We have received inquires regarding if campaigning is permitted at the Harrow Fair.

The Town’s Prohibition on the Use of Corporate Resources during Elections Policy states the following:

“During the Election Period, Town Facilities may not be used for Campaign Activities or used to display any Campaign.

Candidates and registered third parties may not hold or host Campaign Activities at any Town Facilities.

Candidates shall not Campaign and or distribute Campaign Materials on any Town Facilities.”

The definition of Town Facilities includes “any real or intangible property owned, operated or otherwise under the control of the Town including its land, buildings, structures (e.g. gateway signage) and infrastructure.”

While the Harrow Fair is not a Town event, it takes place on Town property (including the parade which takes place on Town infrastructure). Accordingly, Campaign Activities and the distribution of Campaign Materials is prohibited at the Harrow Fair and during the parade.

The guidance provided by the Integrity Commissioner in the Election Year Activities Information Bulletin is based on the Town’s Code of Conduct for Members of Council and Local Boards/Committees. Any individual can make a complaint to the Integrity Commissioner, which would be held and not investigated until six weeks after the election in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001.

If the Integrity Commissioner finds that a breach of the Code of Conduct occurred, the member may be subject to any of the penalties provided for in the Municipal Act, 2001.

Additionally, the purpose of Town’s Prohibition on the Use of Corporate Resources during Elections Policy is to ensure compliance with Section 88.8(3) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, which prohibits the municipality from making contributions in any form (such as money, goods, services, staff, supplies, or any other kind that belongs to, is used by/funded by or otherwise associated with the Town).

Section 88.8(7) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, prohibits a candidate from accepting a contribution from a person or entity that is not entitled to make a contribution. Any use by a candidate of the Town’s resources may be viewed as a contribution by the Town which would be a violation of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. This would be enforced by the courts. An individual could also pursue private legal remedies for which they should consult their own legal counsel.

The Town’s election policies do not prohibit candidates from contacting other agencies and organizations.

We would suggest you identify yourself as a candidate when doing so.

According to both the Town of Essex Protection of Highways By-law 2219 and the Town’s Prohibition on the Use of Corporate Resources during Elections Policy, it is prohibited to host campaign meetings at Town of Essex facilities (which include municipally owned roads and sidewalks). This is for a number of reasons, most importantly including the health and safety risks to both those attending the campaign meetings and the users of the roads and sidewalks at which these meetings take place.

Under the Town’s Protection of Highways By-Law 2219 (see Sections 5(d) and 5(r)), meetings, gatherings, demonstrations, assemblies, or similar activities within the Town’s right-of-way is prohibited as it may interfere with public travel and create a hazardous or unsafe condition within the highway, leading to a public safety risk by placing attendees near moving traffic and potentially obstructing sightlines and the normal passage of pedestrians or vehicles.

Additionally, the Town’s Prohibition on the Use of Corporate Resources during Elections Policy prohibits the use Town facilities for campaign activities or to display any campaign (Section 6.1.2).

The Town’s Prohibition on the Use of Corporate Resources during Elections Policy clearly states that “candidates and registered third parties may not hold or host Campaign Activities at any Town Facilities.”

The policy defines Town Facilities as “any real or intangible property owned, operated or otherwise under the control of the Town including its land, buildings, structures (e.g. gateway signs) and infrastructure and shall be deemed for the purposes of this policy to include any Town hosted or sponsored events regardless if such event(s) are being hosted or held on Town property or not.”

Accordingly, a candidate cannot rent a Town park pavilion for the purpose of campaigning.

Candidates are permitted to wear campaign materials (such as hats, buttons, and t-shirts) once they have filed their nomination papers with the Town. These items do not require approval, however, Section 88.3(2) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, requires that all campaign advertisements purchased by or under the direction of a candidate shall identify the candidate.

