Guelph · 2026 municipal election
You do not have to go to a polling station to vote.
There are three other ways to cast a ballot in Guelph this October: by mail, from your own home, or through someone you trust. All three have to be arranged in advance, and the deadline for two of them is October 9.
If you live in the Village by the Arboretum
There has been a voting station inside the Village for about twenty years. There will not be one this time. On August 26, 2026 the City Clerk confirmed in writing that the Village by the Arboretum will not be a public voting location for this election, and that voting locations will not be changing between now and election day.
On election day, Monday October 26, the Clerk's Office has pointed Village residents to two places: the University Centre at the University of Guelph and the Delta Hotels Guelph Conference Centre, 50 Stone Road West. The Delta is Ward 5's accessibility hub, with equipment for voters who cannot mark a ballot on their own. Residents of the Village of Arbour Trails have a special voting location on election day, which the Clerk's staff have arranged with the administrators there.
If neither of those is realistic for you, the three options below exist for exactly this situation. Your voter notification card will also tell you your own assigned location when it arrives in the mail, and the City has a map of every voting location.
The three ways to vote without travelling
All three run through the City Clerk's Office. None of them involve any candidate or campaign.
Vote by mail
Request by October 9, 2026The City mails you a ballot kit. You mark it at your kitchen table and send it back, or drop it off.
Who it's for: Anyone who would rather not go to a voting location at all.
- Request a kit at guelph.ca/vote between September 1 and October 9, 2026. You have to upload a photo of acceptable ID.
- You must already be on the voters' list, or add yourself when you apply.
- Mail the completed kit back by October 15 to be safe.
- After that date, hand it in at ServiceGuelph during business hours, or use the secure drop box to the right of the main entrance at City Hall.
- You can also drop a completed kit at any advance voting location between October 10 and 18.
- However it gets there, it has to be in election officials' hands by 8 p.m. on October 26.
Links you'll need
- Request a vote-by-mail kit — The City's election page, where the request form lives
- Check or update your voter registration — Elections Ontario - do this before you request a kit
- ServiceGuelph, City Hall — Hours and location for dropping a completed kit off in person
- The City's full vote-by-mail procedure (PDF)
Vote from home
Request by October 9, 2026Election officials come to you during business hours and you vote at home.
Who it's for: People who cannot get to a voting location, or manage a mail-in kit, because of injury, illness or disability.
- Phone 519-837-5625 or email guelphvotes@guelph.ca between September 1 and October 9, 2026.
- The elector, or someone they authorise, can make the request.
- You need to be on the voters' list, or apply to be added when you ask.
- Officials review the request and then contact you to book a time.
- Have acceptable identification ready for the appointment.
Links you'll need
- Email the Clerk's Office to ask for an appointment — Or phone 519-837-5625
- Check or update your voter registration — Elections Ontario
- The City's full vote-from-home procedure (PDF)
Appoint a proxy
Certify before election day - not available October 26You name another Guelph voter to cast your ballot for you. The form has to be certified before they can vote.
Who it's for: Anyone who cannot vote on any voting day and would rather send someone they trust.
- Download and fill out two copies of the Province of Ontario's Appointment for Voting Proxy (Form 3).
- The person you pick has to be eligible to vote in Guelph.
- Book certification with the Clerk's Office from August 25, 2026 - phone 519-837-5625 or email guelphvotes@guelph.ca.
- Forms are not certified on election day, so do this beforehand.
- Your proxy brings the certified form and their own ID to a voting location.
- Someone can be a proxy for one unrelated voter, or for as many immediate family members as needed.
Links you'll need
- Appointment for Voting Proxy, Form 3 — Government of Ontario - print two copies
- Book proxy certification with the Clerk's Office — Or phone 519-837-5625
- The City's full proxy procedure (PDF)
Or vote early, when it suits you
Advance voting runs at Guelph City Hall, 1 Carden Street from October 10 to 18 — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on October 10 and 11, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from October 12 to 16, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on October 17 and 18. Every advance location has accessible voting equipment, and City Hall has a scent-free, fully masked room available from October 16 to 18 and again on October 26.
Ward 5's own advance location is the University Centre at the University of Guelph, open October 16 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and October 17 and 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On election day itself, October 26, City Hall is a “vote anywhere” location: any Guelph voter can vote there, whatever ward they live in. Polls are open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Who to call
Everything on this page is arranged through the City Clerk's Office, not through any campaign:
Phone 519-837-5625
Email guelphvotes@guelph.ca
Request a mail-in kit guelph.ca/vote
Every date and deadline on this page was read off the City's own More Ways to Vote page on 2026-08-28, and the locations off its voting locations page. If the City changes something, the City's page is right and this one is out of date — please tell us so we can fix it.
Every link on one page
All of these go to the City of Guelph or the Province of Ontario. Nothing here goes through a campaign.
- Find your voting location on the City's map — Shows advance locations and which ones have accessible supports
- Which ward do I live in? — The City's ward boundary map
- Check or add yourself to the voters' list — Elections Ontario
- What identification is accepted — The City's Information for Voters page
- 2026 Municipal Election Accessibility Plan — What supports are available and where
- All 2026 voting locations and hours
- The City's More Ways to Vote page — The source for every date on this page
Also worth knowing
Know a neighbour who would rather have this on paper? Print this page and pass it along, or call the Clerk's Office on their behalf at 519-837-5625.