Ontario · City of Mississauga

How to run for School Trustee in Mississauga

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

Election day: Monday, October 26, 2026
Population (2021)
717,961
Boards
2 seats
Term
4 years
Wards
11

Step 1

Are you eligible?

On the day you file your nomination paper for school trustee in Mississauga, you must be:

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

School trustees represent voters on a school board and oversee policy, budgets, and the hiring of senior staff for public schools in Mississauga.

RoleSeatsTermNotes
Peel District School Board Trusteevaries4 yearsEnglish Public
Dufferin-Peel Catholic DSB Trusteevaries4 yearsEnglish Catholic
Conseil scolaire Viamonde Trustee14 yearsFrench Public
MonAvenir Trustee14 yearsFrench Catholic

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 electors who support the same school board from eligible electors of Mississauga.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

Mississauga Elections Office, Civic Centre, 300 City Centre Drive, Mississauga, ON L5B 3C1. Phone: 905-615-8683 / [email protected]. Appointment recommended.

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

Mississauga 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 Mississauga

  • Lower-tier of Peel Region, alongside Brampton and Caledon. Future of Peel Region (deamalgamation) was paused in 2023 by the province — Mississauga remains in Peel for the 2026 cycle.
  • Strong-mayor designated municipality under O. Reg. 530/22 (added in 2023 expansion).
  • Election microsite: mississaugavotes.ca.

Ballot

Other roles on the same ballot

Voters in Mississauga also choose:

  • Mayor — At-large; sits on Peel Regional Council
  • Ward Councillor — One per ward; senior councillors also sit on Peel Council

Sources

Official resources

Related guides

Also running in Mississauga?

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