
• Review the Clerk's Procedures for the Municipal Election
• Review the Use of Corporate Resources for Election Purposes Policy
• Make yourself aware of the financial responsibilities and reporting requirements, campaign roles, potential penalties, the public nature of all documentation submitted to the Clerk's Office for a campaign.
• Review the Candidate Information Session Material (see below)

A person may be nominated for an office by filing a nomination in the Clerk’s Office, in person or by an agent.

25 Endorsement Signatures Required: The nomination for an office on Council must be endorsed and signed by at least 25 persons:

• Each person who signs the candidate's endorsement may endorse more than one nomination;
• All persons endorsing a nomination must be eligible to vote in an election for an office within Kawartha Lakes, if a regular election was held on the day that the person endorses the nomination;
• Endorsements must be completed and signed on Form 2 (print multiple copies, as Form 2 only allows for 5 endorsements);
• Collecting more than 25 endorsements is good practice in the event that one endorsement is completed incorrectly;
• School Board Trustee candidates do not require endorsements.

Requirements for Nomination: The nomination must be completed in full and filed in person by the candidate or an agent of the candidate and includes:

1. Identification for proof of identity (eg: Driver's Licence, Passport, Birth Certificate, etc.)
2. A completed copy of the Nomination Paper (Form 1)
3. A declaration of qualification (Form 2) from each of the 25 Kawartha Lakes electors endorsing the nomination (for Mayor and Council candidates only)
4. The filing fee (see below)

If filing by agent, the agent must present a commissioned Agent Appointment Form.

Other documentation and forms that will be submitted by yourself or an agent upon nomination will include:

1. Notice to Returning Officer as to Candidate's Proper Name
2. Candidate Information Consent Form
3. Notice of Penalties
4. Declaration of Qualifications for Council (if applicable)
5. Declaration of Qualifications for School Board Trustee (if applicable)
6. Declaration of Proper Use of the Voters’ List

The Municipal Elections Act states that all forms and correspondence submitted by the candidate to the City Clerk are deemed to be public documents and can be viewed, at the City Clerk's Office, during regular business hours.

A nomination package of forms is available for pick up at the Clerk's Office for all prospective candidates.

Nominations can only be filed during the nomination period, which is:

• By appointment only from Wednesday, January 15, 2025 to Friday, February 21, 2025 from 8:30am to 4:30pm (excluding weekends and holidays); and
• Nomination Day: Monday, February 24, 2025 from 9am to 2pm (No Appointment Required)
  

There is a $200 filing fee for Mayor candidates and a $100 filing fee for Councillor or School Board Trustee candidates.

The filing fee must be paid when you file your nomination paper and the payment must be:

• Cash
• Certified cheque or money order payable to “Treasurer, City of Kawartha Lakes”
• Debit or Credit Card
• No Personal Cheque will be accepted

The filing fee is not considered a campaign expense, but rather, a personal expense, and will be returned to you upon successful filing of your campaign financial statement.

Prior to 4:00pm on the Nomination Day (February 24, 2025), the City Clerk shall examine each nomination filed, and if satisfied the person qualified to be nominated and that the nomination complies with the Municipal Elections Act, the City Clerk shall certify as such on the nomination filed.

If not satisfied, the City Clerk shall reject the nomination and give notice to the person who sought to be nominated and all other candidates for that office.

The City Clerk’s decision to certify or reject a nomination is final. The City Clerk will consider the following criteria to certify or reject individual nominations:

• Candidate has refused or declined to provide proof of identification;
• Candidate does not satisfy the requirements set out in the Municipal Elections Act in Section 29 (1);
• The nomination form is incomplete;
• The filing fee has not been paid
• The necessary financial disclosure was not filed for the previous election in which the individual may have been a candidate.

A full list of certified candidates will be made available on the Candidates List page.

In order to become a candidate you must file a Nomination Paper with the City Clerk. The earliest you can file is Wednesday January 15, 2025. Please see the detailed information on the Candidate Nomination above.

You may file your nomination paper by appointment only at:

City of Kawartha Lakes Clerk’s Office
City Hall
26 Francis Street
Lindsay, Ontario

705-324-9411 ext. 1322 or 1888

Once the nomination paper has been accepted, a candidate should open a bank account in the name of the campaign, and may start accepting contributions and start incurring expenses.

Upon the successful filing of your nomination papers, you will be provided with a Candidate Election Information Handbook that provides more detailed information. Consult your Candidate Election Information Handbook for detailed Candidate information.