Additionally, Section 6.3.1 of the Town’s Prohibition on the Use of Corporate Resources during Elections Policy states:

“Candidates, Registered Third Party Advertisers and political parties are permitted to attend Town events, or events held at Town Facilities, in either their capacity as elected representatives or as private citizens, but may not Campaign while in attendance. No Campaign Materials may be displayed or disseminated at such Town events."

There has been a request to provide clarity around candidate identification on campaign signs.

To be clear, the requirement to identify yourself on your signs is not only a By-Law requirement but (most importantly) a requirement of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Pursuant to the MEA candidates must identify themselves on their election signs. The Clerk is able to issue policies and guidance to assist the candidates with complying with the MEA. We understand that compliance with the MEA is determined by the Superior Court of Justice. As such, even with a permit, your signs could be subject to challenge to the Superior Court by a third party. The Superior Court would then determine whether or not your signs are compliant with the MEA.

We have checked with the other Clerks in the County and all those who have responded have confirmed that they would interpret the MEA in the same way that we are interpreting the MEA and require both first and last name on election signs. Leamington and Windsor have this noted specifically in their policies and By-Laws. 

Due to the Town’s past practice of allowing last name only signs, we are allowing the use of election signs with the last name only for the 2026 election. In the proposed 2030 Election Sign By-Law we will consider making the change to clarify candidate identity to specifically require first and last name on election signs.

Please be advised that, in accordance with past practices, first name only signs will not be permitted by the Town in 2026. Including only your first name on signs is an insufficient way of identifying yourself as the candidate responsible for the signs.

Election Sign Permit Applications will be accepted at Town Hall during regular business hours by appointment only beginning on Monday, July 20, 2026.

Appointments to submit the application and deposit can be made by contacting elections@essex.ca.

Deposits can be paid by cash, debit card, or cheque when the Election Sign Permit Application is filed during your appointment.

In accordance with 2026 Candidates Guide from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, deposits for election signs “should be recorded as a campaign expense and paid for using campaign funds. If your deposit is refunded, record the amount under Income.”

Additional information will be provided at the Elections Signs Meeting on August 24, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. at Town Hall.

Election signs installed in accordance with an approved permit, per the By-Law 2538, will be allowed as of September 11, 2026.

Campaign advertising such as print ads in the newspaper or posts on social media are allowed as soon as the candidate’s nomination papers are filed with the Clerk’s Office.

Sitting Council Members must be mindful of how they use various social media sites. For example, if a Facebook account is used as Member’s Facebook page (even though the page is not supported by municipal technologies or funds), the messages should not contain any campaign related information. Whether a social media account is paid for with Municipal funds or personal funds, Members are cautioned to not upload to the Member’s site used as their “official” page or a page with which they communicate Municipal business to the public, links to other social media that contain campaign content.

Members should ensure that if they only have one account on a social media platform, and they have been using that account to communicate Municipal business to the public in their office role, that if they want to use that account for election campaign purposes, this is made clear to the public on the account and individuals are given an opportunity to “opt out” of following or subscribing to the account. There should be clear evidence of the day that the page switched over from one used by the Member in their official elected/appointed capacity to one used for election campaign purposes.

Member’s social media accounts that are clearly the “official” page for Municipal business may post through social media channels any activity or event that is related to fulfilling official business, updating their constituents, and providing information on Town projects.

Members are prohibited from using pictures, videos or recording audio of Town staff and volunteers for any election activity (unless these are in the public domain and in accordance with copyright rules).

Personal social media accounts for election activity cannot be created or supported using Town resources. The Code of Conduct for Members of Council and Local Boards/Committees, Policy 37, sets out rules relating to influence of office, prohibitions regarding conduct and election campaign work.

Further clarification can be found on the Integrity Commissioner Bulletin posted on the Town of Essex website.

1. How many residents and households are in the different wards of Town of Essex?

   • Here is a breakdown of the registered electors and total households in the municipality:

     Ward	Households	Electors on List
     Ward 1	3039	6618
     Ward 2	1990	3130
     Ward 3	3455	4755
     Ward 4	1245	2047
     All	9729	16550

2. In the 2022 municipal election, what was the voter turnout in the entire municipality?

   • The voter turn out for the 2022 Town of Essex municipal election was 42.5%.

