The City of Toronto will be carrying out a 25-ward election on Oct. 22 after the Court of Appeal for Ontario stayed a lower court decision that would have seen a previously approved 47-ward election.
The changes occurred when the Ontario legislature passed Bill 5, the Better Local Government Act. The revised nomination deadline was Sept. 21.
As municipal staff work to adapt to the new 25 wards, which align with federal and provincial ridings, Global News has compiled a guide with everything you need to know before election day.
This story will be updated throughout the campaign as a part of Global News’ coverage of the Toronto election and as new information becomes available.
Where and when do I vote?
Locations to vote on election day (Oct. 22) were uploaded to the City of Toronto’s MyVote website on Sept. 24. By typing in your address on that site, it will give you a personalized list of candidates, a ward map, voting locations and an ability to check if you’re on the voters’ list.
Voting hours on Oct. 22 are between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Employers are required to ensure residents have a three-hour period off work in order to vote.
For voters who are able to get to the voting location but are unable to get out of the vehicle, the City of Toronto allows curbside voting if a friend or support person notifies elections staff at the voting location.
TORONTO ELECTION 2018: What are the rules for campaign signs?
Click here for a city-wide ward map and here for maps of each of the 25 wards.
If you have questions about specific voting situations, you can call the elections office at 416-338-1111 or email elections@toronto.ca.
How to vote in advance of the Oct. 22 election
The City of Toronto will hold five days of advance polling between Oct. 10 and 14. Residents can vote at one of two polling locations in each ward, or at Toronto city hall. A list of advance poll locations can be found here. Advanced voting day hours are between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Who can vote in the election?
You have to be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, a resident in Toronto (the only way you can vote as a non-resident of Toronto is if you or your spouse own or rent property in Toronto) and not prohibited from voting under law. Students or residents who are away during the voting period can appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf (see below).
How to have someone vote on your behalf or how to get help voting at home
If you are unable to cast a ballot on any of the voting days, you can appoint someone (an eligible Toronto elector) to vote on your behalf. The forms can be obtained from the city clerk’s office as of Sept. 25 by visiting the election services office, calling 416-338-1111, or emailing voterregistration@toronto.ca.
Once you get the form, you’ll need to fill it out in full, sign it, provide your identification (photocopies are accepted) and say who want your proxy to vote for. The form will need to be certified by the city clerk or her designate. City staff will also need original identification of the person who is being appointed to carry out the vote.
A person who is not a family member can only act as a proxy once. A proxy can vote for any or all immediate family members. A person acting for someone as an executor or as a trustee is required to have a certified proxy form.
For more information on the proxy process, click here.
City staff noted every voting location will be accessible and there’s a home voting pilot project to assist those who cannot get out to vote due to illness or disability. For information on this and proxy voting, residents were encouraged to check the Toronto elections website or call 416-338-1111.
What identification is needed to vote?
Toronto city clerk’s office staff had to prepare two sets of voter information cards during the court appeal process. Shortly after the court decision came down on Sept 19, the cards were mailed out. The voter information cards aren’t required to vote and can’t be used as the only piece of identification to vote.
Voters are required to show one piece of identification with a name and a Toronto address. Click here for a full list of acceptable pieces of identification. City staff said photo ID is not required.
Popular forms of identification include a driver’s licence, a photo ID card, a pay stub, a bank statement, a utility bill, or an Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program direct deposit statement.
Where can I see the results on Oct. 22?
Global News will be publishing profile stories for each of the city council races closer to October’s election date, which will be updated with results after the polls close on election day. The results for all of the races will be posted on the City of Toronto’s election website.
List of Toronto city council candidates and wards
* indicates an incumbent member of council running for re-election
Mayor
Dobrosav Basaric
Chris Brosky
Drew Buckingham
Brian Buffey
