Official Information

Student Votes 2026 has collected the following information for ease of accessing information. However, the official information for municipal elections can be found at the City of Toronto Elections website and RegisterToVoteON website.

Eligibility

To vote in Toronto’s municipal election, you must be:

a Canadian citizen; and
at least 18 years old; and
a resident in the city of Toronto; or
a non-resident of Toronto, but you or your spouse own or rent property in Toronto; and
not prohibited from voting under any law.

Important Dates

Voting Day:
Monday, October 26 - 10AM-8PM

Advanced Voting:
Tuesday, October 6 - Sunday, October 11 - 10AM-7PM

Request to Vote by Mail:
Thursday, September 24, 2026

Register to Vote

Despite common misconceptions, you do not need to be pre-registered to vote to cast a ballot. You can register to vote on the days of advanced voting and the main voting day. It just requires more identification and proof of address.

If you are registered to vote you will receive a Voter Registration Card in the mail with your assigned voting polls, dates and times. You can bring this to the voting locations as a proof of address but still need to show proof of identity. The deadline to register is August 16, 2026.

If you are not registered to vote, you will need to provide both proof of identity and proof of address to the voting clerks. This will take some additional time but the voting clerks are typically prepared for same day registration - especially for students.

Types of Identification

Examples of accepted ID to update, add or remove your information from the voters list.

Emphasis added for common pieces of identification for students.

Government Issued Identification

Ontario driver’s licence
Ontario photo card
Statement of Old Age Security T4A (OAS)
Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid T4E
Income tax notice of assessment
Ontario motor vehicle permit (plate or vehicle portion)
Property assessment notice from Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)
Child tax benefit statement
Social Insurance Number confirmation letter
Any other document showing both your name and home address issued by:
- the Government of Canada
- the Government of Ontario

Educational or Financial Identification

School admission letter
School transcript or report card
School tuition/fees statement
Bank account or credit card statement
Residential mortgage, lease or rental statement
Cancelled personalized cheque
Cheque stub, pay receipt or T4 issued by a person’s employer
Insurance statement
Signed loan or financial agreement with a financial institution
Document showing campus residence issued by the office or officials responsible for student residence at a post-secondary institution

Other Identification

Utility bill (hydro, water, gas, telephone, cable TV, public utilities commission)
Hospital records showing a person’s name and home address
CNIB card or card from another registered charitable organization that provides services to persons with disabilities
Letter of Confirmation of Residence
Property tax assessment or bill from a municipality in Ontario
Any other document showing both your name and home address issued by:
- a municipality
- a government agency
- or certified by a court in Ontario
- a Band Council in Ontario established under the Indian Act (Canada)

Change of Address / New Toronto Residents

Many students report struggling to vote due to changing their addresses when they return to Toronto/campus in September. It is important to remember that there are many ways of proving your new Toronto address that are accepted.

On-Campus Housing: Can issue letters that prove your address. They will typically send out an email to residents with instructions on how to request a letter.
Rental and Lease Agreements are acceptable proof of address and can be accompanied with photo identification with conflicting addresses.
You can update your utility bills and bank statements with your new addresses, but make sure that you have a utility bill or bank statement issued between the date that you update the address to the date that voting occurs.

Student Voters

Students living in Toronto for school

If you are a student living away from “home” to attend an educational institution in Toronto and consider your “home” to be the place where you live when you are not attending school, which means you plan on returning there, then you are eligible to vote in both your “home” municipality and in the municipality where you currently live to attend school.
If your home and school residence are both in Toronto, vote in the ward where your “home” is located, not where your school residence is located.

Students living away from Toronto for school

If you are a Toronto resident, but are studying in another Ontario municipality you may be eligible to vote in both municipal elections.
In Toronto, vote in the ward where your “home” is located. Bring identification with your name and qualifying Toronto address to the voting place.
If you are unable to vote in the Toronto Municipal Election, you may appoint another elector as proxy to vote on your behalf.
Please check with the City Clerk of the municipality where you’re attending school to find out what your voting options are.

Who’s on the Ballot?

Municipal elections are administered by the individual city/town/municipality - so not every election will look the same. Generally (and in Toronto), when you go to vote you will see the following candidates:

Mayor: The mayor provides leadership of the city, is the primary representative of City Council, chairs the Executive, sets committee priorities and membership, and many other tasks.

City Councillor: This is the regional representative of the region (Ward). They vote on City Council, represent the individuals, businesses and interests of the ward, and will sit on various committees.

District School Board Trustee: Trustees are the elected representatives to administer the primary and secondary education systems in the municipality or region. You can only vote in one school board. In Toronto, there are four school boards:

the English public school board (Toronto District School Board);
the French public school board (Conseil scolaire Viamonde);
the English separate school board (Toronto Catholic District School Board); or
the French separate school board (Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir).