Filing a Nomination

For the 2022 Municipal Election, members will be elected for the period beginning November 15th, 2022 and ending, November 14, 2026 for the following offices:

• Mayor
• Deputy Mayor and Regional Councillor
• Councillor, Ward 1
• Councillor, Ward 2
• Councillor, Ward 3
• Councillor, Ward 4
• Councillor, Ward 5
• Councillor, Ward 6
• Councillor, Ward 7
• York Region District School Board Trustee
• York Catholic District School Board Trustee
• Conseil scolaire du Viamonde[1]
• Conseil scolaire de Catholique MonAvenir[2]

[1]    Nomination forms for this office must be submitted to the Clerk of the City of Markham.

[2]    Nomination forms for this office must be submitted to the Clerk of the City of Markham.

Member of Council

Qualifications for Members of Council are set out in Section 256 of the Municipal Act, 2001 and Section 17 of the Municipal Elections Act.

In order to run for office on Newmarket Town Council a person must be, at the time of nomination:

1. A Canadian citizen;
2. At least 18 years old;
3. A resident of Newmarket or the owner or tenant of property, or the spouse of such owner or tenant; and,
4. Not disqualified by any legislation from holding office.

Ineligibility

The following people are not permitted to be elected as Members of Council:

• An employee of the Town except during an authorized unpaid leave of absence (the leave of absence must begin prior to filing the nomination form);
• A person who is not an employee of the municipality but who is the Returning Officer/Clerk, Treasurer, Integrity Commissioner, Auditor General, Ombudsman or registrar, a closed meeting investigator, or who holds any administrative position of the municipality.
• A judge of any court.
• A member of the Assembly as provided in the Legislative Assembly Act or of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada.

School Board Trustee

To run for any of the four school boards on the day the nomination paper is filed, a person must be:

• a Canadian citizen
• at least 18 years of age
• a resident in the area of jurisdiction* of the board
• not legally prohibited from voting
• not disqualified by any legislation from holding municipal office

Ineligibility

The following people are not permitted to be elected as a school board trustee, or from holding office on any school board:

• a clerk, treasurer, deputy-clerk or deputy-treasurer of any municipality within the area of jurisdiction of the school board except those on an unpaid leave of absence
• a member of the Provincial Legislature, the Federal House of Commons or Senate who has not resigned from their office by the close of nominations. Proof of resignation must be provided by the close of nominations or the Clerk will not certify the nomination
• a candidate who failed to file the necessary financial statement or exceeded the prescribed spending limit in the last municipal election or by-election
• Employees of any school board (including supply teachers) are disqualified from being elected as school board trustee or from holding office on any school board, except during a leave of absence.
• The employee must be on a leave of absence before filing their nomination form.
• They must provide the Clerk with documentation showing that they have taken the leave of absence and the effective date.

Prior to receiving any campaign contributions and prior to spending any funds on a campaign, persons wishing to become a candidate must file a nomination form. 

Completed forms may be submitted starting May 2, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. The final deadline day for filing is August 19, 2022 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. The time displayed by the Legislative Services Department electronic clock shall be the record of time that a candidate files his/her nomination form.

Individuals who wish to register as a candidate must schedule an appointment by contacting elections@newmarket.ca or by telephone at 905-953-5300 extension 2210. When booking an appointment, potential candidate can choose to file their nomination either online or in-person at the Town of Newmarket Municipal Office.  

Individuals who wish to register as a candidate must schedule an appointment by contacting elections@newmarket.ca or by telephone at 905-953-5300 extension 2210. When booking an appointment, potential candidates can choose to file their nomination either online or in-person at the Town of Newmarket Municipal Office.  Access to all required documents will be provided in advance of the meeting.

For the Office of Mayor, Deputy Mayor/Regional Councillor, Ward Councillor, School Board Trustee English Public (York Region District School Board) and English Catholic (York Catholic District School Board)

Candidate nomination meetings with Town election staff are by appointment only. These meetings may be booked as virtual or in-person appointments. Drop-ins are not available. Contact the Election Office by email at elections@newmarket.ca or by telephone at 905-953-5300 extension 2210.

Once the meeting is booked, prospective candidates will receive two emails from Election Staff. The first email will provide a confirmation of the date, time, meeting location and log-in details for those who have selected a virtual Zoom appointment. The second email will provide a link to a package of digital forms customized for the position they are submitting their nomination for.

New for 2022 - All candidates will complete their candidate documentation electronically using the Town's new secure online platform. 

Review the 2022 Town of Newmarket Candidate Guide 

Candidates must prepare the following prior to their nomination meeting:

1. Proof of Identity

Candidates should collect and scan their required identification documents (ID) and upload it to the nomination platform in the Proof of Identity section.

