Voter Information

Register to vote or update your information on the voters' list

To add your name to the voters' list or update your information, please visit the Elections Ontario Portal. You will need one piece of ID that has both your name and Ontario home address.

Elections Ontario Voter Registration

What do voters need to know?

Elections for municipal government are held every four years on the fourth Monday of October. The length of term for all municipal elected officials is four years. The current term started in 2022 and ends in 2026. The next municipal election will be held Monday, October 26, 2026.

In municipal elections in Ontario, unlike other levels of government, candidates are not elected to represent a political party.

Eligible voters for municipal elections must be:

A Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old
A resident OR a property owner or tenant OR the spouse of an owner or tenant in the municipality

Trailer Owners:

If you own a trailer in a campground, you may qualify to vote if you are entitled to use the land:

On Voting Day (October 26, 2026), or
For a period of six weeks or more during the year of the election.

If you meet these criteria, you may be considered a tenant of the trailer park and eligible to participate in the municipal election.

View the Trailer Owner Voting Eligibility Poster.

Who do you vote for in Saugeen Shores?

Council

Saugeen Shores Council consists of a Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Vice Deputy Mayor, and six Ward Councillors, all elected for a four-year term. All voters may cast ballots for the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Vice Deputy Mayor, and two Ward Councillors based on where they live or own property in Saugeen Shores.

Ward Maps

All Wards

Port Elgin Ward

Southampton Ward

School Board Trustee

Voters in Saugeen Shores also vote for their school board trustee.

Property owners in Ontario are required to support a school board, even if they do not have children or their children are not currently attending school. In the case of a residential property occupied by tenants, the tenants can direct the school support for that property. By default, school support is directed to your municipality’s English Public School Board.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is legislatively required to collect school support information and provide it in the assessment roll to every municipality and school board. By ensuring that you are supporting the school board of your choosing, you will be able to vote in the next municipal and school board election for trustees in that school board. Property owners, occupants, and tenants can update their school support designation online at mpac.ca/schoolsupport.

In Saugeen Shores, the school boards are Bluewater District School Board and Bruce-Grey Catholic School Board.

School Support Updates after the June 1 Deadline

June 1 was the deadline to update your school support designation so MPAC could provide accurate information to Elections Ontario for the creation of the Preliminary List of Electors, in accordance with election timelines. You can still update your designation after June 1 using MPAC AboutMyProperty™ or MPAC’s online portal for tenants. Your change will be recorded by MPAC, but it will not appear on the Preliminary List of Electors. After submitting your update, you will receive an email confirmation. To have your information updated on the final Voters List, provide this confirmation to your municipality by bringing it to the Municipal Office or emailing it to clerk@saugeenshores.ca.

2026 Key Dates

May 1, 2026 - First possible day of the candidate nomination period that ends on Nomination Day
June 1, 2026 - Final day for voters to update school support information with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)
August 21, 2026 - Nomination Day (Nominations close at 2:00 p.m.)
October 26, 2026 - Election Day

2026 Voting Method

Vote by Internet and Telephone

The upcoming Municipal Election will be held on Monday, October 26, 2026. The Town of Saugeen Shores will be using an internet and telephone voting system. Paper ballots will not be available.

Electors will be able to vote online or by telephone from Monday, October 19, 2026, beginning at 10:00 a.m. and concluding on Monday, October 26, 2026, at 8:00 p.m.

A Voter Help Centre will be available at the Community Complex (The Plex) in Port Elgin throughout the voting period for assistance with internet voting.

In alignment with Bruce County area municipalities, election services have been procured from Simply Voting Inc., a Canadian-based eDemocracy provider located in Montreal. Simply Voting Inc. also provided voting services for the previous municipal election, allowing Saugeen Shores electors to experience a familiar and user-friendly voting process.

A voter introduction to the Simply Voting internet and telephone voting system for the municipal election is available in this YouTube video. For more information about the security and reliability of Simply Voting, please review the Integrated Electronic Voting Solutions for Municipal Voting Events document.