Some other suggestions are:

• Become involved in the community
• Research and understand the role of a Mayor, Councillor or School Trustee
• Review the Ministry of Municipal Affairs Candidates Guide
• Take an optional course like AMO's "Lead Where You Live" (fees apply)

Understand the:

• Financial responsibilities
• Financial reporting requirements
• Campaign roles
• Potential penalties

Review the relevant legislation such as the:

• Clerk's Procedures for the Municipal Election
• Use of Corporate Resources for Election Purposes Policy
• Municipal Act
• Municipal Elections Act
• Municipal Conflict of Interest Act
• Education Act (for School Board Trustees)
• Election Sign By-law
• Current City By-laws on the City website

A Candidates' Information Session was held on June 27, 2022 from 4-6pm. This information session was for prospective and registered candidates for City Council or School Board or Third Party Advertisers. The information session covered topics like:

• Roles and responsibilities of elected officials and staff
• Eligibility to run for various offices
• The nomination process
• Important dates
• Campaign finances
• Compliance audits
• Third party advertising
• Specifics about the 2022 Kawartha Lakes Election

A copy of the material from the 2022 Candidate Information Session can be found here:

• Presentation Slides
• Candidate Information Session Video

Candidates have the responsibility to run an accessible campaign. Consult your Candidate Election Information Handbook for more information on how to run an accessible campaign. For more details regarding accessibility during the Municipal Election, please read the Accessibility Plan document.

All candidates (including acclaimed or withdrawn candidates) are required to file a financial statement using the prescribed form. It is good practice for campaigns to review the Financial Statement form (Simple PDF) prior to incurring any contributions or expenses, and arrange their accounts, spreadsheets, and ledgers according to the various categories that are required to be reported on the form. Candidates, whose campaign contributions and total expenses exceed $10,000, are required to file an auditor's report with their financial statement that has been prepared by an auditor licenced under the Public Accounting Act. Financial statements are due in the Clerk's Office at City Hall (26 Francis Street in Lindsay) between May 27, 2025 and 2pm on June 24, 2025.

Complete and signed financial statements may be filed electronically to election@kawarthalakes.ca during the prescribed filing period (May 27, 2025 - June 24, 2025). The date of the electronic submission shall be the official date received.  The original identical paper copy of the financial statements must be delivered to the Clerk’s Office within 10 days following the electronic submission.

There is a 30 day grace period for late filings of Financial Statements until July 24, 2025 at 2pm, however there is a late filing fee of $500. The $500 late filing fee is the property of the municipality. 

Candidates seeking advice on completing their financial statements should consult:

• The Municipal Elections Act (section 88)
• The Ministry of Municipal Affairs Candidates Guide (Page 29)
• External advice (accountant, auditor, lawyer)
• Your previous campaign's Financial Statement (if applicable)

The City Clerk's Office may assist candidates by showing where to find assistance, not how to complete your financial statement. It is ultimately the candidate's responsibility to submit a financial statement that is to the best of their knowledge, true and correct. The City Clerk's Office may review the final financial statement for completion, not accuracy.

Failure to submit a financial statement will find the candidate in default of the Municipal Elections Act. Penalties include:

• The candidate forfeits the office to which he or she was elected and the office shall be deemed to be vacant; and
• Until the next regular election has taken place, the candidate is ineligible to be elected or appointed to any office to which the Municipal Election Act applies.

If a candidate fails to file a required financial statement or auditor’s report (or any other document required under Section 78 or 79.1 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996), fails to pay over a surplus or exceeds the spending limit for the office, the candidate forfeits any office to which he or she was elected and the office is deemed to be vacant.  The penalties will take effect on the deadline for the filing of the documents. If the candidate applies to the Ontario Court of Justice for an extension of the time to file the financial statement and fails to file the documents by the date established by the Court, the penalties will take effect at the end of the period of extension.

Sections 91 and 92 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 set out penalties with respect to violations under the Act as follows:

91. (1) If a person is convicted of a corrupt practice under this Act, or of an offence under the Criminal Code (Canada) in connection with an act or omission that relates to an election to which this Act applies, then, in addition to any other penalty provided for in this Act,

(a) Any office to which the person was elected is forfeited and becomes vacant; and

(b) The person is ineligible to be nominated for, or elected or appointed to, any office until the next two regular elections have taken place after the election to which the offence relates.

Exception:

(2) However, if the presiding judge finds that the person committed the corrupt practice or offence under the Criminal Code (Canada) without any intent of causing or contributing to a false outcome of the election, clause (1) (b) does not apply.

92.(3) If the expenses incurred by or on behalf of a candidate exceed the amount determined for the office under section 76, the candidate is liable to a fine equal to the excess, in addition to any other penalty provided for in this Act.

92.(5) A candidate is guilty of an offence and, on conviction, in addition to any other penalty that may be imposed under this Act, is subject to the penalties described in subsection 80(2) if he or she,

(a) Files a document under section 78 or 79.1 that is incorrect or otherwise does not comply with that section; or

(b) Incurs expenses that exceed what is permitted under section 76

Note: The entire Financial Report is considered a public document. These documents may be inspected by any person upon request at the Office of the Clerk during normal office hours, and are also available online. Any person may make extracts from the documents and is entitled to copies of the documents upon payment for their preparation, at such rates as the Clerk may determine. Clerks are required to make the documents available electronically, at no cost to the requester.