The Town of Essex's Election Sign Meeting for registered candidates and third party advertisers has been scheduled for August 24, 2026, at 5:00 pm at Town Hall.

Elections Signs are not permitted before September 11, 2026.

The Town will not be setting up a particular email address that sends to all candidates. Instead, when a question is received by a candidate, the question and the Town’s response will be provided to all candidates by email (with the identifying information removed). Additionally, all questions asked by candidates and the Town’s responses will be posted on the Town’s website on the Candidate FAQ page.

The Town’s Prohibition on the Use of Corporate Resources Policy applies only to Town property. As the Greenway is not owned by the Town, we suggest contacting the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) to determine if they have any policies related to campaign activities.

Yes, Candidates and their representatives are allowed full access to rented premises, condominiums and co-operative housing for the purpose of canvassing and distributing elections material. The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 sets out the following rules:

• Access to residential premises
  88.1 No person who is in control of an apartment building, condominium building, non-profit housing cooperative or gated community may prevent a candidate or his or her representative from campaigning between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. at the doors to the apartments, units or houses, as the case may be. 2016, c. 15, s. 46.
• Display of signs at residential premises
  88.2 (1) No landlord or person acting on a landlord’s behalf may prohibit a tenant from displaying signs in relation to an election on the premises to which the lease relates. 2016, c. 15, s. 46.

Yes, candidates can share the Town of Essex Facebook posts, as those posts are publicly available. But it must be a link to the Town’s post. A candidate cannot “reframe” the posts.

No, candidates are prohibited from giving anything other than campaign specific materials to members of the public during campaign activites. (MEA s. 90 (3))

All accepted donations of goods and in-kind gifts must be recorded as campaign contributions. (MEA s. 88.15 (1) (3)).

Item 19.3.3 on the Regular Council Meeting Agenda for September 8, 2026, is a By-Law to authorize the execution of an agreement between The Corporation of the Town of Essex and the Minister of Transportation for the Province of Ontario regarding the construction of an Extension on Hanlan Street South in Town of Essex.

The agreement on the agenda contains a map of the plan.

This is a digital form on the main Town of Essex Municipal Election page, below the Municipal Election Key Dates at the bottom of the screen.

Here is a link to the online form directly: Municipal Election Request for Information Form - Town of Essex

Administration plans to provide a verbal report at the September 8, 2026, Council Meeting.

Link to the meeting if you are unable to attend in person: Events | Town of Essex

We expect this question will be addressed during the verbal report.

The Town does annual goose management at Sadler’s Pond prior to and during nesting season for Canadian Geese. 

The pond is naturally fed by area water runoff and being natural, there is no known harm to wildlife when water levels are low.  While we would like to see more water in the pond, it must be naturally fed.

To access by-laws:

1. Visit the Town of Essex By-Law Registry.
2. Select 'Essex Public'.
3. Select the folder called “By-Laws” then search for the by law in the “Numerical Listing.”

For past Council Agendas, Minutes, and Meeting Recordings:

1. Visit the Council Calendar webpage.
2. Search by date, meeting type, and keywords for your topic of interest
3. Select the files you want in the columns “Agenda, Minutes, Agenda Package, Video, Addendum” listed for each public meeting

This property is owned by the Town of Essex and leased to a private entity.

The lease agreement was authorized under By-Law No. 1152 which can be accessed on the Town’s By-Law Registry which is publicly available on the Town’s website at https://www.essex.ca/town-hall/bylaws/

This intersection falls within connecting links for both Maidstone Avenue and Talbot Street North, which means that the Town is responsible for this portion of the ROW instead of the County of Essex being in an urban area.

However, as part of an existing connecting link agreement between the Town and the County, the County of Essex is responsible to pay for a 7m width of surface asphalt on both Maidstone and Talbot and Talbot Street North for the length of the new pavement.

