Ontario municipal candidate nominations close ahead of fall elections

The registration deadline for those seeking to run in Ontario’s fall municipal elections has passed.

Candidates had until 2 p.m. Friday to submit their registration.

Nominations for school board trustee candidates had the same cutoff date and time.

Candidates who are running for positions without any opponents will be acclaimed — or elected by default — Monday at 4 p.m.

In 2018, the number of acclaimed candidates who faced no competition grew to 120 compared with 103 during the previous municipal campaign in 2014.

Toronto Mayor John Tory, who is seeking re-election, congratulated all those who put their names forward.

In a statement on Friday, Tory said he looks forward to discussing his vision for the city with its residents over the coming weeks.

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Several sitting municipal politicians, including the mayors of Hamilton and Ottawa, have announced they will not run in the fall election.

Keenan Aylwin, a city councillor in Barrie, Ont., pointed to the divisive nature of the current political system as one of the factors that led him not to run again.

“I need time to heal and to find a way to engage in community that brings joy and genuine connection,” he wrote in a statement. “Our current formal political system does not allow for that.”

Voters across Ontario are set to cast ballots in municipal council and school board elections on Oct. 24.