Quebec · Municipality of Laval

How to run for Council in Laval

A plain-English guide to the 2029 cycle — eligibility, deadlines, paperwork, and key local contacts for councillor candidates in Laval, Quebec.

Election day: Sunday, November 4, 2029
Population (2021)
438,366
Council seats
21 seats
Term
4 years
Wards
—

Step 1

Are you eligible?

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

  • A Canadian citizen.
  • At least 18 years old.
  • A resident of Laval, OR a non-resident owner or tenant of land in Laval (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 Laval 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
City councillor (*conseiller / conseillère de district*)214 yrOne per district

Step 3

The nomination process

Filing happens at the municipal greffier (clerk), 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.
  • 5 to 200 supporting electors (varies by population and office) from eligible electors of Laval.Mayor: 5 / 10 / 50 / 100 / 200 across population brackets. Councillor: 5 / 10 / 25 / 25 / 25. Confirm with the greffier.
  • Government-issued photo ID showing your name and qualifying address.
  • Filing fee: None.

Where to file

Bureau de la greffière, Hôtel de ville, 1 Place du Souvenir, Laval H7V 1W7.

Step 4

Key dates — 2029 cycle

DateEvent
Sep 21Nomination period opens
Oct 5, 8:30 p.m.Nomination period closes (last day to file)
November 4, 2029Election day
November 24, 2029New term of council begins
March 27, 2030Campaign financial statement due

Missing the financial-statement deadline can trigger automatic disqualification from running in the next cycle and forfeiture of your filing fee.

Step 5

Campaign finance

Laval runs under Quebec's Loi sur les élections et les référendums dans les municipalités. The headline numbers for the 2029 cycle:

Per-individual contribution
$100 per year
max from any one person to your campaign
Aggregate / additional rules
$200 in a general-election year if you support an authorized party or independent
across all candidates in the same municipality
Spending limit
Set by Élections Québec; published after nominations close
In municipalities ≥ 5,000 residents, candidates who get ≥ 15% of the vote (or are elected) are reimbursed up to 70% of allowed expenses.
Corporate and union donations are banned. Cash gifts of $25 or less generally don't need to be tracked individually; anything more must be by cheque, debit, credit, money order, or e-transfer that traces to the contributor.

Local

Specific to Laval

  • Single municipality on Île Jésus. Laval is the third-largest city in Québec but governs the entire island; there are no boroughs and no demerged cities.
  • Laval = its own MRC and région. The mayor of Laval is also préfet (warden) of the MRC de Laval *ex officio* — but since the MRC has only one constituent municipality, it's largely a formal role.
  • Voter turnout 2025: 30.3% (98,536 of 325,231 registered) — up slightly from 28.3% in 2021.
  • Modern political-party scene. Laval has had a sustained three-party landscape (Mouvement lavallois, Parti Laval, Action Laval) since the post-Vaillancourt era.

Ballot

Other roles on the same ballot

Voters in Laval also choose:

  • Mayor (*maire / mairesse*) — At-large

Sources

Official resources

Related guides

Also running in Laval?

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

This page is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Always confirm details with the municipal greffier (clerk) and the most recent provincial candidate guide before filing. Last reviewed 2026-05-01.

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