The multi-use pathway as part of this project falls under CWATS and the County is paying 40% of the trail and trail traffic infrastructure costs for this project as well.

Yes, please see the section on Proxy Voting on the Voter Information page of our website. While applications for proxy voting are available, this is not a service to promote. It is only for those people who will be away or absolutely unable to go in person to vote at any of the polling dates.

Any voters who are interested in applying for Proxy should look at the information on the website and contact the Town directly at elections@essex.ca to book an appointment.

August 12^th was the last day for self-service registration using the Elections Ontario portal “Register To Vote”. The list is then prepared by Elections Ontario and then provided to the Town of Essex as our Preliminary List of Electors.

At this point, residents can be added to the Voter’s List at Town Hall using the paper-based “Application to Amend the Voter’s List”.

The Town’s website has been updated to reflect the required form and process. A copy of the form and voter registration information is located in your Candidate’s Package under Tabs 18-19.

This form must be submitted by the resident in-person, as their identification must be checked at the same time. This can be done at Town Hall during regular business hours, at Town Hall during Advance Poll hours, and at any of the Advance or Regular Polls.

In September, Voter Notification Cards will be printed by the Town. After that point, a Voter Notification Card can be printed for anyone who is added to the Voter’s List at Town Hall.

Some residential, non-residential and non-permanent tenants will not be on the current voters list due to the processes that Elections Ontario undertakes for data updates. Any eligible elector who has government issued ID with their address can be registered now through RegisterToVote.on.ca, through the Town Clerk's Office after September 1st and at the polling locations on voting days.

The new term of Council will be sworn in during the Inaugural Meeting on Monday, November 16, 2026.

The last meeting of the current term of Council is November 2, 2026. Information on the Council Meeting Schedule can be found on our website at: https://calendar.essex.ca/meetings

Section 10 of the candidate’s package gives complete instructions on how to use the elections@essex.ca email address and the Request for Information form online. The complete candidate's package is available online at essex.ca/election and also provided to candidate's at the time of their nomination filing,

Once received, the Elections Team will review the request, assess the merits of the request and determine if the information is already available online. The response will come from the Clerk’s office. Depending on the request, the Town may provide the information, decline to provide the information (because it is already public), and where appropriate we may require the requestor to complete a formal MFIPPA FOI.

Any responses shared with one candidate are shared with all candidates or posted online in this forum.

Yes, the registered candidate names are posted on our Uncertified Candidates page on the Town of Essex website.

Candidates will receive their updated Contribution and Expense Limits before September 30, 2026, per the Preliminary Contribution and Expense forms provided at the time of filing their nominations.

For a Third Party Advertiser, there is no limit on how much can be self contributed to an advertising campaign. Any additional donations made to a campaign are subject to the individual limit of $1,200.

An individual donor can make up to $1200 in total contributions to your campaign. This can be in one cheque or over multiple donations, this total also includes gifts in kind.

If this individual donor is supporting multiple candidates in different campaigns, they cannot exceed $5000 in total contributions during the election period in 2026, in the jurisdiction of the Town of Essex.

You need to confirm that the donors know that they have a limit when contributing to your campaign.

On page 19 of the MMAH Candidate’s Guide there are some additional examples regarding managing Contribution limits.

Yes, a candidate can open any type of separate account and use debit cards and e-transfers. Please be aware that you need to collect donor information with that transaction that includes name, address and contact information for your campaign reporting purposes.

Your bank should be able to accept the official Declaration of Qualification which is commissioned when you file your nomination. If that is not accepted as official documentation, a letter to the bank can be provided for you through elections@essex.ca.

It is our understanding that the quote you obtain would be a quote for a “re-election” sign. As such, the quote would include the price of the sticker. In our opinion, you can reduce the sticker expense from the quote amount since the quote will assume that the signs include the “re-elect” wording.

