Ontario · City of Toronto

How to run for School Trustee in Toronto

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

Election day: Monday, October 26, 2026
Population (2021)
2,794,356
Boards
36 seats
Term
4 years
Wards
25

Step 1

Are you eligible?

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

  • A Canadian citizen.
  • At least 18 years old.
  • A resident of Toronto, OR a non-resident owner or tenant of land in Toronto (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 Toronto.

RoleSeatsTermNotes
TDSB Trustee (English Public)224 yearsToronto District School Board, by ward grouping
TCDSB Trustee (English Catholic)124 yearsToronto Catholic District School Board
CSV Trustee (French Public)1+4 yearsConseil scolaire Viamonde
MonAvenir Trustee (French Catholic)1+4 yearsConseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir

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 Toronto.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

Toronto Elections office, City Hall, 100 Queen St. W., 1st floor (Permit Alley), Toronto. Open Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (excl. statutory holidays). Online appointment booking is available and encouraged.

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

Toronto 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 Toronto

  • Strong-mayor designation (one of the original two, with Ottawa, under O. Reg. 530/22). Mayor can prepare/table the budget, override council on prescribed provincial-priority matters with 1/3 council support (Bill 39), and appoint senior staff (CAO, division heads).
  • 25-ward model has been in effect since the 2018 election (cut from 47 to 25 by Bill 5, *Better Local Government Act, 2018*; upheld by SCC in *Toronto (City) v. Ontario (Attorney General)* 2021).
  • Sign bylaw: election signs governed by City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 693 (Signs); restrictions on placement on city property and in public road allowance — review before erecting.
  • Condo canvassing: Ontario *Condominium Act* s. 118 protects candidates' right to canvass common areas during a campaign — boards cannot ban access.
  • Higher contribution cap and unique strong-mayor powers mean Toronto's regime is distinctly different from every other Ontario municipality except Ottawa.

Ballot

Other roles on the same ballot

Voters in Toronto also choose:

  • Mayor — At-large; "strong mayor" under *City of Toronto Act, 2006* + Bill 3/Bill 39
  • City Councillor — One per ward

Sources

Official resources

Related guides

Also running in Toronto?

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

How RidingDesk helps

Running for School Trustee in Toronto? We built the platform for you.

RidingDesk is a Canadian-built campaign platform for municipal, provincial, and federal candidates. Hosted in Canada, MEA-compliant out of the box, and shaped by the way local campaigns actually run.

Collect your nominators online

Stand up a public nomination page in minutes. Supporters fill in their info from their phone — you witness their physical signature later when you bring the paperwork in.

Recruit and manage volunteers

Sign-up forms, shift scheduling, and a single place where the whole team knows what's next.

Canvass smarter

Door-knocking with turf cutting, pinned maps, and walk lists generated from the Toronto voters list.

Fundraise inside the rules

Stripe-powered donation pages with built-in MEA contribution-limit and tax-receipt logic. Receipts signed by your registered Official Agent.

Start your campaignSee a live demo

Free until October 26, 2026 — no credit card required.