• Identification Requirements

Candidates filing a nomination must present acceptable identification during their scheduled nomination meeting with the Town of Newmarket elections office. The identification provided must meet the following three criteria. They may be met through two or three pieces of identification. (Valid Ontario Driver’s Licence and Canadian Passport are most commonly used as identification)

• Photo ID
  • Ontario Driver’s Licence, Ontario Photo Card, Canadian Passport, Certificate of Indian Status, etc.
• Proof of Canadian citizenship
  • Canadian Passport, Canadian Birth Certificate, Certificate of Canadian Citizenship, Citizenship Card, etc.
• Proof of qualifying address
  • Ontario Driver’s Licence, Photo Card, property tax bill, utility bill, insurance policy, pay stub from current employer, document from a Band Council

If you are filing as an agent of a candidate, you must present any piece of government-issued identification showing your name and signature as well as identification for the candidate following the criteria above.

If you are scanning your ID, please scan all pages together as a single file. If you are taking a photo of your ID, please photograph each piece of identification separately on a white background for legibility.

Be prepared to show original versions of your ID at your Nomination Meeting.

2. Endorsement Signatures

Candidates for Town Council positions must complete Form 2 Endorsement of Nomination Form [PDF].

• • (Form 2 -printable) Use this version to print and then complete manually.   
  • (Form 2 - fillable) Use his version from the Province of Ontario website to enter fields electronically, save, and print for signatures.  Please note: this file must be opened with Acrobat Reader. Once downloaded, go to your Downloads folder and open the file using Acrobat Reader) 
• a minimum of 25 declaration of endorsements are required (for mayor, deputy mayor, and councillor candidates only)

Scan or take a picture of your completed Endorsement of Nomination Form [PDF], with original (non-digital) signatures from at least 25 eligible Newmarket voters (Not a requirement for School Board Trustee Candidates).

• Endorsement Signature Requirements

Candidates must submit 25 signatures endorsing their nomination to run for Town Council in Newmarket. School board trustee candidates are not required to submit endorsement signatures. All endorsement signatures must be non-digital and collected in-person.

Anyone providing an endorsement signature must be eligible to vote in the municipality on the day that they sign the endorsement form.

It is the responsibility of the candidates to ensure that they meet all the qualifications and have followed the procedures with respect to the filing of a nomination form.

Candidates must retain the original copies of the Endorsement of Nomination forms bearing the original endorsement signatures of the minimum 25 persons endorsing their nomination. These original documents will be submitted to the Clerk’s Office later in 2022.

With steps 1 and 2 complete, candidates may proceed to fill out the electronic forms in the secure online nomination platform.

3. Nomination Paper - Form 1

Candidates should complete the nomination form (Form1) electronically on the Town's secure nomination platform with their name written the way they want it to appear on the electronic and paper ballot. Candidates who normally go by a different name than their legal first name may be permitted to use that name, provided that the Returning Officer/Clerk agrees.

4. Declaration of Qualifications

Candidates are required to complete a Declaration of Qualifications form electronically on the secure nomination platform as part of the nomination documentation process. 

5. Filing Fee Payment

The nomination filing fee is $200 to run for the office of Mayor and $100 for all other offices. This fee must be paid to the Returning Officer/Clerk at the time you submit your nomination form.

If registering in-person, the fee can be paid by debit, credit card, certified cheque or money order payable to the Treasurer, Town of Newmarket.

If registering virtually, the fee can be paid by credit card only.

If an agent is filing a nomination on your behalf, the agent must provide the above documents as well as their own identification.

Note: Candidate Nominations for the office of School Board Trustee in the French Public and French Catholic Boards of Education for the 2022 Municipal Election are administered by the City of Vaughan.  

• French Public (Conseil scolaire Viamonde)
  • For more information on registering for this office, contact the City of Vaughan at elections@vaughan.ca or visit vaughan.ca/elections
• French Catholic (Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir)
  • For more information on registering for this office, contact the City of Vaughan at elections@vaughan.ca or visit vaughan.ca/elections

Candidates filing a nomination must present acceptable identification during their scheduled nomination meeting with the Town of Newmarket elections office. The identification provided must meet the following three criteria. They may be met through two or three pieces of identification.  

• Photo Identification
  • Ontario Driver’s Licence, Ontario Photo Card, Canadian Passport, Certificate of Indian Status, etc.
• Proof of Canadian citizenship
  • Canadian Passport, Canadian Birth Certificate, Certificate of Canadian Citizenship, Citizenship Card, etc.
• Proof of qualifying address
  • Ontario Driver’s Licence, Photo Card, property tax bill, utility bill, insurance policy, pay stub from current employer, document from a Band Council in Ontario, etc.

Note: Valid Ontario Driver’s Licence and Canadian Passport are most commonly used as identification

If you are filing as an agent of a candidate, you must present any piece of government-issued identification showing your name and signature as well as identification for the candidate following the criteria above.

The nomination filing fee is $200 to run for the office of Mayor and $100 for all other offices. This fee must be paid to the Returning Officer/Clerk at the time you submit your nomination form.

The fee can be paid by credit card, certified cheque or money order, payable to ‘Treasurer, Town of Newmarket’

• the filing fee is $200 for candidates running for Mayor and $100 for Councillor or School Board Trustee candidates
• A candidate is entitled to receive a refund of the nomination filing fee if he or she files their financial statements with the Returning Officer/Clerk by the filing date. The deadline to file financial statements is 2 p.m. on March 31, 2023.

The candidates listed below are in default of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 . This means that they cannot run or be appointed to any municipal office until after the next general election.