For example, we would expect that your financial statement would look like the following:

• Quote for “Re-Election” Signs: $5,000
• Reduction for Cost of “Re-Elect” Stickers: ($1,000)
• Costs of “Re-Elect” Stickers: $1,000
• Total Cost of Signs: $5,000

Our understanding is that candidates who are running for multiple terms are not set to bear the additional costs of stickers to add "re-elect" to the signs as such costs would be contemplated in the quote.
If you would like further confirmation, we suggest that you seek independent legal advice. Should your financial reporting be questioned, it will be investigated by the Town’s Compliance Audit Committee who would make the final determination.

Candidates for office are required to submit financial details of their campaign. Candidates are entitled to a refund of the filing fee if they submit their campaign financial statement by the deadline.

A candidate who misses the filing deadline may file within a 30-day grace period, provided a $500 late filing fee is paid to the municipality. A candidate may resubmit a financial statement to correct an error up until the filing deadline.

The Clerk is required to make public a report of which candidates filed financial statements and which did not. See the Municipal Election Key Dates for more information.

A candidate does not have to open a bank account if they do not raise or spend money. The Clerk provides all candidates with estimated and final spending limits.

Contributions to candidates from unions and corporations are prohibited in municipal elections, but unions and corporations may participate as third party advertisers and contribute to third party advertisers. The same contribution rules will apply to third party advertiser campaigns as to candidates.

Anonymous and cash contributions cannot exceed $25. Contributions over $25 must be made in a way that links the contributor's name and account with the payment. Candidates must inform contributors of contribution limits.

If goods sold to raise funds are sold for $25 or less, that amount is considered campaign income, not a contribution. Donations under $25 received at fundraising events are not contributions. See the Campaign Finance Information Sheet for a detailed explanation.

The MEA section 88.19 states that the expense should be recorded as “the replacement value of goods retained by the person, individual, corporation or trade union from any previous election in the municipality and used in the current election.” In addition, the 2026 Candidates' Guide provides this example directly in the financial reporting section “Inventory from previous campaign".

Any inventory from a previous campaign that you are using again is a contribution in goods that you make to your campaign and counts towards your self-funding limit. You must calculate the current market value (for example, if you have 100 signs left over from 2022 and use them again, you must calculate how much it would cost to purchase those same signs in 2026) and record it in Table 2. This inventory must also be recorded as a campaign expense.

Anyone who is endorsing a nomination must be an eligible elector and must reside in the municipality, therefore anyone living in the Town of Essex can endorse a candidate’s nomination for Ward 1, even if they live in another ward.

The reference to this response can be found in the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, S33 (1.2).

Candidates Packages are available at Town Hall at 33 Talbot St S, Essex, Ontario, upon request.

Please contact elections@essex.ca or call 519-776-7336 ext. 1146 to request a Candidates Package and to book your nomination appointment. Nominations are open from May 1, 2026 to August 21, 2026 at 2:00 PM.

A person is entitled to be a candidate if he or she is a qualified elector. A candidate must be qualified as of the day he or she is nominated and must remain qualified throughout the election period and, if elected, throughout the term of office. A person is entitled to be a candidate if you:

• are a resident of the Town of Essex, or an owner or tenant of land in the Town of Essex, or the spouse of such an owner or tenant;
• are a Canadian citizen;
• are at least 18 years old on Voting Day; and
• are not prohibited from voting by law.

If entitled to be a candidate, you can run in any ward - you do not have to live in a particular ward in order to be its councillor. However, if you run in a ward where you do not live, you will not be able to vote for yourself. Having a campaign office or a business in a ward where you would not otherwise be eligible to vote does not make you eligible to vote in that ward. Consult the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 for further information.

Yes, both you and your spouse are considered eligible electors and are able to endorse candidates for the Town of Essex.

For nomination purposes, we will need one (1) original copy of page one and then photocopies of either page is fine, as long as the 25 signatures are original.

A version of Form 2 with all 25 signature slots is linked on the website, or we can print for you, upon request.

Yes, any staff who are residents (eligible electors) can sign nomination forms and host signs. These are separate activities, unrelated to their town staff duties.