New Brunswick · City of Bathurst

How to run for Council in Bathurst

A plain-English guide to the 2026 cycle — eligibility, deadlines, paperwork, and key local contacts for councillor candidates in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

Election day: Monday, May 11, 2026
Population (2021)
15,110
Council seats
9 seats
Term
4 years
Wards
None

Step 1

Are you eligible?

On the day you file your nomination paper for councillor in Bathurst, you must be:

  • A Canadian citizen.
  • At least 18 years old.
  • A resident of Bathurst, OR a non-resident owner or tenant of land in Bathurst (or the spouse of one).
  • Not legally disqualified from running.
Common disqualifications include sitting judges, sitting MPs / Senators / MPPs (must resign before filing), municipal employees (must take an unpaid leave or resign), and people serving a sentence in a penal institution.

Step 2

What does the councillor do?

Councillors in Bathurst vote on by-laws, the annual budget, and local services like parks, transit, and zoning. They are the most direct point of contact between residents and city hall.

RoleSeatsTermNotes
Councillor94 yrsAll at-large; top 9 vote-getters elected

Step 3

The nomination process

Filing happens at Elections New Brunswick, in person during regular office hours and on nomination day until 2:00 PM. You'll need to bring:

  • Nomination paper, signed in the presence of the clerk or a commissioner of oaths.
  • 10 nominators from eligible electors of Bathurst.
  • Government-issued photo ID showing your name and qualifying address.
  • Filing fee: None — the deposit was eliminated in 2004.

Where to file

Elections NB Municipal Returning Office for Bathurst.

Step 4

Key dates — 2026 cycle

DateEvent
Apr 10, 5:00 p.m.Nomination period closes (last day to file)
May 11, 2026Election day
May 31, 2026New term of council begins

Step 5

Campaign finance

New Brunswick has no campaign-finance regulation at the local level — no contribution caps, no spending limits, no financial-statement requirement.

Local

Specific to Bathurst

  • Genuinely bilingual electorate. Successful citywide candidates produce bilingual signs and brochures and are comfortable speaking both languages at all-candidate forums.
  • At-large city. No wards means city-wide name recognition is essential; door-knocking has to span the whole city.
  • Adjacent to Belle-Baie. Bathurst's surrounding villages (Beresford, Petit-Rocher, etc.) amalgamated as Belle-Baie in 2023 — they are NOT part of Bathurst. Confirm voter address when canvassing on city boundaries.

Ballot

Other roles on the same ballot

Voters in Bathurst also choose:

  • Mayor — At-large
  • Anglophone North DEC member — Same ballot
  • District scolaire francophone Nord-Est DEC member — Same ballot

Sources

Official resources

Related guides

Also running in Bathurst?

Considering a different office? We have plain-English guides for every position on the Bathurst ballot:

This page is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Always confirm details with Elections New Brunswick and the most recent provincial candidate guide before filing. Last reviewed 2026-05-01.

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