Ontario Municipal Elections Tracker

Voter turnout in Ontario municipal elections has dropped to 33 percent, down from 44 percent in the 1990s, prompting Simcoe. com to launch a public call for reader-submitted solutions.

The newspaper’s initiative highlights a tension between expanded voting options — already including telephone and online voting — and persistently low participation, pressing readers to consider what else could drive engagement ahead of the Oct. 26 elections.

Tracking: Ontario municipal elections · municipal election candidates · Ontario local elections · Ontario election schedule · voter information Ontario · Ontario campaign finance · municipal government Ontario · Ontario election issues

Geography: Ontario, Canada, Ontario municipalities

1. Simcoe.com asks readers for ideas to boost Ontario voter turnout

With Ontario’s municipal elections scheduled for Oct. 26, Simcoe.

com has launched a public call for reader suggestions on how to increase voter turnout.

The request follows a 2025 Association of Municipalities of Ontario report showing that only 33 per cent of voters cast ballots in the 2022 municipal elections, despite options like telephone and online voting.

This is down from 44 per cent turnout in the 1990s, when in-person voting was the only option.

The newspaper asks residents to submit 100-word ideas by email, citing municipal government’s direct power over property taxes, sidewalks, roads, housing density, and parks as reasons local elections merit higher participation.

Managing editor Sarah Bissonette frames the initiative as part of the paper’s broader trust and transparency project.

Key facts:

- Ontario’s next municipal elections are Oct. 26.

- Only 33% of voters cast ballots in Ontario’s 2022 municipal elections.

- In the 1990s voter turnout was 44% with in-person voting only.

- Telephone and online voting were available in 2022.

- Simcoe.com is asking readers for 100-word voter turnout ideas.

Why it matters: Persistently low turnout in municipal elections shapes who sits on councils that directly control property taxes, land use, and local infrastructure.

If the 2026 election repeats 2022’s 33 per cent turnout, a small minority of voters will choose the governments deciding on sidewalk repairs, housing towers, and playgrounds.

The newspaper’s crowdsourcing effort may surface practical reforms — such as automatic voter registration or election-day holidays — that could be adopted by individual municipalities or pushed for provincial legislation.

What happens next depends on whether those ideas translate into actionable proposals from candidates or local governments before Oct. 26.

Simcoe

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