2026 Guelph municipal election

How to vote

Election day is Monday, October 26, 2026, with polls open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. If that day doesn't work, you can vote early — advance polls run from October 10 to 18.

Can you vote?

You can vote in Guelph's municipal election if all of these are true:

• You are 18 or older
• You are a Canadian citizen
• You live in Guelph, own property in Guelph, or are the spouse of someone who owns property in Guelph
• You are not prohibited from voting under the Municipal Elections Act

Renting counts. Students living in Guelph during the school year count. You do not need to own anything to vote here.

What to bring

You need something showing your name and a Guelph address. It does not have to be photo ID. Any of these work:

• Ontario driver's licence or Ontario Photo Card
• Any government-issued ID showing your name and address
• An income tax assessment notice
• A piece of mail with your name and address on it — a utility bill, a pay stub, a letter from your bank

Voting early

Advance polls run for nine days, from Saturday October 10 to Sunday October 18.

Advance voting, one location per ward

These open October 16 to 18 only. City Hall is open the whole stretch, October 10 to 18.

Election day, Monday October 26

Polls are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. You vote at a location in your own ward, with one exception: City Hall is a Vote Anywhere location, so any Guelph voter can vote there whichever ward they live in.

The quickest way to find yours is to type your address into the ward lookup — it gives you your ward and its voting locations together.

● marks the one location in each ward with accessible voting devices on election day. Every advance location has them.

If you cannot get to a poll

• Vote by mail. The City mails you a ballot kit. You mark it at your kitchen table and send it back, or drop it off.
• Vote from home. Election officials come to you during business hours and you vote at home.
• Send someone you trust (a proxy). You name another Guelph voter to cast your ballot for you. The form has to be certified before they can vote.

Full step-by-step for all three, with every deadline — including what to do if there is no longer a voting station where you live.

All three run through the City Clerk's Office: 519-837-5625 or guelphvotes@guelph.ca. Locations transcribed from the City's published list on 2026-08-14.

Make sure you're on the list

Ontario keeps a permanent register of voters. If you've moved recently, or you've never voted here before, it's worth two minutes to check you're on it — you can still vote if you're not, but it's slower at the polling station.

What you're actually voting for

Three things are on the ballot:

• Mayor — one vote, elected by the whole city
• Two city councillors for your ward — Guelph has six wards and each elects two, so you can pick two names
• A school board trustee — which board depends on where you live and your school support designation

Still stuck?

The City Clerk's office runs the election and can answer anything this page can't — call 519-837-5625 or email elections@guelph.ca. The official election page is at guelph.ca.