Candidate Information

To run for office, you must be eligible to vote in the election. On the day you file your nomination, you must be:

• a Canadian citizen;
• at least 18 years of age or older;
• a resident in the City of Pickering or the owner or tenant of land there, or the spouse of such owner or tenant; and,
• not ineligible under the Municipal Elections Act or any other Act or otherwise prohibited by law to be nominated for or to hold the office.

Nominations may be filed in person or by an agent, on the prescribed Form, with the Office of the City Clerk beginning on Friday, May 1, 2026 until Friday, August 21, 2026, during regular business hours (Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) and on Nomination Day, Friday, August 21, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

In accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, nominations must be:

• filed using the prescribed Forms: and,
• Accompanied by the prescribed nomination filling fee.

The filing fee is $200.00 for the office of Mayor and $100.00 for all other offices. The filing fee is payable by cash, Debit, Visa, Mastercard, certified cheque, or money order.

If a nomination for a candidate is filed by an agent, they must submit the City's Form at the time of filing which authorizes the agent to file on behalf of the candidate. The Form must be signed by the candidate, and commissioned or notarized by a person authorized under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act or Notaries Act. In addition to this Form, an agent must also provide a copy of the candidate's ID to be retained on file.

No person who proposes to be a candidate may solicit or accept contributions for election purposes or incur campaign expenses until a nomination paper has been filed.

See the Call for Nominations.

See the List of Offices to be Elected.

Each candidate who runs in a Municipal Election must file a Financial Statement with the City Clerk. These statements will be made public. The prescribed Financial Statement - Form 4 issued by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing can be accessed below.

Your campaign period beings on the day the City 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 City 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 (August 21, 2026)
• know you will not have any more financial activity, you can end your campaign at any time after voting day and before December 31, 2026

If you have extended your campaign to pay down a deficit, the end date for the extended campaign period will be the earliest of:

• the day you notify the City Clerk in writing that you will be ending your campaign and not accepting any more contributions
• June 30, 2027

(Note: if you are having trouble viewing a form on your browser, select "Save link as" to save the form onto the desktop and then open the form from the desktop with Adobe Reader).