All financial reports are posted on the City's website. This includes a listing of the names and address of all contributors. You may wish to consider advising contributors that their personal information will be public and displayed on the City’s web site after the election.  The information remains on the website until after the next municipal election.

You may accept contributions or incur campaign expenses during your campaign period only. Your campaign period begins on the day the clerk receives your nomination. In most cases, your campaign will end on May 26, 2025. Exceptions are if you:

• withdrew your nomination, your campaign ends on the date you informed the clerk in writing that you wanted to withdraw
• were not certified as a candidate and your name did not appear on the ballot, your campaign ends on nomination day (February 24, 2025)

Candidates wishing to extend their campaign period beyond May 26, 2025 (allowing you to continue making expenses and receiving contributions up until December 24, 2025), should have notified the City Clerk in writing (on prescribed Form 6) advising of your request, on or before 4:30pm, May 26, 2025. Candidates who have done this must file two financial statements:

• The initial filing (Form 4), which details all campaign finances from the day the nomination was filed until May 26, 2025 (due by 2:00pm on June 24, 2025).
• The supplementary filing (Form 5), which details all campaign finances from the day the nomination was filed until December 24, 2025 (due by 2:00pm on January 23, 2026).

On or before June 23, 2025, a candidate may apply to the Superior Court of Justice to extend the time for filing a financial statement. If the court is satisfied there are mitigating circumstances justifying a later date for filing the document. The court may grant an extension for the minimum period of time necessary to enable the candidate to file the document, but the court shall not grant an extension of more than 90 days. If a candidate makes an application to the Court, the candidate shall notify the City Clerk in writing before 2 p.m. on the last day for filing a financial statement (June 24, 2025).

Candidates may file after the June 24, 2025, 2:00pm deadline up until July 24, 2025 at 2:00pm, if their Financial Statement is accompanied by a $500 fee to avoid penalties under the Municipal Elections Act.

Section 41 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996

The ballot lists the candidates running for mayor, councillor and school board trustee, and will be mailed to voters, as a part of the Voting Kit, prior to Election Day. The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (Act) and City Clerk policies determine how a candidate's name appears on the ballot. The following rules apply:

• Only the first and last name (as shown on the candidate's nomination paper) will appear on the ballot;
  • If the candidate wishes and the clerk agrees, another name that the candidate also uses may appear on the ballot instead of or in addition to his or her legal name.
  • If an alternate name is used on the ballot, the City Clerk will retain documentation as to the candidate's true legal name
• Titles, such as Doctor, Reverend, etc., are not allowed on the ballot;
• Names are arranged in alphabetical order by last name
• Any instance where two or more candidates have the same last name, names will be ordered by first name

Candidates upon nomination will file a Notice to Returning Officer as to Candidates' Proper Name Form if the nomination paper filing differs from their legal name on their photo identification. Candidates shall provide the Clerk's Office their preferred phonetic pronunciation of their name to assist with the reading out of their names for electors using the Telephone voting.

If, after filing a nomination for an office, a candidate decides to run for a different office on council or school board, the proper documentation must be filed with the City Clerk by appointment during the nomination period. To change office a candidate must:

• File a Withdrawal of Nomination from the old office
• File a Nomination Paper for the new office

An additional nomination fee will be required for the new Nomination paperwork. The Nomination fee is tied to the financial statement. The nomination fee(s) will be returned to you when you file the respective Financial Statements.

In regards to the campaign finances:

• The two offices (campaigns) are separate and contributions and expenses cannot be transferred from one to the other
• There must be a separate bank account for each campaign

A separate financial statement for each office must be filed.

• The first filing (for the withdrawn office) must show all financial activity from the day the nomination was filed until the day the withdrawal was filed
• The second filing must show all financial activity from the day the new nomination was filed until the end of the campaign period

Section 36 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996

A withdrawal of a nomination must be done in person at the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall. If a candidate decides they no longer wish to run in the municipal election, they must:

• Complete the Withdrawal of Nomination form; and
• Book an appointment, and bring the form and proper photo identification to the City Clerk’s Office.

The last day for a candidate to withdraw their nomination is 2:00pm, on Nomination Day, February 24, 2025. If a candidate withdraws their nomination, they must submit a financial statement showing all contributions and expenses including the nomination fee from the day the nomination paper was filed until the day of withdrawal from office. This financial statement is due by 2:00pm, June 24, 2025, following the election.

Once the withdrawal form has been accepted, the nomination fee will be refunded by the end of November of an election year.

Faxed or mailed-in forms are not accepted.

If an agent is bringing in the withdrawal form on the candidate's behalf, the agent must provide the following:

• Withdrawal of Nomination form completed by the candidate; and
• Agent Appointment Form (if not already submitted)
• Photo identification from both the candidate and agent.