Logan Choy
Daryl Christoff
Kevin Clarke
Sarah Climenhaga
Mike Gallay
Saron Gebresellassi
Faith Goldy
Brian Graff
Tofazzel Haque
Monowar Hossain
Christopher Humphrey
Chai Kalevar
Andrzej Kardys
Jennifer Keesmaat
Steven Lam
Kris Langenfeld
Jim McMillan
Gautam Nath
Michael Nicula
Thomas O’Neill
Joseph Osuji
Joseph Pampena
Josh Rachlis
D!ONNE Renée
Jim Ruel
James Sears
Knia Singh
John Tory*
Jakob Vardy
Ion Gelu Vintila
Jack Weenen
City of Toronto’s 25 wards (2018-2022)
Councillor, Ward 1 Etobicoke North
Vincent Crisanti*
Peter D’Gama
Naiima Farah
Michael Ford*
Michelle Garcia
Christopher Noor
Shirish Patel
Gurinder Patri
Carol Royer
Councillor, Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre
Bill Boersma
John Campbell*
Angelo Carnevale
Stephen Holyday*
Erica Kelly
Councillor, Ward 3 Etobicoke–Lakeshore
Svitlana Burlakova
Iain Davis
Pamela Gough
Mark Grimes*
Robert Gunnyon
Michael Julihen
Michael Loomans
Amber Morley
Peggy Mulder
Patrizia Nigro
Councillor, Ward 4 Parkdale–High Park
Kalsang Dolma
David Ginsberg
Valerie Grdisa
Taras Kulish
Mercy Okalowe
Nick Pavlov
Alex Perez
Gord Perks*
Evan Tummillo
José Vera
Councillor, Ward 5 York South–Weston
Keaton Austin
Deeqa Barre
Joey Carapinha
Frank Di Giorgio*
Fred Fosu
Harpeet Gulri
Frances Nunziata*
Cedric Ogilvie
Lekan Olawoye
Chiara Padovani
Luis Portillo
Councillor, Ward 6 York Centre
Maria Augimeri*
James Pasternak*
Louise Russo
Edward Zaretsky
Councillor, Ward 7 Humber River–Black Creek
Kristy-Ann Charles
Amanda Coombs
Tiffany Ford
Winston La Rose
Giorgio Mammoliti*
Anthony Perruzza*
Deanna Sgro
Kerry-Ann Thomas
Councillor, Ward 8 Eglinton–Lawrence
Jennifer Arp
Christin Carmichael Greb*
Mike Colle
Darren Dunlop
Lauralyn Johnston
Beth Levy
Randall Pancer
Josh Pede
Peter Tijiri
Dyanoosh Youssefi
Councillor, Ward 9 Davenport
Ana Bailão*
Mark Balack
Nahum Mann
Troy Young
Councillor, Ward 10 Spadina–Fort York
Michael Barcelos
Al Carbone
Joe Cressy*
Ahdam Dour
April Engelberg
Dean Maher
Andrew Massey
Rick Myers
Karlene Nation
John Nguyen
Kevin Vuong
Edris Zalmai
Andrei Zodian
Sabrina Zuniga
Councillor, Ward 11 University–Rosedale
Michael Borrelli
Marc Cormier
Mike Layton*
Joyce Rowlands
George Sawision
Michael Shaw
Nicki Ward
Councillor, Ward 12 Toronto–St. Paul’s
Iola Fortino
Artur Langu
Ian Lipton
Josh Matlow*
Joe Mihevc*
Bob Murphy
Councillor, Ward 13 Toronto Centre
Darren Abramson
Khuran Aftab
Jon Callegher
Richard Forget
Tim Gordanier
Jonathan Heath
John Jeffery
Walied Khogali Ali
Gladys Larbie
Barbara Lavoie
Ryan Lester
Kyle McNally
Catherina Perez
George Smitherman
Jordan Stone
Lucy Troisi*
Megann Willson
Rob Wolvin
Kristyn Wong-Tam*
Councillor, Ward 14 Toronto–Danforth
Lanrick Bennett
Chris Budo
Dixon Chan
Marisol D’Andrea
Paula Fletcher*
Mary Fragedakis*
Ryan Lindsay
Lawrence Lychowyd
Chris Marinakis
Alexander Pena
Councillor, Ward 15 Don Valley West
Jon Burnside*
Tanweer Khan
Minh Le
Jaye Robinson*
Nikola Streker
Councillor, Ward 16 Don Valley East
Aria Alavi
David Caplan
Diane Gadoutsis
Stephen Ksiazek
Pushpalatha Mathanalingam
Denzil Minnan-Wong*
Dimitre Popov
Michael Woulfe
Councillor, Ward 17 Don Valley North
Shelley Carroll
Steven Chen
Kasra Gharibi
Ian Hanecak
Stella Kargiannakis
Kostas Kokkinakis
Ken Lister
Christina Liu
Erin O’Connor
Councillor, Ward 18 Willowdale
Farah Aslani
Lily Cheng
Sonny Cho
Danny De Santis
David Epstein
John Filion*
Norman Gardiner
Andrew Herbst
Albert Kim
Gerald Mak
Sam Mathi
Sam Moini
David Mousavi
Jin Chung Park
Winston Park
Hamid Shakeri
Saman Tabasi Nejad
Councillor, Ward 19 Beaches–East York
Brad Bradford
Norval Bryant
Paul Bura
Dragan Cimesa
David Del Grande
Diane Dyson
Matthew Kellway
Donald Lamoreux
Brenda MacDonald
Joshua Makuch
Valérie Maltais
Frank Marra
Paul Murton
Morley Rosenberg
Adam Smith
Veronica Stephen
Councillor, Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest
Gerard Arbour
Mohsin Bhuiyan
Paulina Corpuz
Gary Crawford*
Michelle Holland-Berardinetti*
John Letonja
Robert McDermott
Suman Roy
Curtis Smith
Bruce Waters
Councillor, Ward 21 Scarborough Centre
Paul Beatty
Vivek Bhatt
Fawzi Bidawi
Randy Bucao
Zia Choudhary
Zamir ul hassan Nadeem
Arfan Navdeed
Raphael Rosch
Nur Saifullah
Michael Thompson*
Councillor, Ward 22 Scarborough–Agincourt
Jude Coutinho
Jim Karygiannis*
Norm Kelly*
Michael Korzeniewski
Vincent Lee
Roland Lin
Jason Woychesko
Councillor, Ward 23 Scarborough North
Ashwani Bhardwaj
Maggie Chi
James Chow
Dameon Halstead
Anthony Internicola
Sheraz Khan
Cynthia Lai
Mahboob Mian
Neethan Saba
Felicia Samuel
Sandeep Srivastava
Councillor, Ward 24 Scarborough–Guildwood
Paul Ainslie*
Itohan Evbagharu
Reddy Muttukuru
Priyanth Nallaratnam
Keiosha Ross
Sajid Saleh
Ganga Sasthrigal
Michelle Spencer
Emery Warner
Morlan Washington
Councillor, Ward 25 Scarborough–Rouge Park
Amanda Cain
Paul Cookson
Daniel Cubellis
Jasper Ghori
Reza Khoshdel
Cheryl Lewis-Thurab
Dave Madder
Jennifer McKelvie
Christopher Riley
Neethan Shan*
Joseph Thomas
Click here for the City of Toronto’s official list of council, school board and withdrawn candidates.