Information for Candidates

Information for Candidates

Hastings Highlands Council

Council is made up of 1 elected Mayor, 1 elected Deputy Mayor, and 5 elected Councillors. 

Council is the Municipality’s decision-making body. The role of Council is (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.

Most municipal decisions are made by Council as a whole. With the expansion of Strong Mayor Powers by the Provincial Government in 2025, the Mayor in the Municipality of Hastings Highlands has been 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, please visit:
https://www.hastingshighlands.ca/municipal-services/council/strong-mayor-powers/

The Role of the Mayor

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

  • To act as chief executive officer;

    • uphold and promote the purposes of the municipality;

    • promote public involvement in the municipality’s activities;

    • act as the representative of the municipality both within and outside the municipality, and promote the municipality locally, nationally and internationally; and

    • participate in and foster activities that enhance the economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality and its residents

  • Preside over council meetings;

  • To provide leadership to council;

  • To provide information and recommendations to 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.

The Mayor has a prominent and very public profile. Many citizens within Hastings Highlands, 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.

As of 2025, the Mayor of Hastings Highlands retains special "Strong Mayor Powers" that permit them to take certain actions without the explicit consent of City Council, including: 

  1. Appointing a Chief Administrative Officer;

  2. Hire municipal division heads and change organizational structure (excluding certain statutory positions);

  3. Create, assign functions, and appoint chairs of certain committees of Council;

  4. Bring forward matters for Council consideration relating to a Provincial Priority;

  5. By-law power related to Provincial Priorities;

  6. Veto power, and City Council override;

  7. Direct Staff;

  8. Delegate certain powers; and

  9. Present and preside over the City's annual and in-year budget processes.

 

Role of Councillors

  • Attendance at municipal functions and ceremonies

  • Town-hall style meetings;

  • Community groups meetings like cottage associations, or charity groups;

  • Individual constituent meetings;

  • Committees of Council;

 

To be Mayor or Deputy Mayor or a Councillor

You must be:

  • A Canadian citizen;

  • At least 18 years of age (as of October 26, 2026);

  • A resident of the Municipality of Hastings Highlands; or

  • Own or lease property in the Municipality of Hastings Highlands (or be the spouse of the owner or lessee)

  • Eligible to vote

Not Eligible to be Mayor or Deputy Mayor or a Councillor

You are ineligible to be a candidate in Hastings Highlands if you are:

  • any person who is not eligible to vote in Hastings Highlands

  • A judge of any court

  • A MP, MPP, or Senator 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;

  • an inmate serving a sentence in a penal or correctional institution;

  • A candidate who failed to file the necessary financial statement(s) in the last municipal election or by-election in any municipality. There are no Candidates in Default from the last Hastings Highlands Municipal Election in 2022.

Municipality of Hastings Highlands Employees

You cannot work for a municipality and be on its Council at the same time. Employees for the Municipality of Hastings Highlands who wish to run for Mayor, Deputy Mayor, or Councillor must take an unpaid leave of absence before filing a nomination paper. The employee must provide a copy of the documentation showing that they have taken the leave of absence and the effective date. Persons appointed by bylaw to certain legislated positions of the Municipality may be required to resign or have the bylaw amended before filing a nomination (example: Line Fence Viewers, Livestock Investigators, etc...)

If you are an employee of a different municipality and you want to run for office in Hastings Highlands, you do not have to take a leave of absence or resign. However, you should check with your employer to see if there are any policies in place that could affect you.

Volunteer Firefighters

According to the Municipal Elections Act, any 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. Therefore individuals who are volunteer firefighters are likely eligible to run for Council. Volunteer firefighters who have other full or part-time work at the Municipality of Hastings Highlands must follow the rules for all Municipal Employees. 

Nomination Requirements

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 must be endorsed and signed by at least 25 persons:

  • A person may endorse more than one nomination;

  • A person endorsing a nomination must be eligible to vote in an election for an office within Hastings Highlands, 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.

  • Once the 2026 Form 2 becomes available, candidates may collect signatures early, but signatures must be on the prescribed form for 2026. 

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 Hastings Highlands 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.

Your campaign begins when you file your Nomination Paper with the Municipal Clerk. The earliest you can file is Friday, May 1, 2026. Please see the detailed information on the Candidate Nomination above.

You may file your nomination paper by appointment only at:

The Municipality of Hastings Highlands
Returning Officer Suzanne Huschilt

33011 Hwy 62N
P.O. Box 130
Maynooth, ON K0L 2S0

Phone: 613 338-2811 ext. 277
[email protected]

 

Fundraising

You cannot raise or spend any money on your campaign until you file your nomination paper. The earliest you can file your nomination paper is May 1, 2026. Any evidence of such activity may require a Compliance Audit investigation.

Once the nomination paper has been accepted, open a bank account in the name of the campaign in order to accept contributions and to incur expenses.

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 December 31, 2026. Exceptions are if you:

    • withdrew your nomination, your campaign ends on the date you informed the clerk in writing that you wanted to withdraw (this also applies to candidates who die during the campaign); or

    • were not certified as a candidate and your name did not appear on the ballot, your campaign ends on nomination day (August 21, 2026)

Candidate Information Session

A Candidates' Information Session will be held on May 19/26 at the Dungannon Rec Centre in L'Amable. Time to be determined. It will be facilitated by 'Clerks on Call.'  https://www.clerksoncall.ca/

A prospective candidates meeting is intended to be scheduled by an external group during the campaign period prior to the close of Nominations in 2026. 

AMO is offering workshops on Running for Municipal Office as an Underrepresented Candidate

Accessibility

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.

Other Resources

Review the relevant legislation such as the:

Some other suggestions are to:

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 33011 Hwy 62N, Maynooth between January 4, 2027 and 2:00pm on May 30, 2027.

Complete and signed financial statements may be filed electronically to [email protected] during the prescribed filing period. The date of the electronic submission shall be the official date received. However, the original identical paper copy of the financial statements must be delivered to the Clerk’s Office within 10 days following the electronic submission for the electronic submission to be considered valid.

There is a 30 day grace period for late filings of Financial Statements until April 29, 2027 at 2:00pm, however there is a late filing fee of $500. The $500 late filing fee is the property of the municipality. 

Assistance

Candidates seeking advice on completing their financial statements should consult:

  • The Municipal Elections Act (section 88)

  • The 2022 Ministry of Municipal Affairs Candidates Guide (Page 29) (2026 Guide coming in Apr/26)

  • External advice (accountant, auditor, lawyer)

  • Your previous campaign's financial statement 

The Municipal 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 Municipal Clerk's Office may review the final financial statement for completion, not accuracy.

Failure to Submit

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 they were 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.

Penalties

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.

Financial Reports as Public Documents

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 (link to follow). 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 Municipality's website (link to follow). 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 Municipality's web site after the election. The information remains on the website until after the next municipal election.

Candidates wishing to extend their campaign period beyond December 31, 2026 (allowing you to continue making expenses and receiving contributions up until June 30, 2027, should have notified the Clerk in writing (on prescribed Form 6) advising of your request, on or before 4:30pm, December 31, 2026. 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 December 31, 2026 (due by 2:00pm on March 30, 2027).

  • The supplementary filing (Form 5), which details all campaign finances from the day the nomination was filed until June 30, 2027 (due by 2:00pm on September 24, 2027).

On or before March 30, 2027, 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 (March 30, 2027).

Candidates may file after the March 30, 2027, 2:00pm deadline up until April 29, 2027 at 2:00pm, if their Financial Statement is accompanied by a $500 fee to avoid penalties under the Municipal Elections Act.