Ontario · City of St. Catharines

How to run for Mayor in St. Catharines

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

Election day: Monday, October 26, 2026
Population (2021)
136,803
Head of council
1 Mayor
Term
4 years
Wards
6

Step 1

Are you eligible?

On the day you file your nomination paper for mayor in St. Catharines, you must be:

  • A Canadian citizen.
  • At least 18 years old.
  • A resident of St. Catharines, OR a non-resident owner or tenant of land in St. Catharines (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 mayor do?

The Mayor is the head of council in St. Catharines — chairs council meetings, is the public face of the city, and votes alongside councillors on by-laws, the annual budget, and major staffing decisions.

Region of Niagara — Mayor + 6 Regional Councillors sit on Niagara Regional Council (Regional Councillors elected at-large for the city)

RoleSeatsTermNotes
Mayor14 yearsAt-large; sits on Niagara Regional Council

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 St. Catharines.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: $200. Refundable in full if you file your campaign financial statement on time.

Where to file

City Clerk's Office, St. Catharines City Hall, 50 Church Street, St. Catharines, ON L2R 7C2. Filing by appointment, regular hours May 1–Aug 20; 9 a.m.–2 p.m. on Aug 21, 2026.

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

St. Catharines 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 $7,500 + $0.20 × eligible electors, or $25,000
combined cap
Spending limit
$7,500 + $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 St. Catharines

  • Lower-tier of Niagara Region. Two City Councillors per ward (unusual model; same as Guelph, Stratford). Regional Councillors elected at-large city-wide.
  • Niagara Regional Chair elected directly region-wide.

Ballot

Other roles on the same ballot

Voters in St. Catharines also choose:

  • City Councillor — **2 per ward**; voters select up to 2
  • Regional Councillor (City of St. Catharines) — Elected at-large city-wide; sit on Niagara Regional Council
  • DSBN Trustee (English Public) — District School Board of Niagara
  • NCDSB Trustee (English Catholic) — Niagara Catholic DSB
  • CSV Trustee — French Public
  • MonAvenir Trustee — French Catholic

Sources

Official resources

Related guides

Also running in St. Catharines?

Considering a different office? We have plain-English guides for every position on the St. Catharines 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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