As deadline looms for Ontario municipal elections candidates, some seats uncontested

With the window to run in this year’s Ontario municipal elections about to close, observers and advocates are paying attention not only to those vying to lead their communities, but also to the number of people who aren’t.

While a lot can still change before nominations close Friday afternoon, the amount of seats that listed one or no registered candidates just over a day before the deadline is worth noting, said Zachary Spicer, an associate professor of public policy at York University.

“That’s a trend that we’ve seen over the last couple of election cycles,” typically in rural communities, he said.

Spicer, who previously worked as a senior policy adviser to the Ontario government, said concerns initially arose after a handful of municipalities had their entire councils acclaimed in the 2018 vote. At the same time, he said, some seats in rural communities had no candidates at all.

“That’s not good for democracy, right? … I don’t think anyone thinks that’s good for business.”

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario voiced similar worries last month, urging people to run for office and stressing the impact of local government on everyday life.

“Municipal councils make decisions that affect housing, infrastructure, public safety, recreation, economic development and so much more. We encourage anyone who wants to make a difference in their community to consider putting their name forward,” AMO President Robin Jones said in a statement.

“When fewer people run for office, communities have fewer choices and fewer perspectives around the council table,” Jones added.

The demands of municipal office, combined with pay that may not reflect those demands, could be among the factors deterring people from throwing their hat in the ring, said Spicer.

In big cities, where sitting on council is or is becoming a full-time job, the salary is starting to catch up, he said. But in small communities, councillors may only receive a stipend or honorarium “as low as a couple hundred dollars a month,” he said.

“These are councils where … they’re predominantly older white guys because to do these jobs you either need to be independently wealthy, be retired or own a business,” he said.

Few people can otherwise attend meetings in the middle of the day, Spicer said.

“These are not positions where meetings are timed out to be conducive for people who have families,” he said.

“There’s a lot of people out there who … are interested in supporting their community. I think there’s a lot of people out there who’d be very interested in this, but they look and they go, ‘Yeah, I can’t make a 10 a.m. planning subcommittee meeting.'”