Ontario · Municipality of Russell

How to run for Council in Russell

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

Election day: Monday, October 26, 2026
Population (2021)
19,598
Council seats
4 seats
Term
4 years
Wards
None

Step 1

Are you eligible?

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

  • A Canadian citizen.
  • At least 18 years old.
  • A resident of Russell, OR a non-resident owner or tenant of land in Russell (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 Russell 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
Councillor / Conseiller44 yrsAt-large

Step 3

The nomination process

Filing happens at the City 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.
  • 25 endorsement signatures from eligible electors of Russell.Municipalities with fewer than 4,000 eligible electors are exempt from the signature requirement.
  • Government-issued photo ID showing your name and qualifying address.
  • Filing fee: $100. Refundable in full if you file your campaign financial statement on time.

Where to file

Township of Russell Municipal Office / Bureau de la municipalité, 717 Notre Dame Street, Embrun ON K0A 1W1. Clerk's office, by appointment.

Step 4

Key dates — 2026 cycle

DateEvent
May 1, 12:30 p.m.Nomination period opens
Aug 21, 6:00 p.m.Nomination period closes (last day to file)
October 26, 2026Election day
November 15, 2026New term of council begins
March 27, 2027Campaign 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

Russell runs under Ontario's Municipal Elections Act, 1996. The headline numbers for the 2026 cycle:

Per-individual contribution
$1,200
max from any one person to your campaign
Aggregate / additional rules
$5,000
across all candidates in the same municipality
Self + spouse contribution
lesser of $5,000 + $0.20 × eligible electors, or $25,000
combined cap
Spending limit
$5,000 + $0.85 per eligible elector
the City Clerk issues your written limit after nominations close
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 Russell

  • Bilingual jurisdiction. ~36% of Russell residents speak French at home (StatsCan 2021). Council meetings, signage, candidate communications and the voters' list are all bilingual. Plan campaign material in both English and French — failure to do so is read by some voters as exclusionary.
  • 4 councillors at-large in a 19k population township: high spending limit per seat for a township-scale race.
  • Township is geographically split between Embrun (francophone-majority) and Russell village (more anglophone) — political fault lines often run along this axis.
  • UCPR is one of two United Counties structures (with Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry). Mayor sits on UCPR Council where the Warden is elected from among the 8 member-municipality mayors.

Ballot

Other roles on the same ballot

Voters in Russell also choose:

  • Mayor / Maire — At-large; sits on UCPR Council
  • English Public Trustee (UCDSB) — Upper Canada DSB
  • English Catholic Trustee (CDSBEO) — Catholic DSB of Eastern Ontario
  • French Public Trustee (CEPEO) — CEPEO
  • French Catholic Trustee (CECCE) — CECCE

Sources

Official resources

Related guides

Also running in Russell?

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

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

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